world of warcraft: Addicted

Lets see...nope, no one is addicted to this game. I think people form an obession, since any "addiction" to this game is mental and not chemical or physical. That is my interpretation, take it for what you will.

My personal experience is as follows: been playing the game for almost two years now, and have been having a lot of fun despite not having an end-game character (I know, I am a slow leveler). Last summer I simply ran out of money and couldnt afford any subscription cards, and I dont like using my credit card online. So, I stopped playing. Didnt go through withdrawel or anything like that. Then I picked it back up after I got a job and my classes were paid for.

I just fail to see how this game is so addicting. I have a lot of fun with it, but if I play more than 3-4 hours a day I simply get bored or sleepy. I just dont see how people can play this game for 6+ hours a day through sheer willpower. Personally I think they have a lack of a constructive and positive influence in their lives, whether its a job, parents, school, girlfriend, or anything like that.

mrbojangles25

Anyone else that plays or played world of warcraft have problems quitting or stop playing ? This happened to me me and is still happening to many of my friends. skater91290

Here you go, I have a great first hand story for you.

My roomate this year started playing freshman year (2 years ago) and it came out about 2 weeks before the end of our semester. He played non stop for basically 2 weeks, didnt go to class once, failed all his classes and got a 1.5 GPA for the year. He was put on achedemic probation. During the summer he leveled a rogue from 0-60 in 2 weeks. Sophmore year (when we became roomates) he joined a BWL (then the highest instance) raiding guild and was on 16 hours a day. He stopped going to class again and started, guess what, failing again. He kept his grades up (if you can call a 2.5 up). During the summer he was on the 8's plan, 8 hours of WoW, 8 hours of work, 8 hours of sleep. Doesnt leave much social time. This year our internet was screwed up on campus the first semester so he would go home every weekend to play. Then it got better, and now he plays 16 hours a day, doesnt go to class anymore and there is NO WAY he is passing any of them. He has no girlfriends, no social activity, no physical activity (though he is skinny), eats horribly, goes to bed at 5 am and wakes up at 2 pm (after all his classes are done) and just sits and plays WoW all day. He also has no job.

 

It is sad, pathetic really. I don't know what to do. My girlfriend and I try and get him to do stuff with us (games, movies, basketball, tennis...ANYTHING) but he always is playing. So you want a pathetic addict. THere you go.

 

Why is this even more pathetic though? Ill tell you why. My school costs 32000 a year to go. His parents are not wealthy at all and he has almost no scholarships. He is all loans and doesnt realize that a guy with a 2.2 GPA and a Business degree will get NO WHERE in life. I feel bad, but I stopped caring a while ago.

seabiscuit8686

Well, I'm going to go out and say that its an obsession. Perhaps the game is conductive to having people form obsessions over it, due to its high gameplay, community and social (not actual, but more of a compensation) values. However, that does not make it an addiction.

But now, onto this story about the guy in Uni/school.  Now, i ask myself... Maybe he didn't enjoy his classes? Maybe he didn't really see the point in continuing with his academics because it didn't make him happy? While I can't say that i know this for certain, i would suggest that he simply found WoW made him happier than his classes. Also, alot of people who play WoW simply give up, or have given up on their social life (I'm not implying this is always the case...) and hence he saw no reason to go out, due to low self esteem and such. 

If this is the case then it is indeed a sad situation. However, this would not qualify as an addiction, but rather as an obsession. He could have made a "rational" (in his mind) choice to play WoW and neglect his studies as it made him happier, while his studies did not, and perhaps he couldn't look into the future and see the reprecussions of his actions. However, people who are addicted wouldn't go through this process, they would simply say they need the substance, and despite the possibility of them knowing and not wanting the consequences, or knowing the reprecussions, they simply could not go without.

Just my take on the issue...

[QUOTE="seabiscuit8686"]

Here you go, I have a great first hand story for you.

My roomate this year started playing freshman year (2 years ago) and it came out about 2 weeks before the end of our semester. He played non stop for basically 2 weeks, didnt go to class once, failed all his classes and got a 1.5 GPA for the year. He was put on achedemic probation. During the summer he leveled a rogue from 0-60 in 2 weeks. Sophmore year (when we became roomates) he joined a BWL (then the highest instance) raiding guild and was on 16 hours a day. He stopped going to class again and started, guess what, failing again. He kept his grades up (if you can call a 2.5 up). During the summer he was on the 8's plan, 8 hours of WoW, 8 hours of work, 8 hours of sleep. Doesnt leave much social time. This year our internet was screwed up on campus the first semester so he would go home every weekend to play. Then it got better, and now he plays 16 hours a day, doesnt go to class anymore and there is NO WAY he is passing any of them. He has no girlfriends, no social activity, no physical activity (though he is skinny), eats horribly, goes to bed at 5 am and wakes up at 2 pm (after all his classes are done) and just sits and plays WoW all day. He also has no job.

 

It is sad, pathetic really. I don't know what to do. My girlfriend and I try and get him to do stuff with us (games, movies, basketball, tennis...ANYTHING) but he always is playing. So you want a pathetic addict. THere you go.

 

Why is this even more pathetic though? Ill tell you why. My school costs 32000 a year to go. His parents are not wealthy at all and he has almost no scholarships. He is all loans and doesnt realize that a guy with a 2.2 GPA and a Business degree will get NO WHERE in life. I feel bad, but I stopped caring a while ago. 

eitremn

that is a perfect example of what can happen to a WoW addict.

No, thats a perfect example of a LOSER. WoW is NOT addicting, it just so happens that some pathetic people get obsessed with it.dnuggs40

Yeah! WOW is not that addicting. People just blame the game coz in reality they know within that it's their own fault! 

