Is WOW dangerous?

So gambling is not an addiction anymore?
It could easily be compared to video games (and certainly WoW).

In Laymens term dopamine releases when we've done something good, like exercised or finished a test. It's our reward system.
Amphetamines releases an aboundance of dopamine which is what makes you feel good (and, is also the reason why you want to take more), which makes the substance addictive.

Playing video games and completing quests/missions/task also releases dopamine (google is your friend), and thus creates a chemical reaction in which could get you to become addicted.

But since you can't argue with someone that has his mind set on something (that's wrong nonetheless) i guess i'll just leave this here.

(Oh and btw, your body does not need alcohol, amphetamines, nicotine, and so on) but people choose to do it once, twice 'til there brain craves it (which is again, the dopamine). Serotonine also plays a big part here.

What is your definition of addiction if it is not substance abuse? Video games can be argued to be a substance since it triggers the reward system which is dopamine release.



And to OP: Any study about video games causing violent behaviour (or turn you into a psychopath) has never been fully backed up and is usually bull propaganda, plain and simple.
As stated in the thread earlier, people growing up to be killers are due to bad parenting and/or inheritance (for example schizophrenia). You can point finger at media but i've yet to see any real evidence.

 

I still stand by my point that a person with no addictive personality cannot be addicted to video games. Look at the sodding video before you start talking to me, and you can think that you are right all you want but i disagree, and so does the guy in the video who has been studying this and is doing lectures at a big university in the US. So i put my trust in him 100% more than in you. And so does the majority of the people who watch it. Im out of this thread now, i have had my say-so, so on my last note: Please watch the video, and Total biscuit is not wrong, you are.
EDIT: Okay just some final last words I have no hard feeling towards any people i have talked to in this thread, and i dont hope you guys have hard feeling either. I think it is important that we as mature people can discuss a topic and share our feelings/beliefs without going at each others throat! I respect all of you guys opinions and thoughts

 

It still does not debunk the fact that it could cause an addiction. Just because some people are more prone to it doesn't take away the fact.

Dopamine is highly addictive, this we know for a fact.
We also know that the brain releases dopamine when we play video games.

Your argument jumps all over the place and put your faith in one video. You first say it isn't addiction but then go on and say it's addictive.. but then it's an obession and not an addiction but still addictive. And then it could create an addiction if you have an addictive personality, but it could never be an addiction (to a "normal" person). It's a lot of jumping back and forth that bothers me and thus the posts become less and less credible.

If you could define your use of the word addiction it would help a lot, since it's the use of the word that seems to be the original issue.

Yep, i'm wrong, i just like to argue for the hell of it.

 

jesus... Okay let me clear my poin to of view up... YES wow can be an addiction TO CERTAIN PEOPLE who has a addictive personality, and those people are prone to be addicted to most things. For people who do not have an addictive personality, they cannot be addicted to the game. They are obsessed. And im saying that the concept of wow is VERY appealing to people, thus do they choose to spend their time on wow instead of something else. And i dont really give a rats *** about if you see me credible. And yes i put my faith in that video, the guy speaking is of high moral values and is very acknowledged. If you would actually try to watch the video instead of bashing on me, it might clear up some stuff. I am not that great to explain myself on text, but in the video he talks about ALL the points i have mentioned and more. Now please dont respond to this, i do not want to post more in this thead.
EDIT: You talk about dopamine, which is also released when you go running. Especially by the water, so does that mean that if you just run now and then by the water you will get addicted to it?

 

We are talking about personalities that already have addictive tenancies, if it was not WOW, it would be something else.

Oh and to the OP, Wow is not dangerous, but you should know your child, maybe let them try it, monitor them (ofc like you should be doing anyway) and take it away if it becomes disruptive.

Just be a parent.

 

I played WoW for 5 years and I have never killed anyone.

 

Anders Breivik aka the Norwegian killer, did not play WoW at all. He used WoW as an excuse to friends and familiy to isolate himself from society to work on his cruelsome plans.

