MINDSET – Supporting youth organizations and youth workers for the Identification and Prevention of Youth Gaming Disorder

The project’s aim is to prepare youth organizations and youth workers to identify the early signs and prevent the development of gaming disorder among youth.

Proposal number: 2022-1-FR02-KA220-YOU-000089731

Funded by: Erasmus+ Duration: 01/10/2022-30/09/2025

Challenge

Patients with gaming disorder experience a progressive decline in social interactions, reduced involvement in community activities, and neglect of daily responsibilities. Engaging excessively in gaming often results in self-imposed isolation and withdrawal from social engagements. Gaming disorder is recognised as a legitimate mental disorder, which hampers the individual’s ability to interact socially and develop important interpersonal skills required for active participation in social life. Like individuals facing other mental health challenges, those suffering from gaming disorder must strive to overcome the issues of social exclusion and discrimination that impact various aspects of their daily routines and engagements.

Innovation

The MINDSET project is promoting the active citizenship of youth, their sense of initiative and their chances at entrepreneurship aims, through actively engaging gaming disorder patients in youth social action and entrepreneurship initiatives, in an effort to support their re-integration into the social environment.

Action

The project raises awareness on the negative effects of excessive gaming among youth and is developing a handbook for youth and a Self-Evaluation Questionnaire for youth, to be able to understand risks and dangers of excessive gaming and identify the alarming signs that the habit of online gaming might turn into a disorder.

A capacity building program developed and piloted with youth workers. Its aim is to develop the skills of youth workers to identify and prevent gaming disorder among youth. The set of training sessions will offer several tools (assessment questionnaire, action sheets, experience roadmap, etc.) that will assist youth workers with their work with young people.

A Guide developed for youth organisations to inform the necessary organisational changes that will allow organisations to meet the needs of young people with gaming disorder or at risk of gaming disorder and to respond to the emerging situation. The project will also map the needs and provide recommendations for policy changes related to gaming disorder among young people to prevent and tackle gaming disorder among youth.