World of WarCraft. As many of you are probably (at least) aware, is a cultural phenomenon that has taken the world quite literally.
According to Gamasutra, "Blizzard Entertainment has announced that World of Warcraft has recently passed 10 million subscribers worldwide since its launch on November 23, 2004. " (http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=17062) As of right now, its number of subscribed users is probably higher.
What exactly is this for those who are unfamiliar?
For starters, World of Warcraft of an MMORPG. This acronym stands for Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game. The general premise of this MMORPG, as with most software that falls within this genre of entertainment, involves the creation of a game character that you wish to play as. Many of the more modern titles, give options to alter the way the character appears.
As you progress further into this MMORPG, you acquire items, equipment, and skills of which you utilize to progress even further into the game.
Do keep in mind that World of WarCraft actually does not have an "end" like many games have. Every so often, an expansion to the game is released. As it stands now, there are 2 such expansions titled The Burning Crusades and Wrath of the Lich King. Each of these expansions to the title adds additional content for players of this "world" to further immerse themselves into.
An important bit of information to be aware of is that in order to continue to play this game, a user must pay a $15 monthly fee. Also keep in mind that World of WarCraft currently retails for $19.99, and The Burning Crusades retails for $29.99 while The Wrath of the Lich King retails for $39.99. Also, keep in mind that these MSRP (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price) is lowered every so often.
So...
a. a player needs to purchase the original software
b. if the player wants to continue to play the game then it would make sense to purchase all of the expansion titles
c. if the players wants to continue to play the game and the expansions, then the player must continue to pay the $15 monthly fee
Does it seem like a scam? Maybe to some outsiders, but to those who are involved with this title, it may seem like a price worth paying in order to continue their social standings amongst other WoW (World of WarCraft) players.
Do keep in mind that I personally have never engaged myself in game. Although is does sound like an interesting opportunity that I could engage myself in, strictly speaking from an opportunity cost point of view, the game would involve too much money to continue playing and far too my time investment.
Now that we have the general bits of information laid out, let's take a look at this game from a psychological point of view.
What we essentially have here is an alternate form of reality where the physical medium (our physical body) is separated by our minds' involvement with a virtual reality setting.
For reasons that differ depending on the person, some may use World of WarCraft as a form of escape from the hectic and demanding world of "reality", others may utilize this game as a form of social networking with people; many of whom the individual will not meet in "reality", and others may use it as a form of escape from their own minds; sort of like a medium by which one would be distracted enough to forget (at least temporarily) the thoughts that go through our minds throughout the day.
In a sense, World of WarCraft can potentially be seen as an addiction; something that people have criticized it to be in the past as this YouTube clip displays.
"World of Warcraft Addict"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8hfK3RQs2g
Although this young man may have issues based on (according to the clip):
- 16 hours a day
- personality changes; becoming moody& violent
-
Right away, the news reporter shows the bias by saying that "His addiction is tearing the family apart."
"They don't realize how addictive it can be."
"It's addiction and an illness."
"I'm addicted to the game, but I'm not fully addicted."
Maybe the young man is addicted to the game. Maybe he is not. However, this news report would seem to suggest that World of Warcraft is strictly the sole culprit of ruining the family. It might be an issue with the family, but what is odd is that this family fails to realize that there might be other issues that this teenage male is dealing with. World of Warcraft may simply be a medium by which he is able to cope with these feelings of hostility and confusion; something that is quite common during the teenage years.
How addictive can it get? Very. However, is it far fetched to say that virtually anything can become a source of addiction and to an extent, and obsessions if used or involved in excess?
Unfortunately, this clip does not delve into details on the family, but rather focuses on the young man's avid involvement with World of Warcraft. Hence, not much can be said here other than what can be extrapolated from this clip and what the speakers say.
They call the "addiction" to the game the same as an illness. Be that as it may, it does seem to be stretching it to be calling it an illness. It is abnormal for anyone to be involved in one computer game for that many hours at a time, but calling this addiction an illness seems to suggest that there is some kind of a disease. Calling it an illness will probably lead to the young man denying his "...fully addicted..." status and probably end up continuing to play.
