Video Games: Children and Young People
(asked on 20th November 2023) - View Source
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many children and young people were being treated by the NHS for addiction to video games or gaming disorder annually from 2015 to 2022.
The National Centre for Gaming Disorders, providing treatment for people aged between 13 and 25 experiencing problem gaming in England, opened in October 2019. The following table shows the total number of annual referrals since the service became operational. The specific data requested is collected by the service provider to inform service delivery. This data is not subject to National Health Service quality assurance protocol and is therefore unsuitable for publication.
Year | Number of referrals of people aged 13 – 25 experiencing problems with gaming |
2019 (October to Dec only) | 12 |
2020 (Full year) | 62 |
2021 (Full year) | 99 |
2022 (Full year) | 148 |
2023 (January to August only) | 121 |
Total | 442 |
Source: NHSE - National Centre for Gaming Disorders