Following the release of World of Warcraft and other successful massively multiplayer online (MMO) games, some people have become quite literally imprisoned by the allure of online worlds. For many, what ensues when they immerse themselves in these online worlds is a life-limiting addiction. There are millions of players worldwide, and a few extreme cases where this has led to death.
Gaming is considered to be immense fun, and, indeed, it can be a gratifying experience. For the team player, it can be especially so when playing in groups where their participation can boost their team to victory. Some even turn this “pastime” into a lucrative business. Just recently, a player was able to earn $10,000 just by selling virtual items, weapons, and builds for the game Diablo III. Yet most gamers are chasing after the feeling of success by killing enemies in dungeons.
Under the tag “WishboneTheDog,” he spent the first two months playing the game, on average, eight hours a day. On some particular days, he might have accumulated up to 14 hours of game time. His degree in economics probably didn’t hurt, either, as he was able to see the big picture and quite capably manipulate the market in his favor. Later, he could imagine working for Blizzard, or other game companies, to help strike the right balance for these virtual marketplaces.
The gaming industry is a monstrous leviathan of capitalism in a market of over $70 billion in 2011. The New York Times reports that the gaming industry will grow to over $110 billion by 2015. Perhaps you should think about this number for a second. The Activision hit Call of Duty: Black Ops made over $650 million in just five days from the release date. (Not even included here are the hardware and software industries!) Connecting all the dots on the market, millions of gamers drive a worldwide industry of billions in revenue.
Still, there is the dark specter of gaming addiction that hangs like a cloud over so many — including countless minors with parents who may not even be aware of the potential dangers of too much of a good thing. Perhaps such parents are relieved that “at least it’s not drugs or alcohol,” but addiction of any kind — even something as seemingly harmless as online gaming — is a serious matter. It can lead to depression, asocial behavior, and diminishing motivation to do anything in real life.
I can confess that this constantly wired world has sometimes — one time too often perhaps — robbed me of any real motivation. There are two kinds of people who play video games: On one hand, you have the hardcore gamers, whose only goal is to become the best of the best. On the other hand stand those who do game, but know where the limits are.
Friendships forged in these online worlds may be between people who don’t even know one another by real-life names, but their relationships can evolve to bond in an almost familial fashion. Being part of so-called guilds or raiding groups convey a certain sense of being needed. It may not be the rule, but many of these gamers are people who lack emotional devotion to those around them in the real world. Finding friends and nurturing relationships online is much easier than facing people in reality.
So where does the responsibility for ensuring that such games remain entertainment and not life-crippling addiction lie? With the parents? Social pressure from friends? Gamer mates?
There will always be those critics who blatantly blame brutal action games as the cause for gamers turned murderers and terrorists, but this is a very simplistic — and inaccurate — viewpoint. Philosophically, video games are a window to a new world where the gamer can become the character they wish to be. It doesn’t matter if you want to be a hero, a soldier, or a wizard; video games can give you that ability.
In South Korea, video games can be a profession — a job like any other. People practice on a daily basis, win tournaments, and make a living from it all. This transcends addiction and becomes an urge to perfect one’s skills; the time sink is still there, but the rewards seem to justify the means. Unfortunately, the majority of addicted gamers have no such goals and fail to earn any reward beyond escaping from a reality they don’t enjoy as much as the online world.
How do you feel about online games that immerse players in fantasy worlds that can — and do — become addictive to many? Have you ever felt the tug of addiction to such games and their worlds? Leave us some comments below and share your thoughts!
CC licensed Flickr photo of Athena, the MMO-addicted feline, by Stacina
It started way before WoW. I remember some bad stories back when Classic EverQuest was the main MMO on the market. People commit suicide over lost equipment/characters, they break expensive PC equipment, or they spend so much time playing they never sleep, which leads them to die at their PC. I guess I’m the more in control type. I’ve played online games for 15 years, yet I’m thin and fit because I get up and move. I use the bathroom when I need to, I sleep when I need to, and I work when I need to. Sadly some people get stuck in immersion and never realize what they turned into. I did have a slight addiction to EQ back in the day, but it was quickly resolved when I noticed it was happening. This is a very good article btw.
I enjoyed this article although I think computer addiction stretches far beyond games. I find it very difficult to escape my computer though it is mostly the easy accessibility of information that keeps me here. As a result I rarely play games as much as I would like as I am too busy reading.
