Gaming Disorder - Shrinking It Down - Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds

Gaming Disorder – Shrinking It Down

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By Steven Schlozman, MD and Gene Beresin, Executive Director

Posted in: Multimedia, Parenting Concerns, Podcast

Topics: Addiction & Substance Misuse, Culture + Society, Digital Media, Mental Illness + Psychiatric Disorders

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“I couldn’t get off the computer ‘cause I was about to kill that final thing in ‘Call of Duty’ and if I didn’t kill it I’d have to fight it all over again and it just isn’t worth my time!”

Who doesn’t love a good video game? Whether it’s Fortnite or Candy Crush Saga, it’s pretty easy to get sucked in, sometimes for hours. But is there such a thing as Gaming Disorder? The World Health Organization says yes, but the American Psychiatric Association is still considering. Regardless of if it technically qualifies as a mental health disorder, what parents really want to know for their kids is: When does it cross the line from casual pastime to problem territory? In this episode of Shrinking It Down: Mental Health Made Simple, Gene and Steve tackle the issue of gaming disorder, including how much is too much – of anything.

Thank you for joining us in this journey and conversation. If you have a question or comment about gaming that we didn’t cover, we’d love to hear from you! Write to us here.

Media List

Gaming Disorder (World Health Organization)
Internet Gaming (American Psychiatric Association)
Gaming Disorder: Is It a Real Illness? (Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds)

Episode edited by Sara Rattigan

Music by Gene Beresin

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Steven Schlozman, MD

Steven Schlozman, MD, is an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School (HMS), course director of the psychopathology class for the MIT-HMS Program in Health, Sciences and Technology, and former co-director of the Clay Center for Youn...

To read full bio click here.

Gene Beresin, Executive Director

Gene Beresin, MD, MA is executive director of The MGH Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds, and a staff child and adolescent psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is also...

To learn more about Gene, or to contact him directly, please see Our Team.