Do you Play more WoW than you Live Life?

[Vaelorian]

Absolutely not, it's a GAME and it has it's place.

Something a lot of people on here have yet to figure out..

While I would agree to that in the way that people should not spend all their time into one thing... You call it "a game".

I would call it a "hobby". WoW can also be a "lifestyle". Yeah I would even go as far as calling it that.

When I started this game (then it was still a game to me), I quickly became obsessed over it. Then joined a raiding guild. If you are an active member of a raiding guild, it turns into a hobby really. Much like being on a football team or any other hobby where others depend on you being there.

As I was a very very active GM of a raiding guild, it became far more then a hobby. I set aside everything for my guild. I had a huge responsibility, which together ofcourse with proper players lead me to making one of the better guilds on the server. I worked harder at my guild then I worked at my job. So then it became a lifestyle basically. Because everything revolved around it.

Meanwhile I can also say that I was def. obsessed. I had a lot of personal issues that I tried to hide from ingame or tried to solve via the game. Took me 7 years (and 450 days played on ONE character) to realise that this wasn't healthy either. So I quit being a GM or raider. I recently quit totally but have been decently active for a few hours a week these last few years.

[Wildtree]

This is a problem, not limited to WOW. This is a problem of priorities, and the lack of a strong character.

In the past, people let their children die over online activities, be it games or chatting in chat rooms.
Neglect of life happens on a daily basis, and sadly enough it often affects the health and life of other people, other than the person that neglects everything.

There are no ifs and buts. If you let anything like this dominate your life, then you need to start to react and change it.
Most often there's something else that actually causes this destructive obsession. Something else is the root of it. One needs to tackle that root, and change it.
People in bad relationships... Go and do something about it.
People can't find a job, and try to escape the frustration..... Go and do something about it. Educate yourself further instead of wasting time with something that doesn't get you anywhere.

It's not that much different from any addiction to drugs... While you enjoy the drug, be it whatever substance or activity, you are within a dome of protection. But the more often and longer you remain within that dome, the more the World around you and outside that dome changes to the worse.
When you lose the ability to control your priorities, then you've gone too far.

That's how I see it.

[Vaelorian]

Game addiction doesn't really exist.

Well if gaming addiction doesn't exist... then gambling addiction doesn't exist either....
aaaah... see what I just did there?

[melodramocracy]

Sometimes I'll play 20-30 hours per week, other times I'll play less than an hour or 2 per month. So I'm not exactly sure how to answer this.

[GKLeatherCraft]

How can you play WoW when you're not "living"? You know that's actually impossible, Right?

If ofcourse you mean metaphorically or whatever, Then it's still bullshit, to many, "living life" is about doing what you want, having fun etc, SO you'd still be doing it.

To argue also, A lot of people that do extreme sports and bungee jumps/other things that you don't commonly do, often say you're not truly living untill you've something like that.

Sorry if I missed the point here, but I just don't get the thread

[Reyzzz]

Well if gaming addiction doesn't exist... then gambling addiction doesn't exist either....
aaaah... see what I just did there?

Yeah it doesn't, lack of self control does exist, however.

[Wildtree]

Yeah it doesn't, lack of self control does exist, however.

Foolish statement..... With that logic addiction wouldn't exist at all, no matter which. They are all but a lack of self control.
And yet, addiction is an acknowledged medical condition, even gambling addiction is.

[Vaelorian]

Foolish statement..... With that logic addiction wouldn't exist at all, no matter which. They are all but a lack of self control.
And yet, addiction is an acknowledged medical condition, even gambling addiction is.

exactly... but I guess everyone that cries about gaming addiction/gambling addiction not existing, only finds the word addiction to match to something the body "needs/craves/depends on" to continue fuctioning. Like air...

Jokes aside... drug addictions are serious business. Perhaps more serious then game/gambling addictions. But these are addictions nonetheless.

[Milkyz]

As long as you can pay your bills, you're free to do whatever you want with your free time.

For some people, having a drink in bar with a couple of friends is living.
For others, raiding a boss with a couple of friends is living.

Don't feel bad if you chose the second one. As long as it is your own decision, it doesn't matter what other people think. Again, as long as you can pay your bills. If after a while you think it's not worth anymore, you don't need to neglect all you've done in game. They are experiences nonetheless.

For example, considering you're paying your bills, if instead of WoW, you spent all your time playing Tennis. It doesn't make you better in any way. If you chose to spend all your time going out for drinks, it doesn't matter. If you chose to quit WoW, move to the middle of a forest and live as a hermit, that is living anyway. Live your life the way you want and stop asking society to agree with it.

[Caelia]

Nope, I used to in Vanilla and TBC but since WoTLK i've been quite casual.

[Deleted]

Just a question,
If I play wow with friends, does that count as living life or does it count as playing wow?

Not that it would matter on my poll result which is no tbh.

[Unlimited Power]

I have played quite a bit of WoW back in the days and occasionally still do, but after dreaming of playing my character when I went to sleep, I cut down drastically.

[The Usual Suspect]

What do you mean "live life" ?! Are you too one of those fools who think you're not living a life unless you're a secret agent/mercenary/bungee jumper/surfer/clubber/space pirate/president/super model/super hero/etc ?!

God, where do these people come from ?! Living a life is about doing what YOU want, not about doing what OTHERS want you to do or think you should do! Only a slave has no life. You DO NOT have more "life" just because you have a family and what not, no matter how much you like to think you do.

[Reyzzz]

Jokes aside... drug addictions are serious business. Perhaps more serious then game/gambling addictions. But these are addictions nonetheless.

Physical addiction is real, mental addiction isn't.

[Deleted]

Well if gaming addiction doesn't exist... then gambling addiction doesn't exist either....
aaaah... see what I just did there?

Your point is rather moot. The problem with things such as "game addiction" (Game compulsion is a better description of it) is because all of the people that tend to research it have don't know what it actually entails and thus tend to focus on rather negligible elements such as the skinner boxing MMOs tend to use.
Then they have this ill-conceived notion that game compulsion is similar as gambling addiction, which is not the case.

What kept me playing for hours on end in TBC? Social contacts, social pressure and expectations that I placed onto myself to aid my particular ragtag band of raiders to victory. It's also because the game gives you a clear sense of purpose and has goals for you to achieve.
Unlike gambling, most games tend to have a inherent social element to them, which is what keeps you playing because you'd otherwise lose those social bonds you have made over the time you played.
Seriously, what WoW player actually craves to play the game or depends on it?

[Itisamuh]

Hah no, but in the early days of my playing I came pretty close. That was more to do with a girl I was playing with than the game itself, though.

[TEHPALLYTANK]

Not anymore. I haven't logged in since Wednesday night, pretty common for me lately to spend nearly no time online outside of raiding now. Now if the question were gaming rather than just playing WoW my answer would be yes. I'm spending about the same time as one would on a full time job gaming each week, minimum 3 hours each day every day while some days it is over 10 hours.

[Deleted]

I am living...

Playing the best game ever made.

I don't need somebody to tell me how to live my life, I live it the way I want and I have a heck of a good time doing so.

[Deleted]

Same thing, isn't it?

[Natiry427]

I just resubbed recently and have been playing around 5-10 hours a week or so. Definitely not the 40 hours a week I used to put in during Vanilla-early Cata days. Those days are long gone.