"WoW Addicts"

[AdamsGaming]

Kpoof, My impression of the OP is he's feeling insecure if he has an addiction or not. He may not even be aware that he is insecure but it is what caused him to post a topic on addiction. Perhaps someone called him an addict or insinuated something in the lines of that to him? Im assuming that he actually is an addict since he is going to these lengths and efforts to contemplate it, it must have struck a nerve.

He is in a state of denial and tries to gain support for his thought that "its impossible to be addicted to a video game thus I can not be addicted to the video game", he is looking to spend more time playing and also for any reason imaginable to continue doing this and defend this bad habit. Arguments that put hardcore gaming in a bad light is brushed off and totally ignored.

OP, You need to remember that there has never been and never will be anything in wow that is any more important then watching a commercial on tv or playing a game of solitaire. Its a game and virtually nobody outside of the virtual world care about it. With this in mind, have you ever sacrificed anything to play a game? Did you ever turn someone down, let someone down (yourself included) in order to waste time on a game instead? Was it worth it? Do you say that because you actually believe that or is it because you have lost control? Have you ever played and felt bad about it at the same time because you knew you should be doing something else at that time?

Getting rid of addictions doenst take willpower, just smarts. Realize you would be better off with no addiction or at least a healthy addiction, then really educate yourself on the bad sides and negative consequences of the addiction. The next time you give in to the addiction you will feel bad since you know you did something stupid and will now suffer all the negative consequences you learned about. Then you will regret it, you gave in to the addiction and you felt bad and didnt like it - pretty soon you will stop wanting it and wouldnt bother with it even if you were paid to do so.
Its not about strength, just wits. Its no coincidence addicts seem to shut their brains off, its what got them addicted in the first place and the one reason they still are.

I dont intend to sound like a therapeut, Im just a fellow gamer that likes to help.

You are completely wrong with your assumptions. My reasoning behind creating this thread was to basically state that being a gamer and being addicted to video games are two different things and a whole pool of people in this world can't accept that and are confused. So, when they hear the phrase "WoW Addict" on the news or read it in an article, they stick with it and instead of calling that friend that is a WoW player a Gamer just like he is playing Halo or some other game with high regards, they call that friend a WoW Addict simply because they heard that term elsewhere.

[spikeh]

Interesting, however the statement "woW addiction does not exist" is false. Whilst I do agree that there is a lot of negative connotation associated with WoW, you find that it is the medias' general attitude towards gaming; just look at things like CS->Gun violence or GTA. WoW, being a MMO, do have a greater potential at causing addictions and the media may just be picking it up on that.

[jonfauscett]

One of the biggest problems that I have seen is the media blowing WoW WAY out of proportion when compared to other games. I will admit that video game addiction is a possibility, however most of the people who play WoW are not addicted to the game, but to the other people who play it. In an online community like that, the game becomes more than you typical "here is the bad guy, kill him" situation like you had before the invention of the MMO, however, most people do not see the socialization and only see, as you stated, someone talking on a headset to themselves and sitting in front of a keyboard.

The point is, that in an MMO community (much like on a social networking site, which are also under constant attack) you build friendships with the other people that you play with and in some cases, with people you have known through WoW for 5 years, you consider them true friends. I think that is one of the main reasons that WOW is under attack by the media, because these types of relationships with other people are considered "unhealthy" when compared with your father's form of socialization (usually consisted of excessive alcohol and drug use depending on the decade) even though the people on the other end are no more than "pen pals."

Personally, I would focus more on the people who play single player video games constantly because they are the real recluses who NEED social interaction.

[Clockwork Pinkie]

I have a feeling that only fox news hates video games for what they are, while the army is using them to "help" our troops experience the battlefield for what it is. Oh media, don't let the media get you down.

[Aragornoth]

Of course there are the addicts but the term is used to generally for the ENTIRE population i agree..... (was it Morgan Webb in that X play clip about Cata that set you off)

---------- Post added 2010-06-30 at 02:00 AM ----------

There are also people in these forums saying if you play WoW you are a geek... I disagree -- I am a geek -- but I want more people to play and people look at it as geeky... then they don't want to play. You can choose to be geeky... or whatever you want in WoW -- that way we can get a more diverse population. I know this was about addiction but I'm broadening to generalities about WoW.

[spikeh]

We are social creatures, no doubt about that, and any form of socialising is highly gratifying. However social interaction over the internet both in WoW and other popular forms (Facebook, Twitter, et al) are not as healthy as seeing people in real life. There is no eye contact, facial expression, nor body language. Real life meetings need not end in excessive alcohol consumption or drug usage; it can be a simple cup of coffee or sitting in the park.

[Citaxis]

Kpoof, My impression of the OP is he's feeling insecure if he has an addiction or not. He may not even be aware that he is insecure but it is what caused him to post a topic on addiction. Perhaps someone called him an addict or insinuated something in the lines of that to him? Im assuming that he actually is an addict since he is going to these lengths and efforts to contemplate it, it must have struck a nerve.

While I disagree with the OP's argument, this is something completely different, that actually supports his a bit more than you may have intended.

If you read the OP's post carefully, his irritation doesn't seem to be aimed at people referring to HIM as an addict, but people using the term in general for something that it is not. You also seem to be furthering the usage of the term in the exact manner that has caused the OP to make this thread. I highly doubt he is an addict. While it is possible, WoW addicts actually make up a very small amount of people who play the game itself. Simply assuming that he is an addict because he is talking about it is exactly how the people who don't play themselves overuse the term.

The OP is only mildly defending playing long hours, and is most certainly not defending any of the other characteristic signs of WoW addiction, being the "giving up friends, job, and real life to play WoW" part that really marks it. As far as his argument goes, there are cases for and against it, but I sincerely believe that the OP is not an addict himself, merely concerned about the usage of the term. My argument against his came in that the term is accurate for a small portion of people, while he claims that it should not be used at all, because addiction to WoW does not exist.

Jumping straight to the conclusion that he, or anyone else, is a WoW addict simply because they play the game for several hours at a time, or because they are defending said behavior, is exactly what he is trying to combat, and you are furthering his argument that the term is overused, which is completely correct. The term is used nowadays as almost a "catch-all" phrase, using "addict" instead of "player".



Short version:
Stop assuming everyone defending normalized behaviors is an addict simply because they protest the usage of the term. It is horrendously overused, and has become a general ignorant term for people who play WoW. The only differences between my argument and his are that WoW addicts DO actually exist, albeit in very small numbers, while he claims they do not. Please minimize the deconstruction of his character, it should not be in question.

[Malectrius]

assume that a person has an addiction to WoW, there's no way in hell that person will admit it or claim there exists a wow-addiction. So every poster who point blank claim the following: "There's no such thing as a wow addiction" or "i am not addicted to WoW" have no credibility whatsoever. If those are personal opinions you have no way of proving it so it can all be disregarded as protest of an addict in denial.

[Extract]

This is the best way to put it. People look at world of warcraft the wrong way, so many people play CoD hours on end they may be called addicts but they just aren't seen as fat and sitting in their parent's basement eating chips and drinking energy drinks.

How did this stereotype come upon WoW?