A complementary perspective on the normality-disorder boundary in gaming disorder research

The viewpoint by King et al. (2025) highlights the challenge of distinguishing normative from disordered gaming. Time spent gaming or motivations such as mood regulation should not be considered diagnostic criteria on their own, but they nonetheless provide clinically relevant information. Extremely long playing times may point to functional impairment, and mechanisms like mood regulation, coping, or social connection, though not pathological per se, can become clinically relevant when over-relied upon, leading to a narrowed behavioral repertoire. While not diagnostic criteria in themselves, these features can inform clinical assessment, guide individualized treatment, and help researchers identify trajectories into problematic gaming.