Addiction To WOW

[Xyanide]

You can be addicted to anything. That's why I laugh when people say weed isn't addictive.

ad·dic·tion
noun
the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, as narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma.

In the definition you give, the very last thing it staes is, "cessation causes severe trauma" That simply does not happen when people stop smoking weed, because they're not actually ADDICTED

[Paraloser]

I was referring to truth in a more fundamental sense, like a natural sciency epistemology if you will.

Ah yes, the fun stuff that really gets back to the beginning question of what is addiction and how do people personally operationalize the definition of it. how is it true in their experience

[Mormolyce]

Enjoying yourself is not an addiction, the sooner people accept that the better

That's what I always said to myself. But looking back on the amount of time I put into just one game... I wonder whether that was really fun I was feeling or compulsion. It's hard to tell when the game really is legitimately fun most of the time!

I've got a problem with that obsessive gotta-catch-em-all mentality, always in the back of my mind was "I'll just stop playing once I finish those remaining achievements"...

[Deleted]

Ah yes, the fun stuff that really gets back to the beginning question of what is addiction and how do people personally operationalize the definition of it. how is it true in their experience

And I think this is a very important idea. Addiction itself is not a clear-cut term. If you're interested in some good critical reading you could pick up "The Myth of Addictions" by John Booth Davies (1992). It's an excellent read which problematizes the idea of addictions.

In particular if we talk about pop-culatural notions like "internet addiction", I think it is important to go back and compare this to the original ideas behind addictions and look at how this concept has been used before. It is also equally important to consider the normative implications and contextualize these within the historical moral panics debate starting as early as 1905.

[Deleted]

being addicted to wow:

-Unable to stop playing the game. If forced, get's angry, upset or furious.

-When talking to people, unable to having a decent conversation that dos not involve WoW.

-Impatient and eager to get back to the computer to play.

Those things are signs of addiction to me.

Edit: I didn't mean it as I was addicted.

[Klutzington]

being addicted to wow:

-Unable to stop playing the game. If forced, get's angry, upset or furious.
-Impatient and eager to get back to the computer to play.

People will take this the wrong way. When you are in the middle of a raid where you promised to be there and in a guild, then your siblings/family keep bugging the shit out of you. . . you get angry and do not want to get off. Some people will say that that's being addicted. I see it as a hobby you really like and with people annoying the shit out of you, you get frustrated and want to be left alone.

Also: So children are ADDICTED to video game consoles? This is ridiculous. If someone (although uncommon) WANTED to go to school and couldn't wait to go back there, and were upset when he/she couldn't attend, it wouldn't be labeled as an addiction. It's seen as "positive."

[Deleted]

being addicted to wow:

-Unable to stop playing the game. If forced, get's angry, upset or furious.

-When talking to people, unable to having a decent conversation that dos not involve WoW.

-Impatient and eager to get back to the computer to play.

Those things are signs of addiction to me.

So, playing the devil's advocate here, how would you differentiate this from someone who's just very passionate about it, and has WoW as his main hobby?

- If someone would force me to stop me from doing any hobby, I'd get angry and upset about it.

- Since I'm so into WoW, I obviously wanna share my great passion with friends and talk about it all the time.

- I would obviously be eager to get back to the computer to play, I mean WoW is my hobby and I love it.


If you change the word "WoW" to "football", how would that work out for you? Would the criteria remain the same?

. Unable to stop watching football.

- When talking to people, unable to have a conversation not involving football.

- Impatient to get back to watching football on the TV.

Doesn't that sound just like an awful lot of people you know?

[Issalice]

When my fiancee and I first met one of the things he told me right off the bat was the he played WoW. I thought that is was kinda weird he felt the need to disclose this. I wasn't familiar with it at all, and didn't really care. I would rather have him spend his time doing something like that than going to the bars every night and getting wasted like some of our friends. Then he moved in. I remember wondering how long it would be before WoW died, and how amazing it would be. I would have my bf back! lol

He literally worked, slept, went to school, did homework and played. All his free time was spent in WoW. We had a few fights, a few talks. Finally I just bought my own copy and played with him. He still plays more than I would like, but he is a great guy and deserves his leisure time. And I can always log in and annoy him to death with my nooby questions that he still thinks I am serious about ;p

[Ethes]

I think the only real way to find out if you're addicted or not is to see how someone handles (more or less forcefully, due to RL environment) quitting wow.

