Similarly, Barnett and Coulson have cautioned that discussions of problematic gaming have moved forward prematurely without proper understanding of the symptoms, proper assessment and consequences.Rather than video gaming disorder being a subtype of gambling disorder, a majority of researchers support the idea of video game addiction being a part of a more comprehensive framework of impulse control disorders with "pathological technology use" with similar characteristics, including the pathological use of video games, internet, computers and other interactive medias. Although internet and video game addictions are generally considered different from gambling disorder and substance abuse, there is a growing body of evidence indicating they share common features, including behavioral and neural features. Indeed, it is suggested that while behavioral addiction may differ with drug addictions in magnitude, they share several characteristics, with Hellman et al. proposing that the concept of addiction should be de-medicalized.On the contrary, a literature review found that as the video game addiction develops, online gaming addicts spend increasing amounts of time not only playing but also preparing for and organizing their playing sessions, suggesting this addiction may be behavioral rather than a disorder of impulse control. There is recent evidence suggesting that internet gaming disorder can cause two distinct types of dysfunctions: cognitive and metacognitive.Griffiths has suggested that psycho-social dependence may revolve around the intermittent reinforcements in the game and the need to belong.
Players may play many hours per day, neglect personal hygiene, gain or lose significant weight, disrupt sleep patterns resulting in sleep deprivation, play at work, avoid phone calls from friends, or lie about how much time they spend playing video games.The APA has developed nine criteria for characterising the proposed Internet Gaming Disorder:
Pre-occupation. Do you spend a lot of time thinking about games even when you are not playing, or planning when you can play next? Withdrawal. Do you feel restless, irritable, moody, angry, anxious or sad when attempting to cut down or stop gaming, or when you are unable to play? Tolerance. Do you feel the need to play for increasing amounts of time, play more exciting games, or use more powerful equipment to get the same amount of excitement you used to get? Reduce/stop. Do you feel that you should play less, but are unable to cut back on the amount of time you spend playing games? Give up other activities. Do you lose interest in or reduce participation in other recreational activities due to gaming? Continue despite problems. Do you continue to play games even though you are aware of negative consequences, such as not getting enough sleep, being late to school/work, spending too much money, having arguments with others, or neglecting important duties? Deceive/cover up. Do you lie to family, friends or others about how much you game, or try to keep your family or friends from knowing how much you game? Escape adverse moods.