Is WOW dangerous?

>implying you aren't

@The Happy Swede
Haha yeah. The e-tension is strong with this thread.

 

yes it is, and i think it would be a great time for a mod to lock this thread...

 

I'm not, you insisted that the number of people that are addicted to WoW is far higher than the number of people addicted to drugs or gambling, which is just an absurd statement.

 

There are some interesting posts in this thread. I personally wish that instead of needing a moderator to stop the discussion, people would just learn how to debate in a civil manner.

 

>didn't read the follow-up post clarifying things

 

You mean this one, that is entirely irrelevant? You have nothing to back up the point that there are more WoW addicts than drug and gambling addicts, and when I challenged you to provide some kind of basis, you said that you didn't feel like "Googling statistics like an idiot."

 

>implying this wasn't just clarification of the point
i seriously hope you don't think this is irrelevant

 

It really isn't relevant, I don't see how it does anything but introduces more unsubstantiated claims.

 

All I've been trying to say is it is unreasonable to compare numbers while factoring in people who do not have the means to participate in one of the two potential activities (online computer video games as opposed to narcotics). For those who already have the means to play MMORPGs (have good internet, lots of time, solid PC which they are adept in using, etc), it seems more likely that they be sucked into an addictive MMO rather than a narcotic.

 

And all I've been saying is that it is unreasonable to say that there are far more people addicted to WoW than there are to narcotics and gambling, unless you have some kind of information that substantiates that.

 

I corrected that claim already by the aforementioned points (the original claim was indeed far-fetched). It is only a reasonable comparison if those involved have the means to participate in both activities, and upon that basis an MMO's temptation should be higher than that of drugs/gambling, simply because video games fit more niches and playing them carries over less severe consequences if you lose.

 

How on earth is this thread so LONG???

 

Well half the thread was about discussing if Wow is obsessive or addictive, some other bit was about denial (Wow does nothing to anybody) and the rest has been on clarification (Wow is addictive in scientific terms) and a bit of advice (which the user Simplified has helped a lot to summarize).

 

If WoW is addictive in SCIENTIFIC terms, then I would think pretty much anything is addictive (in scientific terms).

 

wow is very addicting but i wouldnt call it dangerous

 

No. WoW is only dangerous in ruining your life. If a WoW addict hurts others then they had underlying issues. Dont blame tv or video games for what humans have been doing to each other looooong before tv/gaming/internet were around. Do you blame what the nazis did on any of the 3? No, they were the epitome of evil jsut as this guy was.

Remember if guns kill people then spoons made America fat....This rule of thumb goes for any object that requires human input.

 

Certain activities are much moreso likely to be habit forming than others. Addictiveness of an activity rests on a spectrum. WoW is much higher on the list than many other activities, because it is engineered to tap into that habit forming capability of our brain. That engineering is based on the progressively more delayed reward delivery scheduling implemented in the game.

Note, that there are many games that leverage this exploit of the human mind, WoW is not the only culprit. WoW is just more popular than many other games and has media attention.

The short version of the serious problem is that the psychological addiction that can occur with moderate exposure results in the same symptoms as a chemical addiction to a physically addictive drug (often habit forming on a single exposure). This is true both in terms of the impact of the addiction and the results of short term withdrawl. Not everyone who is exposed will become addicted, regardless of exposure. Addiction is measured holistically based on negative life impact.

-Not enjoying the experience on reflection, but compulsion to continue.
-Loss of significant relationships
-Loss of work
-Lying about usage

 

Simplified and other

Many thanks for your help

Jeg er dårlig i Engelsk, å må bare skrive på Skandinavisk.

Jeg setter meget stor pris på at du engasjerer deg og kommer med innspill som hjelper meg å forstå litt bedre.

Du kan tenke deg at jeg er frustrerat når min sønn ikke har tid til familien bare på grunn av det forbannede WOW.

Han bor hos sin mor i en annen del av Norge

 

I agree with this post. These games are specifically engineered to addict people. Every game developer has to think "What will hook people into playing my game?" MMO developers have to think of this moreso, as addiction makes up their bottom-line. Features like statistics and achievements have become so widespread because developers realize that these things hook people into playing their game moreso than they would have otherwise. MMO's are therefore a different type of product than guns or spoons.

Meanwhile, I can't help but doubt that scolding people into conforming with good behavior is ever productive and "people are addicted to WoW because they are weak-willed" is akin to "people are poor because they are lazy."

 

Trist sak det der. Han er ikke alene om å kaste bort livet sitt på dette tullspillet. Kanskje moren hans kan lage passord på pcen, lage bestemte tider han kan bruke datamaskinen osv? Eller er han for gammel til dette?

 

Abba ?

10 char

 

Takk for svar


Tror nok ikke hans mor vil greie det nei, dessuten er han nok ivhertfall en av Europas beste spillere og gammel nok til at han kan "lure" henne lett. Han er en av de beste WOW spilllere der ute, skulle også bare mange med antall timer han har med dette forbannede drittspillet

 

excessively playing WOW is not so much a cause as it is a symptom of his mental illness. to the OP though its best not to spend to much time doing any one thing =P

its like sugar... a little is actually good for you, to much and you end up like 60% of Americans.

 

I agree completely with you and masterchef341 comments. Like you point out, MMOs need to have a good hook, this becomes clear once we realize that they survive due to either monthly fees (like WoW) or through microtransactions (like League of Legends).

 

Experienced something similar like that.
My childhood friend got addicted to not just WoW, but also Counter Strike ect.
He never visited me, and in the end i gave up on him.
Being "internet" friends is just not the same thing.

I played the same games as he, but i never ended up getting hooked.
Also for me to be a notebook gamer meant that i could easily go to my friends house and play some coop games if we dident do any non gaming related stuff.

I dont know if its the parenting, the persons personality or a mix that makes a person addicted to gambling, games ect.

I grew up with strick predetermined hours when i could play, and i had to save up my own money for games.
From my first console, the Sega Mega Drive (Genesis) to my first handheld Game Boy Pocket i had to buy it myself.
Might say i sorta got hooked on Pokemon Red but every kid who grew up with pokemon was that at the time, if not the games then it was the trading cards.
Still play Pokemon, but the newer games kinda suck.

 

Different things:
I've lost some people to MMO's and/or shooters, the addiction factor is quite massive on these games.

That doesn't make them killer. The reverse is more the point. As killers often have a different view of the world, they might be more drawn into games, which might give them a more fitting world view, or at least a more "fair" world view.

He loved and was addicted to Microsoft Word. So lets ban microsoft word right now, as it's EVIL and creates killers!

 

No offense guys but this is an English forum. If you are going to speak Nordic then you have to provide an English translation with it, as per the forum rules.

It's kind of impolite to speak in another language that most everyone else doesn't understand, without providing a translation of what's being said.

 

^
^
Yup , cmon deagleson and cloudfire let us join your conversation

 

Audi4ever said that his son spends allot of his time playing WoW while ignoring his family.
Not much he can do either because his son lives with his mother in a different part of Norway.