Friend addicted to World of Warcraft - My fault or not?

[Deleted]

So I have different groups of friends that I hang out with. I get along with each one for different reasons and have seperate things in common with each.
One of the groups of friends I have are kinda mischievous and pretty wild. Now I figured hey, maybe these guys could benefit from some nerdy activity so I introduced them to WoW like my more nerdy friends did to me.

They all played and got really into it for a long time but eventually all pretty much quit. However, 1 of them is now severely addicted to WoW. I haven't talked to him in a while but the others are saying that all he does is play WoW 10 hours a day and is getting really fat, maybe even obese. He's a wreck and has just given up.

To my defense he was the only one in the group that was a nerd even from before. He used to spend countless countless hours playing another f2p FPS game that sucked. He was even one of the best ranked players in the world. His focus just shifted from this game to WoW. I know that everyone goes through an addiction phase with WoW before getting over it but I can't help but feel a little guilty/responsible for his addiction.

Is it my fault?

[Jakexe]

No, there'd be more issues in his life.

It's like blaming Jack Daniels for someone becoming an alcoholic. When it comes to addiction there's so many under laying issues. I was hooked on wow coz my mate gave me a 10 day pass and it was in no way his fault for me getting hooked.

If it's becoming incredibly serious maybe have a sit down and explain that his addiction is affecting the people around him, might sound extreme but i've had mates who have pretty much quit life for mmo's and just explaining to them their actions are hurting people can get through to them.

[starlord]

well it sounds like thats his problem imo.

wow does not cause addiction... the problems that cause it were already present beforehand, like lack of self control, low self esteem, depression etc.

[Deleted]

is he good at wow at least? then everything's okay.

[Lilcheeks]

Whatever you do, don't introduce him to "hard drugs" lol


No its not your fault.

[nixcookies]

Yes it is entirely your fault you destroyed that kids life, you're a monster!!!

[Deleted]

What the hell is there to do on WoW for 10 hours a day?

[Grissym]

trolling is bad mkay

No it's not mkay.

[dd614]

It's not your fault, but that doesn't mean you should avoid trying to help him. WoW is extremely addictive and it is designed to exploit and enslave people like your friend. The Blizzard designers know exactly what theyre doing. Anyone who tells you WoW isn't addictive or belittles MMO addiction is likely an addict themselves who are in denial about their own addiction. My advice is to consider an intervention of some sorts with his family if he is really bad. If he's not terrible, try showing him other games that aren't never-ending or other hobbies. One reason WoW is so destructive to some people is that they need to plan their day around the game(ie: raid times, arena/bgs with others, etc). Try some games where he can do what he wants when he feels like it and isn't stuck to a schedule.

WoW doesn't make someone an addict, but it definitely is purposely designed to exploit those who unfortunately have addictive personalities.

[Grissym]

Addictive personality. He just has to be addicted to something, you didn't really do anything.

[starlord]

It's not your fault, but that doesn't mean you should avoid trying to help him. WoW is extremely addictive and it is designed to exploit and enslave people like your friend. The Blizzard designers know exactly what theyre doing. Anyone who tells you WoW isn't addictive or belittles MMO addiction is likely an addict themselves who are in denial about their own addiction. My advice is to consider an intervention of some sorts with his family if he is really bad. If he's not terrible, try showing him other games that aren't never-ending or other hobbies. One reason WoW is so destructive to some people is that they need to plan their day around the game(ie: raid times, arena/bgs with others, etc). Try some games where he can do what he wants when he feels like it and isn't stuck to a schedule.

WoW doesn't make someone an addict, but it definitely is purposely designed to exploit those who unfortunately have addictive personalities.

well by that logic, everything is addictive, and everyone's in denial. there are people addicted to eating chalk. is chalk therefore an addictive substance?

[Deleted]

10 hours is nothing, when there is a day with nothing to do it's actually strange if you play less than like 14-16h.

[Deleted]

People are addicted to WoW just like being fat is a disease nowadays.

Oh I'm so sick omnomnom, so sick, nomnom, pass me that pound of cheese, nomnom, I'm a victim!

Get some fucking grip and control yourself. If a guy can't control how much he's playing a game it's his fault only that he is weak.

[Doctur Hewves]

Pretty sure thats a felony. You cant be blamed for someone else's lack of self-control. Unless you raised that person that is.

[Borfl]

Um, no it's not your fault, it's his life and his responsibility.

[Niku]

You can't blame yourself for this. It's on him. It's probobly due to low self esteem or maybe lack of motivation to take on the real world and his real life. You could try to help him, but if he says he doesn't want your help then leave it at that, otherwise it would make you a big jerk if you tried despite that.

[Nazrark]

He has an addictive personality. Which most likely is the reason he goes balls deep into any game he plays. My brother is the same way, with a shorter attention span.

[Deleted]

Man up. Your friend is responsible for his own life.

[Saft]

Definately not your fault. You can't possibly know how other people react to certain things.

[dd614]

well by that logic, everything is addictive, and everyone's in denial. there are people addicted to eating chalk. is chalk therefore an addictive substance?

See, this is the example of a WoW addict trying to belittle your friend's addiction to WoW. Try to help your friend as much as you can if you care about him. Obviously you can only go so far, but you're doing the right thing if you try to help.

Unfortunately on this site you'll find a great deal of addicted people who won't understand. You might want to check some MMO addiction websites that are out there.