[QUOTE="dnuggs40"]No, thats a perfect example of a LOSER. WoW is NOT addicting, it just so happens that some pathetic people get obsessed with it.giankulot

Yeah! WOW is not that addicting. People just blame the game coz in reality they know within that it's their own fault! 

oh for god sakes, it's the persons fault that they got addicted to anything.  just because it's not physically or chemically addicting, it's still "mentally" addicting.  and to dnuggs40, quit thinking that you are better then everyone else, i suppose you have no flaws in life and you are a perfect example of what a human being should be.

[QUOTE="giankulot"]

[QUOTE="dnuggs40"]No, thats a perfect example of a LOSER. WoW is NOT addicting, it just so happens that some pathetic people get obsessed with it.eitremn

Yeah! WOW is not that addicting. People just blame the game coz in reality they know within that it's their own fault! 

oh for god sakes, it's the persons fault that they got addicted to anything.  just because it's not physically or chemically addicting, it's still "mentally" addicting.  and to dnuggs40, quit thinking that you are better then everyone else, i suppose you have no flaws in life and you are a perfect example of what a human being should be.

  I guess no one made the line that people with clincial depression or other psychological problems that have never been diagnoised can become obsessed or "addicted" to a game..  I know every wants to call the obsessions are done by "losers" but that is a blantent stereotype and there are no extremes in life just many shades of grey...

   Anyways this is a dumb argument, because like it or not, the medical community and governments do see this as a problem in society and are taking steps to help people.  So like it or not I am pretty sure it has more to do with people then just being "losers" to catch the eyes of so many.  Anyways lock this thread, there is no point in having this thread to begin with.. It has turned into a mindless argument over one side or the other where no one is swayed.. And hardly any useful information on how to fix this, nor prevent it has, been stated..

I agree about the clinical depression thing, but in that case as well, it is the PERSON, not the game. That is my whole point. WoW is not addicting, it's the people who play it that are either mentally ill, or just obsessed freaks. Far too often are people quick to point the finger at the object, rather then at the person...

 And there is not reason to lock the thread, people are still talking.  If you don't wish to participate, then don't...

I got addicted to Maple Story for about a month :lol:

Other than that, and a brief stint of Knight Online with some people in a union here, I've never really been all that into MMORPG's.  I haven't played anything online in months, I don't have the time really, I got a job and I'm out in the neighborhood a lot when I'm not working.

I can get into online shooters easily though, and I will play those for hours on end for like two weeks, then I'll just stop playing games for a month.  Battlefield 2 is one that really stands out, that and I used to be a Rainbow Six 3 fiend (both on the PC, console versions of these games suck).

[QUOTE="eitremn"][QUOTE="giankulot"]

[QUOTE="dnuggs40"]No, thats a perfect example of a LOSER. WoW is NOT addicting, it just so happens that some pathetic people get obsessed with it.dnuggs40

Yeah! WOW is not that addicting. People just blame the game coz in reality they know within that it's their own fault!

oh for god sakes, it's the persons fault that they got addicted to anything. just because it's not physically or chemically addicting, it's still "mentally" addicting. and to dnuggs40, quit thinking that you are better then everyone else, i suppose you have no flaws in life and you are a perfect example of what a human being should be.

[QUOTE="dnuggs40"][QUOTE="eitremn"][QUOTE="giankulot"]

[QUOTE="dnuggs40"]No, thats a perfect example of a LOSER. WoW is NOT addicting, it just so happens that some pathetic people get obsessed with it.seabiscuit8686

Yeah! WOW is not that addicting. People just blame the game coz in reality they know within that it's their own fault!

oh for god sakes, it's the persons fault that they got addicted to anything. just because it's not physically or chemically addicting, it's still "mentally" addicting. and to dnuggs40, quit thinking that you are better then everyone else, i suppose you have no flaws in life and you are a perfect example of what a human being should be.

No, it's not all relative. If you really think training to be a world champion cyclist or professional sportsman are on the same level as someone who plays World of Warcraft 20hrs a day you really are clueless.

[QUOTE="eitremn"][QUOTE="giankulot"]

[QUOTE="dnuggs40"]No, thats a perfect example of a LOSER. WoW is NOT addicting, it just so happens that some pathetic people get obsessed with it.dnuggs40

Yeah! WOW is not that addicting. People just blame the game coz in reality they know within that it's their own fault! 

oh for god sakes, it's the persons fault that they got addicted to anything.  just because it's not physically or chemically addicting, it's still "mentally" addicting.  and to dnuggs40, quit thinking that you are better then everyone else, i suppose you have no flaws in life and you are a perfect example of what a human being should be.

well if you want to broaden it, this arguement could be made for any MMO.  these games are specifically designed to suck people in and keep them playing in order for them to keep paying the company to play.  do no think for one second that the super long flight times in the game aren't there on purpose, or that it takes an insane amount of time to complete high end raids and gain the best gear in the game.  and if you don't spend an insane amount of time in the game then your guild leaves you behind and you cannot do the high end instances or get the best gear in the game so the player feels compelled to keep playing in order to keep up with all the other people in his guild or whatever else.  all these things are there to keep people playing, and someone that has an addictive personality is going to get addicted to this.  all these little senses of accomplishment that they gain from getting the tier 5 helm or the new enchanting recipe that they spent countless hours getting.  so when i say that WoW is addicting i'm really saying that MMO's are addicting, because they are designed specifically to be addicting.

i know so many people addicted to this game its Sad, i my self quit 6 times and came back every time. The game is very addicting, when you play it u just feel u gotta get the gear or u gotta get that boss down, But im learning how to control my self by simply not playing it and finding better games to play.