It is written in his manifesto

 

That's why I was saying WoW is not addictive, but you can get addicted to it. Because if I play WoW for just an hour, i'm not going to get addicted. I may want to play again later, but it's not going to take over my mind. If WoW is addictive, can't like everything be considered addictive?
I figure this because games are hobbies and aren't addictive substances, and you can get addicted to pretty much anything habitually.

 

Sure, it's all semantics but this was the point i was trying to make.

I'm not allowed to answer the other post but yes. Water and exercise could become a habit which in turn becomes an addiction. Sure, it needs the right circumstances, but it could always become an addiction.

I think masterchef341's post summed up what i was trying to get at.

Thanks for clearing that up!

 

The point here is that it seems you are generalizing that all games are the "same". The difference with Wow (and many other facebook games ending in -"ville") is the way they are designed: a process of rewards that keeps you going on even if agaist your will. They attract people for a long time (years in some cases) because the process of rewards gets extended a lot.

Just my two cents

 

Weak-willed people can become addicted to a lot of things.

I played for a long time, and when it stopped being fun, I quit. We ascribe a lot of qualities to video games that we would not assign to other media. Would society label a person that watches TV every night for an hour or two an addict? Methinks not. Yet a person who plays WoW for an hour or so each night is easily declared addicted.

 

I take direct offense to that statement. People on BOTH sides of the political spectrum over reach and over regulate.

As proud American Liberal, I believe in personal Freedom and Government limitations; and the care and welfare of the American people. I have said people claiming games are bad are just scape goating the issue. Broad bushing an entire group you don't agree with is not only immature, but shows you know nothing about the issues and nothing about politics in this country.


Now stop side tracking and get back on track.

 

lozanogo

I think you hit the nail with your last post

As i see it my son is addicted, he plays wow 24/7 and have to raid/guilds or what it calls very often. I live in a different place in my country than him, and he cannot even see me because of this f...uinn game. Its sick

 

The former would gladly do something more interesting than watching those 2 hours of TV if given the chance, and would not mind getting off the couch to resolve anything that requires their attention.

The latter would not.

That's the big difference. When someone plays an addictive MMORPG, their hours of gameplay are committed and they'd do unspeakable things to stay ingame for those durations (especially players involved in scheduled raids etc).

 

That's impressive, you managed to paint 10 million people with the same brush. Overgeneralizations are ridiculous.

 

Where did you see his wow posts?

 

Silvermoon Veterans returning for Cataclysm - Forums - World of Warcraft
Anders is the female human mage "Conservatism" (the character name, again, showing his political fanaticism).

It is the truth though, just to different extents for people of different cultures/ages/willpowers. Just because a small portion of players can put down WoW whenever they will themselves to, doesn't mean WoW isn't addictive as hell, that's an even worse generalization.

 

You do know some people actually think WoW is fun and interesting? Absurd, right?
I would imagine if someone was playing WoW and said to themselves, "Hey I would rather be doing something else right now! Why am I playing this? I don't even like this game." They would probably get up and do something else. Well unless they have an addictive personality.


How can you even blame them? Would you rather go to school and do something you hate than play a video game you enjoy? I think not.
WoW isn't addictive as hell, things that you enjoy and are fun to you are addictive as hell (well with lack of self control) because if WoW isn't enjoyable or fun to you, you will not become addicted. It's not like cocaine where if you do so much of it, you will be hooked against your will.

 

LOL ok, sorry i hurt your feelings...

you are right that the right and left over reach and over regulate and maybe i was broad. But what i said about liberals (at least the vast majority of) and their logic behind unconstitutional gun laws is an undeniable fact.

 

Nice. Keep side-tracking the topic. I can point to many "unconstitutional" regulations made by your side; but this is not the place. Stop trying to inject your political doctrine into this argument. This is a laptop forum.

 

It really isn't the truth, and especially not just because you say it is.

The absence of a generalization is not a generalization. I allow for the fact that there are some individuals who are addicted, as with anything, and maybe it's a statistically significant amount. But to say that all WoW players would rather play WoW than do anything else, while habitual TV watchers don't share that trait, is just absurd, and I'm shocked that you can't see that.

 

This has probably already been posted, but if not....

I believe, WoW and violent video/computer games are only dangerous to those who are already mentally unstable.

