This seems like more of a problem then before.

[Beskar]

There are a few clarifications which need to be made.

No one can become addicted to WoW, because an addiction is a physical. Such as drugs/drink/smoking. WoW, would therefore fall under the category of "Obsession", such as constantly re-washing your hands (People who call these addictions are misusing the word).

So just what is this World of Warcraft-ness?

Definition of obsession:
"Any idea that haunts, hovers and constantly invades one's consciousness. Obsessions are seemingly beyond one's will, and awareness of their inappropriateness is of little or no avail".

Sounds like your average World of Warcraft player? Let's take an even closer clinical look.

The illness associated with this is as people will know, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

This is an anxiety disorder associated with recurrent, persistent thoughts, ideas and feelings and the repetitive ritualized behaviours and when you attempt to resist the 'urge' produces tension and anxiety which is relieved immediately by doing the desired action. You might now go "Shopping!" "Gambling!" "Eating!" "World of Warcraft!", but you are actually incorrect, a true obsessive-compulsive disorder does not derive pleasure from the activity (where Eating, WoW, etc does) and only do the actions to release tension.

So now you can start talking about sex clinics, combating gamble-ing, 'internet addiction'. etc, but what really is the issue at hand?

Centurion1 brings up an interesting insight, he is 'addicted to sports', so he is probably running around pitches playing football, baseball, etc. He really enjoys doing this activity, and it sort of affects his grades, because he would rather play football than write-up a boring homework. Does this mean Centurion1 is actually got a serious problem? The answer is pretty simple, and it is a big NO.

Unlike World of Warcrafters, Centurion1 would most likely have a "lot of downtime", in order to play football, he will need a bunch of friends to actually do this activity with, and of course, there are things like food, homework, etc, which will make him stop doing his fun game for the day and do those things.

In World of Warcraft, you just plug up and play, majority of this is with complete strangers you never met, and unknown untouched masses all over the world unlike Centurion1 which is limited by geography. Due to this, people can have almost unlimited social contact with people, constant company and all sorts of things.

One of the main driving forces behind WoW are really social outcasts, as in, people who do not have many friends, as maybe they are not 'pretty enough' or good enough at sports and other such activities which exclude them. These are the core elements. These people do not have girlfriends (most likely not even seen a naked one) or even boyfriends. Here they are, now in this world, as a pretty Blood Elf female, or as a macho Human warrior, they have a bunch of people they can actually communicate with, and actually fills a void of social interaction, possibly even friendships they have never even experienced before or have very little of. You go up to this person, and go "Why do you not go out and play Football?" and now you have this exposed person, with no friends, cannot even play or even derive enjoyment from the game, and you are suggesting this as an alternative? It is a completely ridiculous notion.

While the above does not composite all WoW gamers, it is the core element and its main attraction to many people. There are obviously advantages in terms of access, the fact it doesn't require much computer resources and other things and $15 is ultimately pretty cheap, especially as the cinema for you and two friends is the same price for tickets alone.

So where does this problem lie? Is World of Warcraft the spawn of the devil that sucks in peoples souls, or is it a greater problem of society at large? In short, it is both the individual and society, not World of Warcraft and summed up in one word "hedonism".

To break this down and keep it simple, I will split all the problems into two categories. "Private" and "Society".

Private:
Priorities - Not spending enough time with your schoolwork? Not going on that date with your girlfriend? It is your fault. You have the power to do your school work, you have the power to go on that date. Ignoring it and playing World of Warcraft is simply the lack of your responsibility for your actions.

Problem with Private:
Depression, Anxiety, an Escape - World of Warcraft isn't the cause of the problem, it is simply a way of people try to escape one. There are problems with the individual which attracts them and keeps them "hooked" as a crutch. There are obvious problems with this, such as a decrease in activities outside of the game. These people would need an intervention, not because they are actually 'addicted' to the game itself, but to address the underlying concerns.

Society:
Catering for Interests - Not everyone cares about sports, There needs to be more accessible places of social interaction. Allow people the opportunity to mix, to talk, to do things they want to do. Also, have these at least at a price that can easily paid for. Cinema ticket for £5 for an hour and a half? It is very non-cost effective.

Problem with Society:
Practicality and Access - World of Warcraft, $15 per month, log onto computer. Going to a lan convention? $15 for 5 hours (or so) involves travel, etc. There are a host of issues involved with our cyborg culture which cannot be remedied so easily.

Anyway, I am in the middle of some work, so I cut corners all over this post. But there you go.


Edit: Also, I thought Louis did the topic, weird.