World of Warcraft, Addiction and a psychiatrist.

Discussion in 'Computer Science & Culture' started by Klingy, Jun 20, 2007.

  1. Klingy Registered Member

    Messages:
    12
    Hey sciforums.

    Most of us would of heard of World Of Warcraft am i right?
    Well i'm an avvid fan of the warcraft games and when WoW (World of warcraft) came out i was happy. two years later i still play. so i went to the psychiatrist a few days just for a check up and he said "your addicted to the game and you need to cut down." i know i'm addicted and i don't want to cut down but he said "you could have big issues with life later." i just want to know your opinion on.

    Game addiction.

    I also want to know if you are or have someone you know who is addicited to WoW.

    fact is my board user name is the character i use in WoW.


    so please discuss
     
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  3. pjdude1219 The biscuit has risen Valued Senior Member

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    do you pass up things that you like doing or interacting with people in the real world to play
     
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  5. Klingy Registered Member

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    no, not anymore anyway
     
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  7. pjdude1219 The biscuit has risen Valued Senior Member

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    thats good
     
  8. lixluke Refined Reinvention Valued Senior Member

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    9,072
    I hace a few friends who are addicted to it. This has been discussed before on this board. I would never even try playing it. It is no different from crack. If you put crack in front of my face, I would not try it. The same thing with WOW. If you put WOW in front of my face, I would not try it. Do not cut down on WOW. Discontinue it forever. You will be much happier.
     
  9. Light Travelling It's a girl O lord in a flatbed Ford Registered Senior Member

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    So....... in your opinion .... stuff like that should be illegal?


    Maybe some punishments dished out for the perptrators
     
  10. SoLiDUS OMGWTFBBQ Registered Senior Member

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    There was a very cogent article written some time ago that very thoroughly explained how WoW was nothing more than a system designed to keep players from leaving; the MMORPG model is actually pretty clever.

    In any case, it's not detrimental if you don't ignore your career/job, health and personal relationships: if you're passing up any of the above in favor of your raids or leveling quests, you have a serious problem and need to log the fuck out.

    I never played WoW and never will, but I was fairly active in Battlefield 2 until I moved to Iqaluit (and no longer have the internet connection required to play it online, forcing me to 'retire'). Before that, I'd play an hour or two every day, but never before going to the gym, hanging out with friends or dealing with work or school...

    You just have to budget your time properly and realize when one activity starts interfering with another.
     
  11. Bells Staff Member

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    24,270
    I played WoW. But saw it as just a game to play when I had some spare time. I raided and was in a raiding guild and while a few in that guild were most probably addicted, most were not. I had a small child when I played and tended to only play when he napped or was asleep. I had a ball with it and was lucky enough to be in a good guild with others who were in a similar position as I was.

    You have to keep a degree of separation between playing and real life. Recognise that it is just a game and that life outside of any game should always come first. If you find yourself getting to the point where you are missing school or work to play, cancel your subscription. If you are not seeing your friends or never doing anything other than playing, you need to cancel your subscription.

    I stopped playing for a long time, and only went back to play my alt (twinked to the heavens lol) when the kids are asleep and I am not tired yet, in the last month or so. I use it as a form of winding down after a long day and evening a couple of times a week. And even then, I'm only online for about 20 minutes or so. It is a form of recreation.

    WoW is very easy to get addicted to. But unless you have some level of control over yourself and know when to walk away, you are addicted to it. If you feel that you simply can't stop playing, then you really are addicted to it and need to stop. As I said, keeping the subscription open is dangerous if you are addicted to it. Best to cancel it for a while and get into doing other things for a while.
     
  12. EmptyForceOfChi Banned Banned

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    10,848
    its just a game man, you cant compare a computer game with crack lol. i have never played it but i saw the southpark episode with the big fat guy that was addicted to it, it lookd like a good game whats so bad about it?


    whats wrong with self control these days, like with booze cant you just have 1 or 2 beers? do you have to turn into an alcoholic or not drink atall? i mean i personaly dopnt drink booze full stop but if i wanted to have a few pints then i would.


    peace.
     
  13. Baron Max Registered Senior Member

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    Okay, I just have to ask; Is playing a computer game really an "addiction"? Or is it just a habit? There is a difference, ya' know?

    Baron Max
     
  14. mountainhare Banned Banned

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    3,287
    Baron, I can tell you from personal experience that it can become an addiction. Computer gaming shares some characteristics in similiar with drugs... they both dissociate you from reality.
     
  15. Bells Staff Member

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    24,270
    Good question.