If you have an addiction just remember this.....its just a game :D 

[QUOTE="dnuggs40"][QUOTE="eitremn"][QUOTE="giankulot"]

[QUOTE="dnuggs40"]No, thats a perfect example of a LOSER. WoW is NOT addicting, it just so happens that some pathetic people get obsessed with it.eitremn

Yeah! WOW is not that addicting. People just blame the game coz in reality they know within that it's their own fault! 

oh for god sakes, it's the persons fault that they got addicted to anything.  just because it's not physically or chemically addicting, it's still "mentally" addicting.  and to dnuggs40, quit thinking that you are better then everyone else, i suppose you have no flaws in life and you are a perfect example of what a human being should be.

well if you want to broaden it, this arguement could be made for any MMO.  these games are specifically designed to suck people in and keep them playing in order for them to keep paying the company to play.  do no think for one second that the super long flight times in the game aren't there on purpose, or that it takes an insane amount of time to complete high end raids and gain the best gear in the game.  and if you don't spend an insane amount of time in the game then your guild leaves you behind and you cannot do the high end instances or get the best gear in the game so the player feels compelled to keep playing in order to keep up with all the other people in his guild or whatever else.  all these things are there to keep people playing, and someone that has an addictive personality is going to get addicted to this.  all these little senses of accomplishment that they gain from getting the tier 5 helm or the new enchanting recipe that they spent countless hours getting.  so when i say that WoW is addicting i'm really saying that MMO's are addicting, because they are designed specifically to be addicting.

These games are designed to be fun. Games are not addicting, the ONLY way developers can keep people paying is by making the game FUN. Half of all the crap in MMO's are what fans of the genre WANT. You have an utterly twisted view of things. Like the developers are sitting around trying to figure out how to make their games addicting so people can't stop playing. Get real, when you grow up and look at the world with adult eyes you will see all this kinda of talk is dumb. You can't make a game "addicting", it's a freaking game! You can make it fun as hell, and then people will play it. Now, of course you are going to have the losers and mental people obsessed over it, just like these kinds of people obsesse over TONS of crap. Look how many freaks out there are obsessed with all kinds of crap. Point is, the addiction has NOTHING TO DO WITH THE GAME ITSELF, IT HAS TO DO WITH THE MENTALLY RETARDED PEOPLE WHO OBSESSE WITH IT!

[QUOTE="eitremn"][QUOTE="dnuggs40"][QUOTE="eitremn"][QUOTE="giankulot"]

[QUOTE="dnuggs40"]No, thats a perfect example of a LOSER. WoW is NOT addicting, it just so happens that some pathetic people get obsessed with it.dnuggs40

Yeah! WOW is not that addicting. People just blame the game coz in reality they know within that it's their own fault! 

oh for god sakes, it's the persons fault that they got addicted to anything.  just because it's not physically or chemically addicting, it's still "mentally" addicting.  and to dnuggs40, quit thinking that you are better then everyone else, i suppose you have no flaws in life and you are a perfect example of what a human being should be.

well if you want to broaden it, this arguement could be made for any MMO.  these games are specifically designed to suck people in and keep them playing in order for them to keep paying the company to play.  do no think for one second that the super long flight times in the game aren't there on purpose, or that it takes an insane amount of time to complete high end raids and gain the best gear in the game.  and if you don't spend an insane amount of time in the game then your guild leaves you behind and you cannot do the high end instances or get the best gear in the game so the player feels compelled to keep playing in order to keep up with all the other people in his guild or whatever else.  all these things are there to keep people playing, and someone that has an addictive personality is going to get addicted to this.  all these little senses of accomplishment that they gain from getting the tier 5 helm or the new enchanting recipe that they spent countless hours getting.  so when i say that WoW is addicting i'm really saying that MMO's are addicting, because they are designed specifically to be addicting.

These games are designed to be fun. Games are not addicting, the ONLY way developers can keep people paying is by making the game FUN. Half of all the crap in MMO's are what fans of the genre WANT. You have an utterly twisted view of things. Like the developers are sitting around trying to figure out how to make their games addicting so people can't stop playing. Get real, when you grow up and look at the world with adult eyes you will see all this kinda of talk is dumb. You can't make a game "addicting", it's a freaking game! You can make it fun as hell, and then people will play it. Now, of course you are going to have the losers and mental people obsessed over it, just like these kinds of people obsesse over TONS of crap. Look how many freaks out there are obsessed with all kinds of crap. Point is, the addiction has NOTHING TO DO WITH THE GAME ITSELF, IT HAS TO DO WITH THE MENTALLY RETARDED PEOPLE WHO OBSESSE WITH IT!

you completely ignored all of the time sinks that i mentioned.  these games are designed to be addicting.  it's how they make money, by keeping people playing.  i'm starting to wonder if your not addicted to it yourself, it sounds like you keep making arguements to try and justify playing these types of games for insane amounts of time.  like it's fun and it's not addictive and socially destroying.

No, I didn't "ignore" them, I just see them for what they are, not in your twisted crazy viewpoint. The game (MMO's) is designed to be ongoing, evolving, and a unique experience. These things are there becuase they add to the experience. People WANT high level content that is difficult to get, they want to travel on the backs of Griffins and look a the landscape, they want lots of levels and skills. That is part of the game. It is not designed for you to play 20hrs a day, THE DEVELOPERS GET THE SAME $15 A MONTH WETHER YOU PLAY 10 HOURS A WEEK OR 20 HOURS A DAY.  In fact, it is pretty safe to say that they DONT want people playing that much, it costs them MORE MONEY (bandwidth, more servers, more staff, ect) if everyone played like maniacs. 

