Arcadia Kim devoted her career to video games, until one hit her in the face. The incident happened several years ago when Kim, a former studio operating chief at Electronic Arts Inc., was trying to peel away her then 10-year-old son from a game of Minecraft. He threw the iPad at her in frustration.
Kim, 48, said the experience inspired her to start a business in 2019 advising parents on forming healthy relationships between their kids and their screens. The work took on greater urgency this year when the World Health Organization began formally recognizing video game addiction as an illness for the first time.
Among gamers and parents and even within the medical community, there’s disagreement about whether gaming addiction is real. Either way, the WHO’s designation could provide a boon to Kim and other businesses like hers. Dozens of consultants operate in the U.S. alone, as well as an assortment of apps, camps, self-help books and treatment centers.