The World Health Organization (WHO) itself in 2018 officially classified game addiction disorder as a mental illness. The decision was made after the WHO looked at data from various regions and expert input on the serious problem of game addiction.
Now, what are the signs that someone is addicted, for example the PUBG game?
According to the WHO, the first sign is that a person is unable to control himself, prioritizing games above all else in everyday life. The addicted person will continue playing the game to the point of having negative consequences.
"To diagnose this gaming disorder a pattern of behavior must be severe enough to affect personal, family, social, education, work, or other important areas proven to have persisted for at least 12 months," the WHO wrote.
Clinical psychologist Dr Kevin Gilliland gives a simple example such as someone skipping sleep, eating, or work and school to play games.
So, if you play PUBG games yourself, do you not have those characteristics?
'The problem is not in PUBG but the players'
Some regions in India prohibit PUBG from being played on the grounds that it contains violence and makes children lazy to learn. In fact, dozens of teenagers in the area in the city of Rajkot, Gujarat, were arrested by the police for playing PUBG even though they were released. Pros and cons also emerged.
Jhinuk Sen, a technology columnist at PCMag, said that it is not the game that is to blame when there is a negative impact, but the person who plays the game. In India, selfies often result in accidents or loss of life, but smartphones are not banned.
"Remember when there was an argument about the front camera and selfies being a problem because of accidents across the country? Such was the PUBG ban. The front cameras don't kill people, but people posing in dangerous places. Not the fault of the device but stupidity," he wrote.
"The game itself does not harm you or fail the test. You yourself get distracted, no matter the priority. You are the problem. Not the game," he said.
He added that the PUBG ban actually made this game even more popular. Similar opinion was expressed by Livemint media. According to them, many games are more sadistic than PUBG. And if these games spark violence, sometimes sporting events will be too.
"This is not the most violent game. It does generate aggression, but so does almost anything competitive. We might ban cricket as well or maybe all sports," they wrote.
About addiction, smoking is addictive and is not prohibited. And if you look at the positive side, serious PUBG players can compete and earn money.
"Teens earn money from contests because they are good at playing this game. E sports has become a professional all over the world and also in India. Because PUBG is a team game, it can create professional gamers, viewers and earn income. In short, this is precisely an opportunity. , "they added.
But the authorities in India thought differently. "Because of the game, the education of children and adolescents is affected and also has an impact on their behavior, politeness and development," the Rajkot police put forward the rationale for the ban.
Rohan Khaunte, an official at the Ministry of Information Technology in the Goa region, stated that PUBG is like a devil because it makes children not concentrate on learning.
"PUBG has become a demon in every home. Students, instead of learning, they continue to play PUBG," he said.