"i'm starting to wonder if your not addicted to it yourself,"

LOL

I don't even play any MMO's at the moment. And when I have, I played only reasonable amounts of time (10-15 a WEEK). And after I have seen and done everything there is to do in a MMO, I simply UNINSTALL the game. No withdrawls, no symptoms, no depression. Nadda, nothing! Thats because I am a mentally healthly individual, and something like a silly game cannot "addict me".

No, I didn't "ignore" them, I just see them for what they are, not in your twisted crazy viewpoint. The game (MMO's) is designed to be ongoing, evolving, and a unique experience. These things are there becuase they add to the experience. People WANT high level content that is difficult to get, they want to travel on the backs of Griffins and look a the landscape, they want lots of levels and skills. That is part of the game. It is not designed for you to play 20hrs a day, THE DEVELOPERS GET THE SAME $15 A MONTH WETHER YOU PLAY 10 HOURS A WEEK OR 20 HOURS A DAY.  In fact, it is pretty safe to say that they DONT want people playing that much, it costs them MORE MONEY (bandwidth, more servers, more staff, ect) if everyone played like maniacs. 

"i'm starting to wonder if your not addicted to it yourself,"

LOL

I don't even play any MMO's at the moment. And when I have, I played only reasonable amounts of time (10-15 a WEEK). And after I have seen and done everything there is to do in a MMO, I simply UNINSTALL the game. No withdrawls, no symptoms, no depression. Nadda, nothing! Thats because I am a mentally healthly individual, and something like a silly game cannot "addict me".

dnuggs40

you cannot see everything that there is to see in this game without spending crazy amounts of time playing it.  as i mentioned, if you don't keep up with your guild you get left behind, thus making people feel the need to play more and more.  these games, wether you like to admit it or not, are designed to keep people playing and paying.  and yes they get the same $15/month regardless of how much a player plays, but the devs know that the less someone plays the less likely they are to keep the subscription going.  so if they put specific things in there to waste time (i.e. the super long gryphon flights, or the long wait times for groups, or needing 25+ skilled players for raids.) then they know they can keep people playing.  i mean, if they didn't want people to play for long amounts of time then why not just have teleporters in every city to get anywhere you need to go in an instant?  sure mages can port you, but good luck finding one that will take 5 seconds of his time to do it.

I have to go with dnuggs40 on this one....A mental addiction is just another word for habit or obsession..Here's Websters definition of addiction

: compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance (as heroin, nicotine, or alcohol) characterized by tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal; broadly: persistent compulsive use of a substance known by the user to be harmful

[QUOTE="dnuggs40"]

No, I didn't "ignore" them, I just see them for what they are, not in your twisted crazy viewpoint. The game (MMO's) is designed to be ongoing, evolving, and a unique experience. These things are there becuase they add to the experience. People WANT high level content that is difficult to get, they want to travel on the backs of Griffins and look a the landscape, they want lots of levels and skills. That is part of the game. It is not designed for you to play 20hrs a day, THE DEVELOPERS GET THE SAME $15 A MONTH WETHER YOU PLAY 10 HOURS A WEEK OR 20 HOURS A DAY.  In fact, it is pretty safe to say that they DONT want people playing that much, it costs them MORE MONEY (bandwidth, more servers, more staff, ect) if everyone played like maniacs. 

"i'm starting to wonder if your not addicted to it yourself,"

LOL

I don't even play any MMO's at the moment. And when I have, I played only reasonable amounts of time (10-15 a WEEK). And after I have seen and done everything there is to do in a MMO, I simply UNINSTALL the game. No withdrawls, no symptoms, no depression. Nadda, nothing! Thats because I am a mentally healthly individual, and something like a silly game cannot "addict me".

eitremn

you cannot see everything that there is to see in this game without spending crazy amounts of time playing it.  as i mentioned, if you don't keep up with your guild you get left behind, thus making people feel the need to play more and more.  these games, wether you like to admit it or not, are designed to keep people playing and paying.  and yes they get the same $15/month regardless of how much a player plays, but the devs know that the less someone plays the less likely they are to keep the subscription going.  so if they put specific things in there to waste time (i.e. the super long gryphon flights, or the long wait times for groups, or needing 25+ skilled players for raids.) then they know they can keep people playing.  i mean, if they didn't want people to play for long amounts of time then why not just have teleporters in every city to get anywhere you need to go in an instant?  sure mages can port you, but good luck finding one that will take 5 seconds of his time to do it.

Actually, I WAS able to see everything. And regarding the guild thing...JOIN A DIFFERENT GUILD! ?I was in a nice organized guild that was large, but also did not have stringent requirements. It was a bunch of older guys and it was great. No pressure, but we still made great progress in the game. And "super long griffin flights'??? C'mon man lol. they are not that long, I think the longets one is 5 mins or so, and you can get up and grab a drink or something while you wait. And just becuase something is designed to keep you involved in the game, doesn't mean its designed to be ADDICTING.

"sure mages can port you"

LoL

You just killed your whole argument. The developers DID implement fast travel, wether or not you could get a person to help is null and void.

And "super long griffin flights'??? C'mon man lol. they are not that long, I think the longets one is 5 mins or so

dnuggs40

          Very good article with some incite on the problem at hand http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Clearinghouse/AdvisingIssues/Gamer-Addiction.htm

...  I also find it startling that people are stereotyping millions of people as losers for being addicted to gaming..  Now comparing it to drugs is a stretch due to the chemical addictions it can cause.. But it does not make it less important issue.  Because unlike drugs a vast majority of people in the US play some form of video game in this dang age.  The fact still remains that "game addiction" has caused alot of negative impact on people that many credible institutions believe it has way more to do then people being "losers".

