Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. There are plenty of negative stereotypes about games and gamers. And it's true that focusing on gaming to the detriment of all else will have negative effects--there's a reason that the World Health Organization recognizes video game addiction as a mental health condition. In the 50 years since Atari unleashed Pong on the world, there's been plenty of research on the effects of video games on our brains, and it's not all bad. Here are a few of the potential benefits of gaming, according to research. A research review published in American Psychologist in 2013 by Isabela Granic, Adam Lobel, and Rutger C. M. E. Engels at Radboud University in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, looked at decades of research and highlighted the various benefits found in gaming.

Over the weekend, the Guardian published a trio of stories about video game addiction. One was about the 850 people referred to an NHS treatment clinic in the last three years (of whom 227 were under 18). Another was on developers' use of tactics from the gambling industry to keep people spending on games. The third was by the director of the National Centre for Gaming Disorders, calling for industry regulation to better protect young people. These stories concern a problem that is certainly real, especially so for people affected by compulsive gaming behaviour, whose stories are no less affecting than those of gambling addicts.

From Super Mario to Final Fantasy, Japan has long been synonymous with gaming, but some experts and parents fear a growing addiction problem is going unaddressed. While nearby nations like China and South Korea have imposed drastic restrictions on youth gaming in recent years -- with mixed results -- some Japanese families feel they are being left to deal with the issue on their own. Each month, a group meets in Tokyo to swap stories and strategies for tackling their children's gaming habits. This could be due to a conflict with your ad-blocking or security software. Please add japantimes.co.jp and piano.io to your list of allowed sites.

To stay away from Azeroth--which is to remain unsubscribed from Blizzard Entertainment's enduring MMORPG, World of Warcraft--is no simple task. In fact, the gaming community has long (and only half-jokingly) referred to the orc- and elf-filled game as "World of Warcrack." As somebody who, over the last 14 years, has racked up over 600 days played, the pull of WoW's constant new dungeons, raids, and battlegrounds is something I can attest to. When I'm at a loose end, the first thing that comes to mind is logging on my level 60 rogue. And if I don't play for an extended period of time, I'll, quite literally, see WoW in my dreams.

Video game addiction is real in one out of every 10 gamers and can result in mental, social and behavioural issues, according to a new study. US psychologists claim 10 per cent of gamers – a'significant minority' – play in a way that is harmful or causes negative long-term consequences. They fall into what they call a'pathological' gamer category, characterised by excessive time spend playing video games, difficultly disengaging from video games and a'disruption to healthy functioning'. In a survey of adolescents, these'pathological' gamers displayed higher levels of depression, aggression, shyness, problematic phone use and anxiety by as they entered their twenties. Researchers believe their six-year study, the longest ever study on video game addiction, suggests there should be a healthy medium when it comes to gaming, especially during the coronavirus lockdown.

Video games are being prescribed as a recommended treatment for our ongoing homebound existence, brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. Game makers on Saturday began kicking off a new World Health Organization (WHO) initiative entitled #PlayApartTogether to encourage people on how to entertain themselves and also practice physical distancing. The initiative is particularly noteworthy because WHO previously designated video game addiction as an official mental health disorder. But the group hopes that the industry can "reach millions with important messages to help prevent the spread of COVID-19," said Ray Chambers, the U.S. ambassador to WHO in a statement. Game companies will encourage players to stay distanced and observe other safety measures including hand hygiene, he said.

Think your kid is addicted to video games? There could be something to it. The World Health Organization has made video game addiction an official mental health disorder. The Geneva, Switzerland-headquartered organization has added "Gaming disorder" to the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems or "ICD-11," which goes into effect in January 2022. The condition has been included in the global medical guide within a section detailing disorders due to substance use or addictive behaviors along with "Gambling disorder." The ICD-11 describes "Gaming disorder" as recurrent video game playing that leads to "impaired control over gaming" and an "increasing priority given to gaming to the extent that gaming takes precedence over other life interests and daily activities," despite "the occurrence of negative consequences."

There's been a lot of concern lately, by parents especially, about video game addiction. The World Health Organization has added the behavioral condition "gaming disorder" to their International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. In 2013, the American Psychological Association (APA) designated gaming disorder as "a condition for further study." But even that provoked pushback. Akin to an addiction to heroin or alcohol, the proposed diagnostic criteria roughly tracked those for substance abuse, such as withdrawal, tolerance, a desire to stop, and negative impact on life activities.

A more recent study underscores that gaming addiction is probably a worldwide phenomenon, albeit an uncommon one. The analysis of close to 19,000 internet users from the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom and Germany found that among those who played games, just under 1 in 3 reported at least one symptom of internet gaming disorder. But very few -- between 0.3% and 1.0% of the general population -- might qualify for a diagnosis of internet gaming disorder, according to the 2017 report in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

The World Health Organization says that compulsively playing video games now qualifies as a new mental health condition, in a move that some critics warn may risk stigmatizing too many young players. While it's hard for some investors to wrap their arms around the significance of gaming, the short answer is it is massive and expected to continue to exhibit huge growth for years to come. Can someone truly be addicted to video games? The World Health Organization thinks so – but a major professional organization for psychiatrists strongly disagrees. The World Health Organization on Monday classified "gaming disorder" as a diagnosable condition, giving mental health professionals a basis for setting up treatment and identifying risks for the addictive behavior.