 

Often people complain about an MMO... but continue to play due to the people they met in it. It's a simple matter of what they find more rewarding and how much annoyance they can tolerate for the positives gained.

For instance, I used to belong to a semi-professional choral group. Performing was fun, but rehearsals became less than productive as the group leaders insisted we needed more time in sectional than I found prudent. I didn't quit for many years as I did enjoy the people for the most part. Was I addicted? No... addicted people will give up rediculous amounts of balance for little reward.

Note please... the "danger" in WoW is only for the people who would become addicted to nearly anything. The problem isn't the game, its the person who cannot handle adult situations and managing their time.

A person needs 2 things to play any online game in good health.
1) A separation between reality and fantasy
2) Balance in their life and in game

I played WoW... was I addicted?
No... I quit and never looked back after I had maxed out(at the time) too quickly IMHO. I play such games casual (hour or two a day) and balance my life and my game time accordingly.
If WoW was so addicting, why was I unaffected? Am I some sort of superman? How could I so easily resist something so addicting?
No... the game is just a game.

 

You need to get your son out of that addiction, or he will ruin his future.

I selected some important posts from this thread. If you read these posts you will know how dangerous this game is for a childs future. The collection of posts below shows how this game is purely designed to be a money making machine by getting people addicted to it.

Edit: @Everyone
Do not argue about the obsession vs addiction thing again. We have already had enough of that.

 

There are plenty of people that can handle it just fine. Yeah, the OP's son should probably stop playing, but this hyperbole and blaming the game is just ridiculous.

 

There are also plenty of people who can not handle it. I was giving an advise to the OP as it seems like his son is overdoing it.

 

Yeah, the point is that the game itself isn't dangerous, it's the inability of certain individuals, like the OP's son and your friends, to balance it in their lives among the myriad other activities that take up one's time.

 

If something has a higher tendency of making someone with weak self-control succumb compared other things, it is (in relative terms) more dangerous. Not everyone can balance their lives, even with family intervention.

Without games like WoW many of these individuals would have a much higher chance of living much more fulfilling lives, because most other things in life are not as seductive. An example would be the Chinese youth, with the introduction of World of Warcraft in recent years and its amassing popularity in China, it's been wrecking havoc. Before its appearance other MMOs have hit that market and made a few school drop-outs, but never to such an extent.

 

We are going round in circles here. There has already been a lot of posts about this. As you notice, peoples opinions differ. Based on the previous posts the majoity finds this game to be made for addiction.

I have posted a lot about this yesteraday and I am not willing to argue about it again today.

I was giving advice to the OP. Do not answer my post, as I am out of this argument now. My purpose was to give advice, my "mission" is complete.

 

I'm not willing to argue about it either. Some people can control themselves, some people can't. Fin.

 

My opinion:

Some people are prone to getting addicted to stuff. Wether it is , gambling, games, alcohol, drugs etc.
I believe we can find atleast three main reasons why those people get addicted to them.
1. Genes.
2. Unstability in real life.
3. The ingredients/parts of the thing they are addicted to.

Genes is nothing you can do about. You can stay away from things you know you are weak against. But the truth is that people have to learn this the hard way. They don`t discover they are predisposed to addiction before they end up addicted.

Unstability in life plays a huge role in people who end up in the wrong line in life. Someone in your family dies, you get bullied in school, you have no friends, you feel lost etc etc. The people who go through this ususally end up with some sort of addiction if they don`t seek out help. They use the drugs, games, gambling etc as some sort of self treatment or comfort, forgetting about the cruel reality of life when they use them.

As for #3, everyone can get addicted to things. Drugs for example are dangerous (mmmkay lol) and there is virtually no people with resistance against this. I believe games like WoW is built on elements that keep people coming back for more, getting people addicted, but I think you have to be a certain type to get addicted to it. Some may think a big "MEH" when they realize they have to play many hundred hours to keep up with the other hardcore level up guys. While other people just HAVE to finish a quest or reach a certain level because they are so competitive in person.

So yeah, is WoW dangerous? I would say to some, but not to all.