To give an example of this:
I knew I was going to Japan for a year to study. Due to time difference that ment I'd never be able to raid properly and I would be busy with lots of new things there anyway. So I had to give wow up!

Al though I think I'll continue when I get back to The Netherlands, giving it up was suprisingly easy. I guess I wasn't as addicted as I thought I was xD.
That said, since MoP I'm kinda following wow again for a bit. But my interest of just reading forums will probably die soon!

[Mormolyce]

If someone (although uncommon) WANTED to go to school and couldn't wait to go back there, and were upset when he/she couldn't attend, it wouldn't be labeled as an addiction. It's seen as "positive."

That would be viewed as a sign of insanity.

[Deleted]

What do you all think about the main components of being addicted to wow are?

Not going to school, family functions, significant others?

Losing time of day?

Playing all night?

Any physical reactions when not playing?

Thoughts that you need to get back on?

I am curious to see what the community believes an addiction to WoW would be...

i would say constantly thinking about just goin home and loggin wow while doing other stuff/visiting ppl or w/E

[Paraloser]

So, playing the devil's advocate here, how would you differentiate this from someone who's just very passionate about it, and has WoW as his main hobby?

- If someone would force me to stop me from doing any hobby, I'd get angry and upset about it.

- Since I'm so into WoW, I obviously wanna share my great passion with friends and talk about it all the time.

- I would obviously be eager to get back to the computer to play, I mean WoW is my hobby and I love it.


If you change the word "WoW" to "football", how would that work out for you? Would the criteria remain the same?

. Unable to stop watching football.

- When talking to people, unable to have a conversation not involving football.

- Impatient to get back to watching football on the TV.

Doesn't that sound just like an awful lot of people you know?

This sounds like me during football season! I love to watch my school of choice play football!

These are very viable points!

Could this then state that we all have multiple addictions to multiple things?

or is our idea of addiction completely wrong?

For instance, what about a functional alcoholic? They may have a need to drink but they can still function outside of not using the substance.

Are they passionate about alcohol? Different brands?

---------- Post added 2012-11-12 at 12:09 AM ----------

I think the only real way to find out if you're addicted or not is to see how someone handles (more or less forcefully, due to RL environment) quitting wow.

To give an example of this:
I knew I was going to Japan for a year to study. Due to time difference that ment I'd never be able to raid properly and I would be busy with lots of new things there anyway. So I had to give wow up!

Al though I think I'll continue when I get back to The Netherlands, giving it up was suprisingly easy. I guess I wasn't as addicted as I thought I was xD.
That said, since MoP I'm kinda following wow again for a bit. But my interest of just reading forums will probably die soon!

Could you state that because you are so busy that you do not eel the need to go back? What would happen if you didnt have all your time taken up?

---------- Post added 2012-11-12 at 12:10 AM ----------

That would be viewed as a sign of insanity.

or maybe a sign of low SES or intelligence as our society would usually deduce to.

[Ricen]

Im sorry the video game is NOT addicting.

Its fools who cant time manage, regulate their obligations, and are general slobs that gives games, especially MMO's, and ESPECIALLY Wow that kind of reputation. It infuriates me when i see these posts. Let the fools who just want to sink their life away rot. They aren't addicted, they are just making conscious decisions to play the game. Done, simple, easy, over.

[Deleted]

So, playing the devil's advocate here, how would you differentiate this from someone who's just very passionate about it, and has WoW as his main hobby?

- If someone would force me to stop me from doing any hobby, I'd get angry and upset about it.

Being unable to stop playing the game alone should be a sign. If you play it as a hobby you should have no issue to sometimes put it down and do something else if you wish. IE: Friends ask you to join them for something, you turn of the game and go out.

