What is gaming disorder?

Source: http://www.who.int/features/qa/gaming-disorder/en/

Gaming disorder
January 2018

What is gaming disorder?

Gaming disorder is defined in the draft 11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) as a pattern of gaming behavior (“digital-gaming” or “video-gaming”) characterized by impaired control over gaming, increasing priority given to gaming over other activities to the extent that gaming takes precedence over other interests and daily activities, and continuation or escalation of gaming despite the occurrence of negative consequences.

For gaming disorder to be diagnosed, the behaviour pattern must be of sufficient severity to result in significant impairment in personal, family, social, educational, occupational or other important areas of functioning and would normally have been evident for at least 12 months.

What is the International Classification of Diseases?

The International Classification of Diseases (ICD) is the basis for identification of health trends and statistics globally and the international standard for reporting diseases and health conditions. It is used by medical practitioners around the world to diagnose conditions and by researchers to categorize conditions.

The inclusion of a disorder in ICD is a consideration which countries take into account when planning public health strategies and monitoring trends of disorders.

WHO is working on updating of the ICD. The 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) is scheduled for publication in mid-2018.

Why is gaming disorder being included in ICD-11?

A decision on inclusion of gaming disorder in ICD-11 is based on reviews of available evidence and reflects a consensus of experts from different disciplines and geographical regions that were involved in the process of technical consultations undertaken by WHO in the process of ICD-11 development.

The inclusion of gaming disorder in ICD-11 follows the development of treatment programmes for people with health conditions identical to those characteristic of gaming disorder in many parts of the world, and will result in the increased attention of health professionals to the risks of development of this disorder and, accordingly, to relevant prevention and treatment measures.

Should all people who engage in gaming be concerned about developing gaming disorder?

Studies suggest that gaming disorder affects only a small proportion of people who engage in digital- or video-gaming activities. However, people who partake in gaming should be alert to the amount of time they spend on gaming activities, particularly when it is to the exclusion of other daily activities, as well as to any changes in their physical or psychological health and social functioning that could be attributed to their pattern of gaming behaviour.

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Also see Scholars’ open debate paper on the World Health Organization ICD-11 Gaming Disorder proposal | Journal of Behavioral Addictions http://akademiai.com/doi/full/10.1556/2006.5.2016.088

#BeStrong anti-bullying emojis

Want to take a stand to show you are against (cyber)bullying? Offer support and friendship with these Be Strong emojis & stickers. These emojis were chosen by almost 5,000 young people around the world, who identified with them as symbols of compassion and solidarity.

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securly is now free

Securly has rolled out free protection for all Chromebooks with a cloud-based web filter that helps administrators design a more age-appropriate Internet. The filter includes self-harm and bullying detection on social media, as well as delegated admin features. Make your Chromebooks safer here.

 

FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) Parent App Guide

Digital Guidelines: Promoting Healthy Technology Use for Children

Today’s children are growing up in a high-tech world. According to a 2015 national survey by Common Sense Media, 53 percent of children 8 to 12 have their own tablet, and 24 percent have their own smartphone. Among teenagers, 67 percent have their own smartphone.1

American parents believe they have an important role to play in helping their children develop safe, healthy habits for technology use.

Read more: http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/digital-guidelines.aspx

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See http://www.loveyoumoretoo.com/best-videos-about-kindness/

FOSI 2017 Year in Review

FOSI 2017 Year in Review What a year it was. Although 2017 proved to be a challenging one for those of us in the online safety community, it also came with its own rewards and new insights. Twitter changed its content rules.  Facebook confronted fake news.  YouTube Kids dealt with disturbing videos.  Amazon opened its accounts to teens.  And parents continued to struggle with how to balance their own and their kids’ screen time and use. All of these developments came against the backdrop of a US President’s questionable social media behavior and a #MeToo movement which united survivors and condemned sexual harassment and misconduct on and offline. Throughout this tumultuous year, FOSI brought people together, researched new trends in our children’s digital lives and educated parents about how to confidently navigate the web with their kids. Here are some highlights. Events In June, we held our annual European event at the GSMA in London.  Our high-level roundtable was called, “Connected Families” and we discussed the risks, rewards and ethical challenges, particularly for children, brought by the Internet of Things, connected toys and devices.  Following our September move to the WeWork White House office space, we hosted a screening of the documentary, “Cuba’s Digital Revolution” and moderated a discussion with the filmmaker, Samuel George (of the Bertelsmann Foundation), and other invited guests.   In November, we hosted our 11th Annual Conference at the Newseum in Washington, DC.  Entitled, “Trust & Civility in a Challenging World”, we gathered nearly 300 of the leading tech, government and NGO leaders from around the world for discussions on diverse topics such as hate speech, the ethics of Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things, how to better serve families with special needs, and the future of online safety.  Research A highlight of our annual conference was the launch of our new research report, “Connected Families: How Parents Think and Feel About Wearables, Toys and the Internet of Things”.  This first-of-its-kind study was made possible with support from Amazon. The report explored the types of new devices that families are bringing into their homes, thoughts on how the Internet of Things impacts lives, and parents’ attitudes, hopes and fears for the increasing use of connected toys and devices by children.   Policy FOSI continued to engage with policymakers in the U.S. and abroad. We provided guidance and expertise, participated in events, raised awareness of  government resources, and offered government officials opportunities to speak at FOSI events to discuss their work and initiatives. Good Digital Parenting Our resources for parents- from blogs to tips, tools, resources and downloads - continued to be the most popular offering on our website.  Through the Google for Educators program, we presented to hundreds of ed tech teachers in Boston, Silicon Valley, Chicago and New York. In conjunction with Zift, we launched new digital parenting guidelines for families with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.   Membership and Outreach FOSI welcomed Mattel, Roblox, Snap Inc. and TeenSafe into our membership in the past year.  We continued our work on industry best practices on the Facebook Safety Advisory Board, Twitter’s Trust and Safety Council, Comcast’s Safety Advisory Council and AT&T’s Consumer Advisory Panel as well as working with many other companies on challenging issues and exciting new products for families. We spoke at the RSA Conference in San Francisco, the CES Data Summit in Las Vegas, a Digital Citizenship Dialogue in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the Girl Scouts National Convention and the Facebook Safety event at the US Capitol.  FOSI appeared on the BBC, ITV, NBC, CNN and CBS Radio.  We were widely quoted in the press including the Washington Post, Bloomberg, USA Today, NY Post, Vanity Fair, Wired, Wall St Journal and the San Jose Mercury News (to name a few).  We look forward to working with you throughout 2018 and beyond to make the online world safer and more civil for our children and for us all. Happy New Year!  Follow FOSI online           You're receiving this newsletter because you signed up for FOSI newsletters. UK Registered Charity no. 1095258 | © 2017 "FOSI" and the FOSI logo are registered as trademarks in the UK and USA. 1440 G Street NW Washington, D.C. 20005