 

Rather than WoW I think he might have been inspired by another video game. A certain character by the same name who is also a terrorist in Dragon Age 2 :_)

 

Everything is dangerously addictive to someone in the world; how dangerous something is partly depends on how many are (potentially) affected.

WoW has a dozen million subscribers and any fraction of that is a huge number of people, much outweighing the number of people addicted to narcotics / gambling. By that rationale WoW is a very dangerous entity.

"The Chantry must burn!" ?

 

Oh man, I've played WoW on and off since the closed beta.

I'm not going to try and determine whether it's the game or the player that is dangerous. That's a chicken or the egg debate. I hope reasonable people will realize that it's not a simple black and white issue. To blame it all on "weak-willed people" is condescending but to blame it all on Blizzard's greed is cynical.

Of course, the original post dealt with the recent rampage in Norway and a possible correlation to WoW. Yeah, WoW isn't a safe haven for mass murderers and I'd go as far as to say most are fine and sane people. But WoW can be a horribly anti-social game. The game does have merits; those who belong to good guilds can experience satisfying social experiences that are especially beneficial if they can't find the sort of thing in the real world. On the other hand, if you aren't part of a good guild the game can be absolutely venomous and bring out the worst in people. In the worst of times, I thought the bottom dwellers of our society were playing the game. I'm not surprised to see that someone who played WoW so consistently was capable of such violence.

My brother plays WoW pretty consistently. I have to remind him that a lot of the things he sees and hears from the playerbase would be absolutely unacceptable in the real world. Consistent belittling, flawed logic, superiority complexes, lack of any empathy, griefing, aggression fueled by addiction, the list goes on. I think he understands my point. I hope anyone who plays WoW is well-aware of these things.

Of course, when I mention this, I usually get a dismissive response akin to "news flash: rude people on the internet," but this attitude in itself is dangerous. People play WoW for long periods of time and extended exposure to atrocious behavior can influence people. I'm disappointed that Blizzard doesn't focus more of their energy on making the community less volatile; it's certainly within their power as the game developer to do so.

 

+rep Fire. Great points!

 

Going back to the original question, if it hasn't been brought up already.

I read an article about this on the IGN site earlier, not the addiction, but the killer's video games. From what I gathered, he was more focused on COD as it offered him a viable simulator for planning "military" exercises. He simply recommended using WOW as a way to deter people from becoming concerned when you don't answer the phone for a couple of days. "I'm so busy raiding I couldn't answer", ect.

As far as being concerned about what video games your child plays, I would be more concerned with the majority of "realistic" FPS, particularly the "terrorist" mission in COD4.

Cheers

 

Or the "No Russian" mission in Black Ops. That's a classic. Got banned in multiple nations.

 

apparently WOW is dangerous enough to make you ditch you girlfriend for it lol

‪Guy ditches Girlfriend in labor to play World of Warcraft‬‏ - YouTube

just look at this guy's smile, hes like "you fools, i don't need the damn cds, my account is stored online *evil smile*"

EPIC

 

Edit: I only watched a couple minutes and was quick to judge LOL

At first I thought she was hunting for attention due to her complaining about 1.5hrs of video games or that each time the baby cries under her care, she wants the boyfriend to stop was he's doing and rush to the baby.

I don't agree with him playing WoW while she's in labour though

Did you guys see the video of Dr. Phil and video game addictions? The guy explains to Phil how mounts work in-game and that he plays an elemental shaman. Made me laugh so hard when I saw that on TV

 

You seriously think that there are less than 10 million people out of 7 billion in the world that are addicted to narcotics/gambling (assuming all WoW players are addicts, which they aren't)? You're tossing out statements that have literally zero basis in fact.

 

No, I wouldn't say it's to blame, though I do think too much computer games will effect your sense of reality. WOW, or anything, is never good if you're doing it 16+ hours a day. Moderation is the key.

Though, why he played WoW at all is beyond me, it's boring and repetitive as heck. The only thing it would possibly give him was a lack of imagination, but he seemed to have plenty of that.

Yes, he was a right-wing extremist..and a nutter.