  Now we could compare them possibly to excercise abuse, or eating disorders, which last time I checked are serious..  Though they are different they still have the same mental obsession to them.

I* played WOW for about a year but the problem i had was the same old grind..Having a good guild helped the social aspects of the game...And made it fun to go on raids with friends but I couldn't put in more than a few hours a week....Maybe it's becuse i get bored easily..:roll:

Then there was travel time....

[QUOTE="dnuggs40"]

And "super long griffin flights'??? C'mon man lol. they are not that long, I think the longets one is 5 mins or so

hecklemonkey

          Very good article with some incite on the problem at hand http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Clearinghouse/AdvisingIssues/Gamer-Addiction.htm

...  I also find it startling that people are stereotyping millions of people as losers for being addicted to gaming..  Now comparing it to drugs is a stretch due to the chemical addictions it can cause.. But it does not make it less important issue.  Because unlike drugs a vast majority of people in the US play some form of video game in this dang age.  The fact still remains that "game addiction" has caused alot of negative impact on people that many credible institutions believe it has way more to do then people being "losers".

  Now we could compare them possibly to excercise abuse, or eating disorders, which last time I checked are serious..  Though they are different they still have the same mental obsession to them.

sSubZerOo

You are missing the point though...

In an eating disorder, are we considering the food to be addicting? Is the barbell set addictive becuase exercise freaks abuse them? NO! It's the PERSON, not the thing. That is my whole point. MMO's are not addictive, it's the losers who abuse them that are the problem.

Also, it's not "millions" of people who are addicted.  There are millions who play, that doesn't mean all of the are obsessed.  I would suggest the vast majority do not play as been described in this thread. 

[QUOTE="sSubZerOo"]

          Very good article with some incite on the problem at hand http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Clearinghouse/AdvisingIssues/Gamer-Addiction.htm

...  I also find it startling that people are stereotyping millions of people as losers for being addicted to gaming..  Now comparing it to drugs is a stretch due to the chemical addictions it can cause.. But it does not make it less important issue.  Because unlike drugs a vast majority of people in the US play some form of video game in this dang age.  The fact still remains that "game addiction" has caused alot of negative impact on people that many credible institutions believe it has way more to do then people being "losers".

  Now we could compare them possibly to excercise abuse, or eating disorders, which last time I checked are serious..  Though they are different they still have the same mental obsession to them.

dnuggs40

You are missing the point though...

In an eating disorder, are we considering the food to be addicting? Is the barbell set addictive becuase exercise freaks abuse them? NO! It's the PERSON, not the thing. That is my whole point. MMO's are not addictive, it's the losers who abuse them that are the problem.

   Hey keep saying it man because in the end the organizations believe game addiction to be a major problem, and in the end those places have far more crediability then you wiill ever have in this field.  Organizations >>> You.  And the fact of the matter is your stereotyping and pretty much poisoning the well on the issue which are both logical fallacies which are tossed out in any argument.. I would think you would know better then this Dnugga.

   And the eating disorders pertain to people who observed them selves over wieght.  Now should we put all the blame on the person and not partially in the enviroment they are in?  Where Skinny models are on every commercial where peer pressure is at a influx, should we consider people with this abuse as losers as well to being so malleable to their enviroments? 

    Now the reason why gaming comes into this mix is because its a avenue tha ta person can basically disconnect them selves off.. and make no mistake MMO's are deisgned on certain levels to be addictive.. IDK how the hell you guys think its solely fun, no many consider it as work to reach something they are craving.. Why the hell do you think there is grinding in these games? If there were instant gratfication people would not be on nearly as much as they are on now..  Business speaking it would pretty dumb not ot make these games addictive, sense most of their income comes from MONTHLY fees. 

  Now regardless what you believe, there have been plenty of stories of people becoming addicted to games such as WoW..   The fact still remains there are plenty of stories out there that people who had no obsession with gaming became addicted to WoW after this.. 

   Hell my friend for instance unistalled all the games from his PC..   He is by no means a loser, he goes to parties, has a GF, has a well paying job, goes to school, and excercises daily I believe.  The reason why he did this was because he became too driven into these games while laxing on responsbilies.. Now if he were a "loser" as it were, he would sitll have these problems if he were not playing, but he does not..   The point of the matter your stereotyping a far widdening issue that has yet to have th eresearch we need on it... 

   Now the point still stands I am not saying its any where compared to drugs, but it is still a abuse that needs to be looked into.   Now to blame this all on the game is dumb, just like blaiming this all on the person..  There is a fine balance between teh two.. Now do I think game companies should be changed? No, its a business just like numerous others, but it sitll is a problem that should be looked at.

[QUOTE="dnuggs40"][QUOTE="sSubZerOo"]

          Very good article with some incite on the problem at hand http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Clearinghouse/AdvisingIssues/Gamer-Addiction.htm

...  I also find it startling that people are stereotyping millions of people as losers for being addicted to gaming..  Now comparing it to drugs is a stretch due to the chemical addictions it can cause.. But it does not make it less important issue.  Because unlike drugs a vast majority of people in the US play some form of video game in this dang age.  The fact still remains that "game addiction" has caused alot of negative impact on people that many credible institutions believe it has way more to do then people being "losers".

  Now we could compare them possibly to excercise abuse, or eating disorders, which last time I checked are serious..  Though they are different they still have the same mental obsession to them.

sSubZerOo

You are missing the point though...

In an eating disorder, are we considering the food to be addicting? Is the barbell set addictive becuase exercise freaks abuse them? NO! It's the PERSON, not the thing. That is my whole point. MMO's are not addictive, it's the losers who abuse them that are the problem.