    It can become an addiction. Most things in life can become an addiction if it goes beyond just being a habit. You have some people who quit their jobs or stop going to school to play. They retreat fully from 'real life' just to play. They can't get enough hours in the day to play. I've heard of some people who quit their jobs because the obligations of their employment interrupted their game time. I would consider that an addiction.

    As with alcoholics who are only consumed by where, when and how they are going to get their next drink, addicted gamers think the same about getting on the computer to play. It takes over their lives completely.
     
  16. EmptyForceOfChi Banned Banned

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    just like reading a book or watching a TV show dissociates you from reality?


    peace.
     
  17. EmptyForceOfChi Banned Banned

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    i think genep posted a very good thread on human addictions in the philosophy forum awhile back. or maybe it was the free thought section, anyway his point and main argument was that nearly all humans are addicted to something.

    and once you are addicted to something (anything) 99% of people cannot break the cycle of overall addiction, they just substitute one addiction for another one and so on. from going places, to reading, to watching TV, to going on the internet, from eating certain foods and drinking certain drinks, to the obvious smoking booze and drug related addictions.


    its hard to find people in this modern society who are not addicted to something,


    peace.
     
  18. Bells Staff Member

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    24,270
    Gaming takes it to a whole different level. Especially games like WoW, where there is also the social factor involved. You see people becoming obsessed with getting their trade skills up, levelling, raiding for up to 15 hours a day. On the server I play on, there was a hardcore raiding guild and these people were hardcore. If they went on a learning raid, they would not stop until they got the boss down. One time they went for over 18 hours. It's insane. It stops being merely entertainment when it gets to that point. I raided, but usually at night when my son was in bed and I didn't have anything else to do. And even then, after a couple of hours if we didn't "learn" the boss, we'd all just go 'meh' and stop. That's the thing, some people can't stop.

    Gaming takes you in and draws you into it. It's what they are designed to do. All the pretty colours and the game dynamics are designed to get and keep people hooked. The game designers then keep people hooked by releasing new content, so gamers wait anxiously for the release of the new content and then find themselves spending hours and hours trying to get through it first (usually this is more apparent in raiding guilds), and as a result will play and raid continuously to beat every one else.

    TV and books are also addictive. But gaming takes it further.
     
  19. Baron Max Registered Senior Member

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    23,053
    Oh, shit!! I'm addicted to reading!

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    But really, I guess there is a flow-over from "habit" to "addiction" is it really begins to have a major control over ones life. I'm so accustomed to thinking of "addiction" as physiological that I just didn't make the connection.

    Baron Max
     
  20. Bells Staff Member

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    24,270
    It is psychological though. Some people feel they cannot function without it. All of their thoughts go into it 24/7. They will even forgo sleep to play. They form social bonds with other players and it becomes a whole other life for them.

    The American servers for WoW have about 5+ hours downtime a week (usually more) for maintenance. If you read the WoW forums, you will see how some of these people can barely cope with even that downtime, because it is taking them away from the game. It's kind of sad in a way, especially when you consider that a lot of the people who play and get this addicted are kids.
     
  21. EmptyForceOfChi Banned Banned

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    yeah that makes alot of sense, i guess i didnt think of it like that. i suppose it is a substitute for an alternate reality for some people then. with the social interaction, but i still think like alot of fun things moderation is the key, its about limiting yourself.


    the game seems like fun to me. but smoking weed is also fun,

    peace.
     
  22. EmptyForceOfChi Banned Banned

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    10,848


    lol, yeah habbits and addiction are related sometimes, but addictions are mostly something you enjoy doing. where as habbits can be random little things that you get nothing out of. simular to OCD. like some people can have a habbit of picking thier nose, or spitting on the floor, or even blinking more than they need to,


    peace.
     
  23. Anti-Flag Pun intended Registered Senior Member

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    3,714
    Addiction and hobby has such a fine line between them, I'm sure lots of people spend all their spare time on the game, but whilst they're going to work and earning a living is it an addiction? Where's the line? I think the vast majority of WoW players are either young and don't have to work or they're old enough to work and play the game for hours and hours in their spare time.
    They obviously prefer the fantasy world to the real world and desire spending their time there when they can and this improves their happiness. It's a harmless hobby for most people. It's not really sad it's just different, unless you're talking in terms of it's sad that the world is a place people desire escape from, then I'd agree, no different to reading and imagination though.
    I can't stand the game but there's a lot of misconceptions about the players being addicted, they just enjoy themselves, I'm sure I'd get a little cranky if I wanted to do something and was told I'd have to wait 5 hours.
     

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