 

I watched the first half. He was extremely apologetic to WoW, and put the blame on the media, which is easy, because everyone hates the media and they are responsible for all sorts of wrong. However, you are both still wrong about the term "addiction", and worse, it is leading you to a misguided conclusion. I have many acquaintances at my university who dropped out due to spending all their time on WoW. It's that simple. That's not a media problem. That is WoW taking over your life. Now, as far as the compulsion, the dependency, and the physiology, you have to do more research. It's shortsighted to say that drugs are the only addictive thing on this planet, and that is precisely the stance that the speaker takes. He is being shortsighted. He basically said that we are afraid of wow because it is a new medium of entertainment, and thats why we call it an addiction, but not other things which we think of as "good" (we call those hobbies). Gambling has been around for quite a long time. Casino gambling also leverages reward scheduling exploits of the mind, and it can get you hooked and cause problems in your life. Stamp collecting does not have reward scheduling as a built in component, so it is not as likely to cause a psychological addiction in terms of disrupting your life, BUT it certainly could. If we were to look at WoW vs Stamp collecting and assign an addiction risk factor to each, we would probably agree stamp collecting is lower than WoW. But any compulsive,habit forming activity can become an addiction.

The most accepted modern use of addiction (in the scientific community) is a gradient (not black and white) based on the degree of preoccupation, withdrawal symptoms, and the risk of significant relationships (job, spouse, university, significant other, etc). That is how we quantify addiction. The basis is that psychological addiction does cause a physiological response that is consistent with chemical addiction. Psychological addiction tends to be formed over time, chemical addiction ca be formed over a single exposure. WoW is designed in such a way that it is very likely to form a psychological addiction over time. Much moreso than other videogames, but not all. Call of duty is also designed the same way. Rewards come to you on reaching levels, each level takes longer to achieve than the one before, and you get a bunch of rewards early, then it tapers off quickly. That's the precise reward schedule that is habit forming in your brain. You can read about it in scientific venues. It's not a media issue. You are also extremely wrong when you say that "addiction" is an improper term for psychological dependency. It's in the dictionary. It's absolutely the proper term. Do more research.

Another point is that WoW is not an addiction for all players. If you play an hour a day and at the end of each hour you feel like you enjoyed the past hour, you probably aren't addicted. If you lose touch with your friends, start failing school, spend a lot of time with WoW, and after each session you can't say for sure that you enjoyed it or that it was worth it, you are probably an addict. Same as with any other activity. WoW does not get special addict-status. Its not inherently evil to play. It is more habit forming than many other games, but there are other games that are also habit forming. And, that doesn't mean that they will form bad habits for all users. That's enough for one post.

 

How many out of those 10 million subscribers are druggies / drunks? In fact, how many gamers in general take narcotics compulsively? You can't just factor in the majority of the second/third-world population who cannot afford electronics more complicated than small CRT TVs in numeral comparison with people who play MMORPGs, nor those in first-world countries who don't even know how to type.

 

I believe you were the one making a ridiculous numeral comparison.

 

While I see you point (videogames are stigmatized more than other media), people watching lots of TV (arguably more than 2 hours) are called couch potatos, and as far as I remember it is not in a positive sense (contrary to people that watch a lot of movies, whose name I don't recall but they are well regarded).

 

Hi, I think personally that the issue is not if he plays videogames (by the way, playing 24/7 or near that amount is BAD in anything by definition). The issue is the 'reality check'. Does the videogamer (in this case) still understand that the reality is out and that playing is just a relaxation from our daily routines? Does the videogamer understand that isolation can be dangerous in high doses?

A simple solution was outlined a few pages back in the thread: keep a balanced life. Personally I don't think that's the whole solution but at least is a step forward to avoid reaching dangerous behaviors.

Hope it helps and really my best wishes you can get to see (or at least talk) more frequently with your son.

 

People that watch excessive amounts of TV are negatively regarded, but two hours a day is definitely not considered excessive by most people.

 

Well then we both are. Seems like the discussion goes nowhere unless everyone starts googling statistics like idiots, I certainly have better things to do.

 

As long as you have better things to do than throwing out baseless arguments, that's great.

 

Guys im jumping in again to say that i think we should lay this thread to rest, before it turns into a flame war of opinions.