Also I hate to be pedantic and do not wish this to come across in the wrong way but you have a few mistakes in your bio. The spelling of philosophy, ‘other’ should be singular as the plural is carried by ‘interests’ alone, ‘contribute’ should take either an infinitive or continuous form. I wouldn’t mention this if these mistakes were in a blog but as your bio will appear attached to every blog I thought you might like to know.
Thanks for that. That happens when I write anything but an article.
Also thank you for your comments on the article. I’ll keep it in mind for the future. One can write an entire book on this subject.
When I saw Chris put this on Twitter again I was hoping you had done a new one. It is definitely a book worthy subject. Particularly when you consider all the misguided attempts to have to fix it. One of the things that bothers me about it most is that computer screens give off light so they keep you awake to surf the net longer. I am hoping that websurfing with e-ink will help me put it down at night so am planning to replace the tablet with a nook simple. By the way you still need to work on that spelling of philosophy.
Great article. I would agree with you a lot on some of the things you mentioned. I used to be a serious gamer playing 14 hours a day trying to get to the top of the Leaderboards. today I don’t play video games that often, I gave my ex box to my brother. I haven’t picked up a controller in at least 4 to 5 months now. I am wanting to get back into gaming a little but not a x box pc gaming. I am now a casual gamer, I like to play games on my android tablet, and my iphone.
Interesting piece. My sister had a friend who died of a coronary thrombosis while sitting too long gaming. I played Lord of the Rings Online for about a year and devoted way too much time to it. At some point you just have to realize that one day, all those cool weapons and characters you’ve made will no longer be there and what will you have gained? That being said, if played with some moderation, MMORPGs can open up new worlds of teamplay for people like me who were born with a disability. I can’t ride a real horse, so it was fun galloping through the gorgeous landscapes of LOTRO.
I have to say I agree with the sentiment. However I would like to say that games may not necessarily be bad socially. I turned to online games for various personal reasons (moving, etc.) that caused me to be extremely anti-social. After playing with various people that I had no real relation with (for multiple hours a day, even to the point where I was awake till school began the next morning), I slowly got adapted to the the real world due to the experiences I had in the game. I can see how people can want to stay in a virtual world forever, but I don’t think it’s correct to say that the shield that online games provide to a person are always negative. I’m still, in my opinion, “addicted” in the sense that I take pleasure from it and that I play quite often, but I has yet to affect me socially in a negative manner; if anything games have helped me.
As a gamer since the age of 5 (I’m now 18) I cam verify that the points made in the article are true to a degree. I used to be a hardcore gamer Id go days without sleep, (2-3 days) put off going out with friends and all for the love of the game. Over the years I’ve became bored and games have became sour. I find myself to be the more limited gamer now as i used to suffer from serious bipolar. It really affected the way I behaved in school and impacted on my relationships I once had with close friends who were like family. I learned that to change the way I felt I had to change my habbits. I’m in a better pisition now and as I look back it wasnt all bad. I learned some talented skills that I can use for life. It still hasn’t gotten me away from the PC though. Being a gamer has it’s advantages, I’m still socially awkward and lack motivation. During my time as a hardcore gamer I also put on a lot of weight too which also doesnt help with my motivational issues.
Nice write-up.
As Harry Monmouth as said on the comment, “addiction stretches far beyond games.” We shall not forget that we in general are becoming, more and more involved with the internet, and social media web sites… I believe that smartphones have a great deal on that addiction, but they make you leave the house more often…
But going straight to the main theme, I have a suggestion for the gamers and the companies that produce those games. Create a limit of time that you can play, forcing you to rest for a period of time. I guess that’s one good way of at least bring you for the reality.
Stopping people to become addicted to games is very difficult, possibly impossible.
I took a break from gaming for a few months before Diablo 3′s release, I still cant decide if the game just isn’t as good as d2 or I just grew up from gaming. I usually play games for a shorter span of time nowadays anyways. Great article
MMORPGs are made to take way too long. All that leveling and questing and crafting to get to a level and a level of equipment where you can compete in PvP… It’s time consuming by design so you keep paying that monthly fee or keep getting served ads. They also usually reward the players who have played longer with points that can be redeemed for abilities that give them an edge. If you make a leaderboard you have to keep playing to stay on it and play even more to move up it.
Also, simply investing so much time into a player’s character or a game can make it hard to walk away.
Thanks all for comments. I’ll try to follow up on this one in the near future.