If you prioritize WoW before work, school, friends etc you clearly having some issues.

- Since I'm so into WoW, I obviously wanna share my great passion with friends and talk about it all the time.

That's not what I meant. I meant that the person in question are unable to talk about anything else but wow. I talk games with my friends all the time. But i don't ONLY talk games with them.

- I would obviously be eager to get back to the computer to play, I mean WoW is my hobby and I love it.

Depends on how eager you are imo. If you can't stop thinking about it and getting back to it I would say you have some addiction. But ofc, everyone feels the eagerness to do something they like.

If you change the word "WoW" to "football", how would that work out for you? Would the criteria remain the same?

. Unable to stop watching football.

- When talking to people, unable to have a conversation not involving football.

- Impatient to get back to watching football on the TV.

Doesn't that sound just like an awful lot of people you know?

Honestly, I don't know many people that match that. If you're unable to socially interact with other people, take on your responsibilities, gets easily upset when not able to do what you like etc, then i think you have some addiction problems no matter if it's football or WoW.

[Paraloser]

i would say constantly thinking about just goin home and loggin wow while doing other stuff/visiting ppl or w/E

and the next element has been brought in, playing the game while other people are around and while you are doing multiple things at once. Thinking about it all the time constitutes a cognition deficit from our current society and we would only want to change the thoughts because this paradigm believes that that will change the behavior.

Why does the behavior have to change or the thoughts? Is it really that bad to be thinking about it while your at work or school during the day?

What about chefs who think about what they are going to cook the next day? how they are going to prepare it? how long it will take? Chefs can visit other people, specifically in the restaurant, while cooking? thoughts?

[Deleted]

Im sorry the video game is NOT addicting.

Its fools who cant time manage, regulate their obligations, and are general slobs that gives games, especially MMO's, and ESPECIALLY Wow that kind of reputation. It infuriates me when i see these posts. Let the fools who just want to sink their life away rot. They aren't addicted, they are just making conscious decisions to play the game. Done, simple, easy, over.

I think this comment is actually quite accurate. You'd find a lot of support from Davies (1992) when it comes to this idea that people just really want to do something....like they wanna take drugs, cause it makes sense to them given their context and life situation. Pharmacologically speaking, drugs aren't addictive, by the way. They do not meet all criteria, only two of the formal five: withdrawal and tolerance.

[Deleted]

Im sorry the video game is NOT addicting.

Its fools who cant time manage, regulate their obligations, and are general slobs that gives games, especially MMO's, and ESPECIALLY Wow that kind of reputation. It infuriates me when i see these posts. Let the fools who just want to sink their life away rot. They aren't addicted, they are just making conscious decisions to play the game. Done, simple, easy, over.

Do you have anything to back that statement up with? Because I'm pretty sure i was addicted to WoW for some years a long time ago.

[fizzbob]

Playing eventhough its not fun <.<

that's pretty much it. if you bitch because of the game, but you pay to play anyway, you're addicted

[Azuri]

I think over the years the amount of caps, raid lock combinations and other various "you can only do so much this day / week" restrictions in place that the so called addiction to WoW anyways has decreased. You see more and more comments like "I do my dailies or my raid and log off" more then in say TBC where there was more farming, attunements etc etc. Just the way I see it. The game can still be addictive for some but the addiction factor has been intentionally nerferd by Blizzard so to speak.

[fizzbob]

Im sorry the video game is NOT addicting.

Its fools who cant time manage, regulate their obligations, and are general slobs that gives games, especially MMO's, and ESPECIALLY Wow that kind of reputation. It infuriates me when i see these posts. Let the fools who just want to sink their life away rot. They aren't addicted, they are just making conscious decisions to play the game. Done, simple, easy, over.

then why does blizzard employ 2 psychologists whose ONLY job is to increase the element of addiction of the game? psychology has been a part of business for a long time. mcdonald's red and yellow color scheme is meant to get people out of the dining area faster. it's supposed to make people uneasy