   Hey keep saying it man because in the end the organizations believe game addiction to be a major problem, and in the end those places have far more crediability then you wiill ever have in this field.  Organizations >>> You.  And the fact of the matter is your stereotyping and pretty much poisoning the well on the issue which are both logical fallacies which are tossed out in any argument.. I would think you would know better then this Dnugga.

   And the eating disorders pertain to people who observed them selves over wieght.  Now should we put all the blame on the person and not partially in the enviroment they are in?  Where Skinny models are on every commercial where peer pressure is at a influx, should we consider people with this abuse as losers as well to being so malleable to their enviroments? 

    Now the reason why gaming comes into this mix is because its a avenue tha ta person can basically disconnect them selves off.. and make no mistake MMO's are deisgned on certain levels to be addictive.. IDK how the hell you guys think its solely fun, no many consider it as work to reach something they are craving.. Why the hell do you think there is grinding in these games? If there were instant gratfication people would not be on nearly as much as they are on now..  Business speaking it would pretty dumb not ot make these games addictive, sense most of their income comes from MONTHLY fees. 

  Now regardless what you believe, there have been plenty of stories of people becoming addicted to games such as WoW..   The fact still remains there are plenty of stories out there that people who had no obsession with gaming became addicted to WoW after this.. 

   Hell my friend for instance unistalled all the games from his PC..   He is by no means a loser, he goes to parties, has a GF, has a well paying job, goes to school, and excercises daily I believe.  The reason why he did this was because he became too driven into these games while laxing on responsbilies.. Now if he were a "loser" as it were, he would sitll have these problems if he were not playing, but he does not..   The point of the matter your stereotyping a far widdening issue that has yet to have th eresearch we need on it... 

[QUOTE="sSubZerOo"][QUOTE="dnuggs40"][QUOTE="sSubZerOo"]

          Very good article with some incite on the problem at hand http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Clearinghouse/AdvisingIssues/Gamer-Addiction.htm

...  I also find it startling that people are stereotyping millions of people as losers for being addicted to gaming..  Now comparing it to drugs is a stretch due to the chemical addictions it can cause.. But it does not make it less important issue.  Because unlike drugs a vast majority of people in the US play some form of video game in this dang age.  The fact still remains that "game addiction" has caused alot of negative impact on people that many credible institutions believe it has way more to do then people being "losers".

  Now we could compare them possibly to excercise abuse, or eating disorders, which last time I checked are serious..  Though they are different they still have the same mental obsession to them.

dnuggs40

You are missing the point though...

In an eating disorder, are we considering the food to be addicting? Is the barbell set addictive becuase exercise freaks abuse them? NO! It's the PERSON, not the thing. That is my whole point. MMO's are not addictive, it's the losers who abuse them that are the problem.

   Hey keep saying it man because in the end the organizations believe game addiction to be a major problem, and in the end those places have far more crediability then you wiill ever have in this field.  Organizations >>> You.  And the fact of the matter is your stereotyping and pretty much poisoning the well on the issue which are both logical fallacies which are tossed out in any argument.. I would think you would know better then this Dnugga.

   And the eating disorders pertain to people who observed them selves over wieght.  Now should we put all the blame on the person and not partially in the enviroment they are in?  Where Skinny models are on every commercial where peer pressure is at a influx, should we consider people with this abuse as losers as well to being so malleable to their enviroments? 

    Now the reason why gaming comes into this mix is because its a avenue tha ta person can basically disconnect them selves off.. and make no mistake MMO's are deisgned on certain levels to be addictive.. IDK how the hell you guys think its solely fun, no many consider it as work to reach something they are craving.. Why the hell do you think there is grinding in these games? If there were instant gratfication people would not be on nearly as much as they are on now..  Business speaking it would pretty dumb not ot make these games addictive, sense most of their income comes from MONTHLY fees. 

  Now regardless what you believe, there have been plenty of stories of people becoming addicted to games such as WoW..   The fact still remains there are plenty of stories out there that people who had no obsession with gaming became addicted to WoW after this.. 

   Hell my friend for instance unistalled all the games from his PC..   He is by no means a loser, he goes to parties, has a GF, has a well paying job, goes to school, and excercises daily I believe.  The reason why he did this was because he became too driven into these games while laxing on responsbilies.. Now if he were a "loser" as it were, he would sitll have these problems if he were not playing, but he does not..   The point of the matter your stereotyping a far widdening issue that has yet to have th eresearch we need on it... 

   ...   I never said it was black and white nor did I say it was all the games fault..  I do not think these should change because of the abuse of others of a activity.. But the fact still remains buddy there are certain attributes to a game that can have addictive qualities to it for a person who is already having personality or mental problems.  I also find it funny that you say its not a black and white issue when you are specifically making it that way by stereotyping every one as "losers".

    I never said it was like a drug abuse or any other term.. But the fact still remains the organizations are STILL using it as a legit problem to focus on..

   Honestly no offense Dnugga but if you want to be taken seriouslly, you have to be less insulting from what you have been in the last couple of quotes.. Why does the issue bother you this much? 

"Why does the issue bother you this much? "

Because the "losers" are giving ammo to all the politicians and other people who would love nothing more then to bring this kind of media down thats why. I don't want my hobby destroyed by a bunch of losers who can't control themselves thats why. I am sick and tired of things being the target of these attacks, and not the people themselves. It's all a bunch of baloney, anything and everything that gives a person pleasure in one way another can be abused by people. For god sakes there are MEAT ADDICTS out there, are we supposed to attack the meat industry now?

