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.
However, the clinical trials of potential treatments remain of low quality, except for cognitive-behavioral therapies, which shows efficacy to reduce gaming disorder and depressive symptoms but not total time spent. Although there is a scientific consensus that cognitive-behavioral therapy is preferable to pharmacological treatment, it remains difficult to make definitive statements about its benefits and efficiency due to methodological inconsistencies and lack of follow-up. Since efficacious treatments have not been well established, prevention of video gaming disorder is crucial. Some evidence suggest that up to 50% of people affected by the internet gaming disorder may recover naturally.Some countries, such as South Korea, China, the Netherlands, Canada, and the United States, have responded to the perceived threat of video game addiction by opening treatment centres. China
China was the first country to treat "internet addiction" clinically in 2008. The Chinese government operates several clinics to treat those who overuse online games, chatting and web surfing. Treatment for the patients, most of whom have been forced to attend by parents or government officials, includes various forms of pain including shock therapy. In August 2009, Deng Sanshan was reportedly beaten to death in a correctional facility for video game and Web addiction. Most of the addiction "boot camps" in China are actually extralegal militaristically managed centers, but have remained popular despite growing controversy over their practices.In 2019, China set up a curfew, banning minors from playing between certain hours.