What Is Internet Gaming Disorder?

The Doorway Topic Every Parent Should Understand

Gaming is not the enemy.

For many kids, gaming is fun, social, creative, strategic, and even confidence-building. Games can teach teamwork, problem-solving, persistence, hand-eye coordination, and quick decision-making. Research has shown that gaming can provide cognitive, social, and recreational benefits when kept in balance (Granic, Lobel & Engels, 2014).

But for some families, gaming slowly stops being “something my child enjoys” and becomes “something my child cannot seem to stop.”

That is where the conversation around Internet Gaming Disorder, or IGD, begins.

What Is IGD?

Internet Gaming Disorder is a pattern of excessive gaming where the game begins to interfere with real life.

The American Psychiatric Association describes IGD as a condition requiring further study and identifies symptoms such as preoccupation with gaming, withdrawal-like symptoms when unable to play, loss of control, and continued gaming despite negative consequences (APA, DSM-5-TR).

The World Health Organization recognizes Gaming Disorder within the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) and describes it as a pattern of gaming behavior characterized by:

• Impaired control over gaming

• Increasing priority given to gaming

• Continued gaming despite negative consequences

(WHO, ICD-11, 2019)

In plain English:

The problem is not that the child plays games.

The problem is when gaming becomes the center of the child's emotional world.

Why Gaming Is So Powerful

Modern games are built around reward systems.

Players receive:

• Points

• Levels

• Skins

• Achievements

• Social recognition

• Team belonging

• Instant feedback

Behavioral psychologist B.F. Skinner demonstrated decades ago that variable reward schedules can create highly persistent behaviors. Modern digital platforms often utilize similar reward mechanics to maintain engagement (Alter, 2017).

Real life rarely rewards children that quickly.

Cleaning your room does not flash:

"LEVEL COMPLETE."

Finishing homework does not unlock a legendary sword.

Helping your family does not come with a scoreboard.

This creates a powerful contrast:

Gaming gives fast rewards.

Real life gives slow rewards.

That is why The 67 Life does not teach:

"Games are bad."

We teach:

"Real life has to become rewarding again."

The 67 Life View: Gaming Is the Doorway

Internet Gaming Disorder is not just about gaming.

It opens the door to much bigger questions.

Mood

Research consistently finds associations between problematic gaming and increased symptoms of irritability, anxiety, depression, and emotional dysregulation (Paulus et al., 2018).

Why does a child become angry when the game turns off?

Sometimes it is defiance.

Sometimes it is emotional flooding.

Sometimes it is a nervous system struggling to transition from high stimulation back to ordinary reality.

Sleep

One of the strongest findings in gaming research involves sleep disruption.

Late-night gaming is associated with shorter sleep duration, poorer sleep quality, and greater daytime fatigue (Hale & Guan, 2015).

A tired child often looks like:

• An angry child

• A distracted child

• An unmotivated child

Isolation

Gaming can be highly social.

But gaming can also replace:

• Sports

• Outdoor play

• Family activities

• Face-to-face friendships

Research suggests that excessive gaming may contribute to social withdrawal in vulnerable individuals, especially when gaming becomes a substitute for real-world relationships (Kuss & Griffiths, 2012).

The danger is not necessarily the screen.

The danger is when the screen becomes the child's safest place.

Focus

Many modern games provide rapid stimulation, novelty, and immediate feedback.

Researchers have raised concerns that constant exposure to highly stimulating digital environments may make slower activities feel less rewarding, including reading, studying, and sustained attention tasks (Haidt, 2024).

If everything is instant, patience begins to feel painful.

Confidence

Many children experience mastery and competence in games.

This is not inherently bad.

The challenge occurs when confidence exists primarily inside the game world.

A child may feel:

Online:"I am powerful."

Offline:"I am behind."

The goal is not to shame the gamer.

The goal is to transfer confidence from the game world into the real world.

Parenting

Parents today are navigating an environment unlike any previous generation.

They are not simply competing with television.

They are competing with highly sophisticated digital systems designed to maximize engagement and attention (Alter, 2017).

That means parents need more than rules.

They need a family system.

The Key Question Parents Should Ask

Instead of asking:

"How many hours is my child gaming?"

Ask:

"What is gaming replacing?"

Research increasingly suggests that displacement may be one of the most important factors to evaluate when examining technology use (Twenge & Campbell, 2018).

Is gaming replacing:

• Sleep?

• Friendship?

• Exercise?

• Family time?

• Confidence?

• Creativity?

• Emotional resilience?

The number of hours matters.

What matters more is what those hours are replacing.

A Better Goal: The Balanced Gamer

The goal is not to create a house with no games.

The goal is to raise a balanced gamer.

A balanced gamer can:

• Play without losing control

• Stop without melting down

• Sleep on time

• Maintain real friendships

• Handle boredom

• Contribute at home

• Move their body

• Build real-world skills

The goal is not elimination.

The goal is balance.

The 67 Life Framework

Signal → State → Identity → Behavior → Results

Gaming sends signals.

Signals influence state.

State shapes identity.

Identity influences behavior.

Behavior creates results.

If the result is:

• Anger

• Isolation

• Poor sleep

• Family conflict

• Low motivation

Then the answer is not simply punishment.

The answer is redesign.

Redesign the environment.

Redesign the rewards.

Redesign the family rhythms.

Redesign real life so the child has something worth logging back into.

Final Thought

Internet Gaming Disorder is the doorway topic because it reveals a larger issue.

Many children are not simply attached to games.

They may be disconnected from meaningful experiences outside of them.

The solution is not merely less screen time.

The solution is more life.

More movement.

More sleep.

More friendship.

More confidence.

More family connection.

More challenge.

More purpose.

That is how we help kids level up real life.

References

American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed., text rev.; DSM-5-TR).

Alter, A. (2017). Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked.

Granic, I., Lobel, A., & Engels, R. C. M. E. (2014). The Benefits of Playing Video Games. American Psychologist, 69(1), 66–78.

Haidt, J. (2024). The Anxious Generation.

Hale, L., & Guan, S. (2015). Screen Time and Sleep Among School-Aged Children and Adolescents. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 21, 50–58.

Kuss, D. J., & Griffiths, M. D. (2012). Internet Gaming Addiction: A Systematic Review of Empirical Research. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 10(2), 278–296.

Paulus, F. W., Ohmann, S., von Gontard, A., & Popow, C. (2018). Internet Gaming Disorder in Children and Adolescents. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 60(7), 645–659.

Twenge, J. M., & Campbell, W. K. (2018). Associations Between Screen Time and Lower Psychological Well-Being Among Children and Adolescents. Preventive Medicine Reports, 12, 271–283.

World Health Organization. (2019). ICD-11 Gaming Disorder Criteria.