WoW - Not So Great, Actually

[waitingman]

Something more than a few people I know should read

The first casualty of war is truth. The first casualty of WoWarcraft is sometimes a relationship.

Comments

[waitingman.livejournal.com]

I have now unscreened the comment at the top of all this banter which, though anonymous, I'm fairly certain comes from one of the people I know to have been affected... If not, I daresay X will read it soon enough.

I agree immaturity & lousy social skills are the main culprits & it could be argued that any addiction can put strain on/mortally wound a relationship. But the problem I have with WoW... & any other totally immersive computer-generated reality ~ yes Second Life, I'm looking at you ~ is the way it takes the person away from the real world in a way that not even alcohol does. Drunks go out to the pub, addicts of other substances are usually required to interact with certain outside parties, but a 'Gamer' stays inside, doors & blinds closed, Coke bottle at hand & doesn't have to go out even when they're hungry... food can be ordered online & delivered. Paying the pizza guy at the door doesn't count as social interaction.

I have seen one marriage fail with WoW as, if not direct cause, an effective catalyst & glaringly obvious symptom. When you love a game more than your partner... & when you love your online character/avatar more than yourself.

Yes, the opinion piece was more whimsical than damning but, like its writer, I believe there's many a true word spoken in jest. Or, if you prefer, "A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down"

Nice to know I can still open a can of worms occasionally.

[aquandrian.livejournal.com]

Well put, man. *nod* Seems to me with the alcohol and other substances thing that do require social interaction, those could be addictions harder to detect. And I speak as the child of a dead alcoholic.

The curious thing is it must be so much more obvious with a gaming addiction. Obvious to everyone outside of the addiction, I suppose ... or obvious earlier, at least. Prolly one case in which it really is good to heed warnings from the people closest to you.

On a totally facetious note, I can't believe you just quoted Mary Poppins. *roflmao* Not even Jane Austen quoting Horace: “Often the truth spoken with a smile will penetrate the mind and reach the heart; the lesson strikes home without wounding because of the wit in the saying” ... hee hee.

[dorukai.livejournal.com]

World of Warcraft is an incredibly social experience, and that's what makes it compelling. It's actually a good way to meet people, catch up with friends (who can live anywhere in the world - a distinct advantage) and generally hang out in an environment with real people constantly chatting. That does mean that people whose real world social lives are lacking are likely to find WoW very comforting etc, but - again - WoW isn't a substitute for socialising, it's simply a different way of doing it.

To someone looking over the shoulder of a gamer playing WoW that may not be apparent, but WoW is definitely not an antisocial game.

[dorukai.livejournal.com]

Drunks go to the pub? Some of them. My understanding is that most true alcoholics drink by themselves though.

Certainly some people take gaming to excess. If it wasn't gaming it'd be something else for these people though.

People are mistaking cause and a symptom, too. Excessive substance abuse is a symptom of someone's problem, not the root cause of it.

It's not "World of Warcraft destroyed his relationship", but "He used World of Warcraft to destroy his relationship".

Controversial indeed :P

Attempting to argue that games are more destructive than anything else that easily addicted people spend their time on is perhaps misguided though.