I dont really care if you are offended that I call these people losers, sorry, buts thats the way I see them. They have so SELF CONTROL, they abuse a good thing, and then when they find out what a catastrophey their miserable lives have become, they turn the finger at the stupid game. Go cry me a river lol, I know what the reall issue is here, and it ain't 8gb of pixels sitting on a hard drive!

"Why does the issue bother you this much? " Because the "losers" are giving ammo to all the politions and other people who would love nothing more then to bring this kind of media down thats why. I don't want my hobby destroyed by a bunch of losers who can't control themselves thats why. I am sick and tired of things being the target of these attacks, and not the people themselves. It's all a bunch of baloney, anything and everything that gives a person pleasure in one way another can be abused by people. For god sakes there are MEAT ADDICTS out there, are we supposed to attack the meat industry now? I dont really care if you are offended that I call these people losers, sorry, buts thats the way I see them. They have so SELF CONTROL, they abuse a good thing, and then when they find out what a catastrophey their miserable lives have become, they turn the finger at the stupid game. Go cry me a river lol, I know what the reall issue is here, and it ain't 8gb of pixels sitting on a hard drive!dnuggs40

   With all due respect but how in your right mind do you think politicians are gonna effect the industry?  If they allow things such as the Tobbacco industry which kill untold amounts of people.  How do you think they are gonna stunt freedom of speech as it were.. Infact the best thing they can do is actually enforce the age limits of each game.. And the only person who I see is crying a river here is you on your unfounded fears...

   The only person who has even remotely tried what have you suggested, Mr. Thompson, his case got thrown out of court for being unconstitutional...

[QUOTE="dnuggs40"]"Why does the issue bother you this much? " Because the "losers" are giving ammo to all the politions and other people who would love nothing more then to bring this kind of media down thats why. I don't want my hobby destroyed by a bunch of losers who can't control themselves thats why. I am sick and tired of things being the target of these attacks, and not the people themselves. It's all a bunch of baloney, anything and everything that gives a person pleasure in one way another can be abused by people. For god sakes there are MEAT ADDICTS out there, are we supposed to attack the meat industry now? I dont really care if you are offended that I call these people losers, sorry, buts thats the way I see them. They have so SELF CONTROL, they abuse a good thing, and then when they find out what a catastrophey their miserable lives have become, they turn the finger at the stupid game. Go cry me a river lol, I know what the reall issue is here, and it ain't 8gb of pixels sitting on a hard drive!sSubZerOo

   With all due respect but how in your right mind do you think politicians are gonna effect the industry?  If they allow things such as the Tobbacco industry which kill untold amounts of people.  How do you think they are gonna stunt freedom of speech as it were.. Infact the best thing they can do is actually enforce the age limits of each game.. And the only person who I see is crying a river here is you on your unfounded fears...

   The only person who has even remotely tried what have you suggested, Mr. Thompson, his case got thrown out of court for being unconstitutional...

It is possible dude, especially since there is alot of "family groups" involved. You do realize that countries (even democratic ones) if there is a large enough outcry, they ban games. I just read a nice article in pc gamer, quite a few countries had banned games. It wouldn't be the first time that something gets banned. Again, you have zero idea what you are talking about... "

"With all due respect but how in your right mind do you think politicians are gonna effect the industry?"

Are you out of your mind? Do you even understand our goverment and how it works? You don't think politicians can put pressure on certain industries if enough people put pressure on them to do so? LOL

Little hint for bud, it's happened MANY times, in many different mediums...

I think you shouldn't worry about other people's addiction to WoW or any video game for that matter, it doesn't affect you or your life. Politicians won't ban video games and shouldn't, gaming addiction is the players fault as an individual that he should be responsible for sorting out. Video games have been around for a very long time now and have they been banned yet? No, so what makes you think they'll start being banned if addiction to gaming has been around for over 20 years.cyborg100000

Indeed no one escapes Blizzard.jpazhman

 I escaped, and I am feeling no regrets. 

This is getting way off course anyways, my only point is that MMO's are not addicting, it's the people who abuse them that have personal problems.dnuggs40

well if you say that it's the peoples fault for abusing the stuff, then you could say the same thing about heroine.  it was developed to be a painkiller, so it's again the person that abuses the stuff's fault.  like i said before, different people get addicted to different things.  you are failing to realize that.  it has been said not only by me buy by other people that these games are specifically designed to be addictive.  it would be dumb for the companies not to design them that way.  and as far as seeing all the content in the game, end game raids take hours and hours to complete, don't even try to say that they don't.  and as far as your guild go's, such a guild doesn't exist on every server, and even if it did, every person on the server couldn't be in the same guild.  you just don't want to admit that your wrong is all.  and as far as fast travel go's, that's a joke.  mages can merely teleport you to a major city, so at best they cut down the stupidly long travel time in this game.  my point about that was that there is no need for travel time to take so freaking long.  why couldn't they have done something like they did in oblivion where if you've visited a place before you simply click on it on the map to travel there, because they want it to take a long time, that's why.

[QUOTE="sSubZerOo"]

[QUOTE="dnuggs40"]"Why does the issue bother you this much? " Because the "losers" are giving ammo to all the politions and other people who would love nothing more then to bring this kind of media down thats why. I don't want my hobby destroyed by a bunch of losers who can't control themselves thats why. I am sick and tired of things being the target of these attacks, and not the people themselves. It's all a bunch of baloney, anything and everything that gives a person pleasure in one way another can be abused by people. For god sakes there are MEAT ADDICTS out there, are we supposed to attack the meat industry now? I dont really care if you are offended that I call these people losers, sorry, buts thats the way I see them. They have so SELF CONTROL, they abuse a good thing, and then when they find out what a catastrophey their miserable lives have become, they turn the finger at the stupid game. Go cry me a river lol, I know what the reall issue is here, and it ain't 8gb of pixels sitting on a hard drive!dnuggs40

   With all due respect but how in your right mind do you think politicians are gonna effect the industry?  If they allow things such as the Tobbacco industry which kill untold amounts of people.  How do you think they are gonna stunt freedom of speech as it were.. Infact the best thing they can do is actually enforce the age limits of each game.. And the only person who I see is crying a river here is you on your unfounded fears...