In the clip, the man interviewing the young man questioned the "friends". That in a sense seemed a bit insulting to the younger man. Why?
First of all, the young man is probably aware that others see something wrong with him playing for 16 hours a day. But be reaffirming by questioning him seemed a bit unnecessary. Judging by the body language, it would seem that the interviewer seemed to be making a condescending remark.
Let's take a look at this with an example with a issue that many people around the world are faced with.
Weight loss.
We all know about the issues and controversies surrounding the topic of weight loss. We see many that are severely overweight, want to do something about it, and try even if it is in the smallest way.
But what do you think goes around in a severely overweight individual when he/she seems commercials about being overweight, people constantly reminding the individual about being overweight, watching TV and seeing what the "ideal" weight for a person to be is, etc.
It's all very condescending.
Something that is quite wrong, unethical, and unnecessary is the whole condescending nature about this issue (World of Warcraft or any other similar situations). It is unnecessary.
The individual being criticized realizes that there is something that bothers another or a group of others, and the individual is trying (even if it is simply mentally sorting out some things that can be done). But being reminded (verbally, or in any other way) constantly seems to build up a sense of shame, and ultimately worse doubt in one's sense of being able to improve one's self.
Is it so wrong to not be "perfect"? We are human, and humans are by default imperfect beings; be it in the way we think, act, and behave.
What we have here with the World of Warcraft example is the WoW player being subtly told that there is something absolutely wrong with the individual and that he must change because he is not "normal".
But what is "normal"? Is "normal" a relative term used to describe what a culture believes to be a "norm"; as in generally accepted rules (be it explicit or implicit) that a culture holds to be "true". That might be the case. But what is "normal" when humans are by nature unique, even in the smallest detail? Being unique separates us from the everyday, mundane norms of society.
This WoW player is by all means unique, and also shares many unique characteristics as the many other WoW players. By those standards, there is nothing wrong. It might even be common to see WoW players amongst the WoW community playing a minimum of 16 hours a day. Maybe not.
The point here is that people should not be criticized for being seemingly abnormal. There might be other factors contributing to the situation. If the individual is unable to express his feelings and emotions at all, what do you think would happen? It would be an absolute catrostrophe; quite possibly physically violent in many ways.
We don't know the whole story with this WoW player. As with many WoW players, there could possibly be some larger issues; many of which are personal. Other WoW players may simply enjoy the game and play the 16 hours a day, but not everyday.
In this case, it would seem that WoW is being blamed; scapegoated by the parents for the parents lack of ability to understand what the teenage is going through in life. It would seem that there is little to no involvement from the mother (since she is the only parent shown in the clip). The issue here (from what is shown) is that it would seem that:
a. the parent has little involvement with what is going on in the teenager's life
b. WoW is being taken as just game
c. playing WoW equals addiction which equals a "problem"
d. no other possible reasoning is being considered
In essence, WoW is being solely focused on. The teenager is having trouble in school to the point where he left. In the video, it would seem that they believe that WoW is the reason why the teenager left school. This might be the case, but, he may have left school from feeling uncomfortable around his peers, maybe he was ridiculed, or maybe he sincerely feels unmotivated to be in an educational institution.
That does seem like it could be a result of many factors that the teenager may have gone through. For "addiction" of WoW to be able to directly and solely cause him to drop out of school is unlikely. There is most likely a reason why he would go about deciding to do this, and it is not too far fetched to say that poor parenting (or no parenting) may have contributed to this end.
What do you think about this? Please comment below.
UPDATE#1
I have found an interesting and relevant article.
http://arstechnica.com/old/content/2006/08/7459.ars
Clinical psychologist and founder of Computer Addiction Services claims that 40% of WoW players are addicted. So, then that means that more than half (60% in this case) are not addicted.
