World of Warcraft Addiction
It may be hard to comprehend, but there are many players who have a World of Warcraft addiction. There are facts that support this relatively new addiction, including a website set up just for sufferers to come and post their experiences. The website is called WOWDetox.com and currently has 32,620 posts from people who found themselves unable to play World of Warcraft in a sensible manner.
There have been many stories, both substantiated and rumored, regarding the horrific effects on people who have developed this addiction. The most commonly reported problems with having a World of Warcraft addiction is how playing this game completely takes over a person’s life. Families, jobs, school, and health are all ignored in favor of playing World of Warcraft.
There have been at least 2 game related deaths. One of them involved a child who was neglected while her parents were in a frenzy of playing. Couples have divorced over this game. People have been fired from jobs. Really avid players actually forget to eat while being so consumed with playing. It has been estimated that 10 – 40 percent of the players of World of Warcraft are addicted to the game.
While it may be somewhat different, having a World of Warcraft addiction is just as serious as having a gambling, drinking or drug addiction. Anyone who is sitting and playing this, or any other game, for 10 – 12 hours a day or more, needs help. It has been reported that China has already implemented a required fatigue system. This is called Anti-online game system. It works by cutting the benefits gained in the game after 3 hours of play by slowing down the ability to obtain new levels or earn rewards. It slows to 50 percent after 3 hours, and all the way down to 0 after 5 hours of non stop playing.
One way you can tell if you have a World of Warcraft addiction is by asking someone who is not involved in the game if you seem to be addicted. If you dread what their answer will be, you most likely already know you have a problem. Other symptoms include having no interest in your family, friends, job, school, health, or anything else that is in the real world.
It seems that one reason certain people get so totally involved in World of Warcraft is that it allows them to be something they are not. In the game, ordinary people can become leaders, or very strong fighters. They can do extraordinary things that they would never be capable of in the real world. Therefore, they prefer to be in this imaginary realm, and have it act as their “real” world. If this is something you are doing, you need to turn off your computer, and seek help immediately.