   The only person who has even remotely tried what have you suggested, Mr. Thompson, his case got thrown out of court for being unconstitutional...

It is possible dude, especially since there is alot of "family groups" involved. You do realize that countries (even democratic ones) if there is a large enough outcry, they ban games. I just read a nice article in pc gamer, quite a few countries had banned games. It wouldn't be the first time that something gets banned. Again, you have zero idea what you are talking about... "

"With all due respect but how in your right mind do you think politicians are gonna effect the industry?"

Are you out of your mind? Do you even understand our goverment and how it works? You don't think politicians can put pressure on certain industries if enough people put pressure on them to do so? LOL

Little hint for bud, it's happened MANY times, in many different mediums...

   Clearly the Germany and Australia represent the US so much.. Oh thats right they do not WHAT so ever..   We have yet to ban a single game nor even question a ban..  The only guy who is even trying to get games banned is Thompson, oh and thats right his case WAS THROWN out of court for being unconstitutional..  

  So yes I find your entire point of view irrelevent.. BECAUSE Nothing has happened to this day, we have allowed every game out there to be released.  Infact the closest thing we had was actually fix the ESRB ratting systems and have retailers enforce it.

   So intill we see anything even surmounting as a legitmate issue then your points are based on complete paranoia.  Here people can say what ever the hell they want, Germany.. Not so much..  How in the hell do we consider this similar in any respects when language is already filtered there?  

   So as I said before, as of right now the Court regardless of how many "family groups" are complaining it is still against the Constitution.. Honestly if we had your logic right now I think I would be worried about the country becoming a Theocracy if anything.  So yes with the amount of emotion in your past posts I can easilly surmise that your having a temper tantrum about a issue that is rather non existent.

     Also any form of addiction for a MMO does not give the government any way to go after it, as you said there ar e plenty of legal thigns out there such as Alochol which can be abused and is.  Violence caused by games is another bs myth, infact violence is down in the US among youth sense the past 10 years.

[QUOTE="dnuggs40"][QUOTE="sSubZerOo"]

[QUOTE="dnuggs40"]"Why does the issue bother you this much? " Because the "losers" are giving ammo to all the politions and other people who would love nothing more then to bring this kind of media down thats why. I don't want my hobby destroyed by a bunch of losers who can't control themselves thats why. I am sick and tired of things being the target of these attacks, and not the people themselves. It's all a bunch of baloney, anything and everything that gives a person pleasure in one way another can be abused by people. For god sakes there are MEAT ADDICTS out there, are we supposed to attack the meat industry now? I dont really care if you are offended that I call these people losers, sorry, buts thats the way I see them. They have so SELF CONTROL, they abuse a good thing, and then when they find out what a catastrophey their miserable lives have become, they turn the finger at the stupid game. Go cry me a river lol, I know what the reall issue is here, and it ain't 8gb of pixels sitting on a hard drive!sSubZerOo

   With all due respect but how in your right mind do you think politicians are gonna effect the industry?  If they allow things such as the Tobbacco industry which kill untold amounts of people.  How do you think they are gonna stunt freedom of speech as it were.. Infact the best thing they can do is actually enforce the age limits of each game.. And the only person who I see is crying a river here is you on your unfounded fears...

   The only person who has even remotely tried what have you suggested, Mr. Thompson, his case got thrown out of court for being unconstitutional...

It is possible dude, especially since there is alot of "family groups" involved. You do realize that countries (even democratic ones) if there is a large enough outcry, they ban games. I just read a nice article in pc gamer, quite a few countries had banned games. It wouldn't be the first time that something gets banned. Again, you have zero idea what you are talking about... "

"With all due respect but how in your right mind do you think politicians are gonna effect the industry?"

Are you out of your mind? Do you even understand our goverment and how it works? You don't think politicians can put pressure on certain industries if enough people put pressure on them to do so? LOL

Little hint for bud, it's happened MANY times, in many different mediums...

   Clearly the Germany and Australia represent the US so much.. Oh thats right they do not WHAT so ever..   We have yet to ban a single game nor even question a ban..  The only guy who is even trying to get games banned is Thompson, oh and thats right his case WAS THROWN out of court for being unconstitutional..  

  So yes I find your entire point of view irrelevent.. BECAUSE Nothing has happened to this day, we have allowed every game out there to be released.  Infact the closest thing we had was actually fix the ESRB ratting systems and have retailers enforce it.

   So intill we see anything even surmounting as a legitmate issue then your points are based on complete paranoia.  Here people can say what ever the hell they want, Germany.. Not so much..  How in the hell do we consider this similar in any respects when language is already filtered there?  

   So as I said before, as of right now the Court regardless of how many "family groups" are complaining it is still against the Constitution.. Honestly if we had your logic right now I think I would be worried about the country becoming a Theocracy if anything.  So yes with the amount of emotion in your past posts I can easilly surmise that your having a temper tantrum about a issue that is rather non existent.

     Also any form of addiction for a MMO does not give the government any way to go after it, as you said there ar e plenty of legal thigns out there such as Alochol which can be abused and is.  Violence caused by games is another bs myth, infact violence is down in the US among youth sense the past 10 years.