Why can't MMO players admit addiction?

GreenChaos

Like they used to.



Back in the old days of MUDs and Everquest.  People who played these games would freely admit that they are addictive and very very time consuming.  It was something we all acknowledged.  It was not a bad thing it was just the way it was. 



But now you bring up this topic and everyone denies it?



I remember a few years ago asking something about Everquest (he played all the time and would play during work).  And he said, I love it but, it is addictive and time consuming.



I asked someone about MUDs before I started playing them and he said they are very fun, but addictive and time consuming.



It used to be a common fact.  Now if you bring up the topic everyone says, no no no, it's the player not the game.



I started playing playing MUDs and MMOs knowing full well they were very time consuming because everyone playing would admit to it.



So the question is why is it so taboo to call MMOs addictive now, when it used to be common knowledge?

bobyates

I dunno about other people but i for one get addicted to a game really easily. If its fun to play bam im a addicted. Now maybe not every one gets addicted but i bet alot of people do. the first step is admitting u have a problem.

randomt

Do people call all the other activities humans do for entertainment as 'addiction'?  People who can't seem to stay away from sports or bars or movies or any number of other things? TV certainly.  Yet society doesn't mind.. so let's let mmorpgs fade into the same category, and live and let live

Katashi-kun

Hellz yeah I'm addicted to playing MMOs....I spend a minimum of 6-8hrs a day playing them, and sometimes as much as 16-20hrs depending on game and the current events I'm involved with!

The Video Game Business grosses more than the Motion Picture Association yearly now, so most that really play games/MMOs can't deny being an addict...heh!

Jirel

I'm not addicted to MMOs - I don't play during work, I take time out to eat and I go to bed at a reasonable hour.

READING on the other hand - THAT I'm addicted to and have been since I was 10.  I learned years ago to never take a book to work and it took me years to be able to break away from a book so that I could go to bed early enough to be able to work well the next day - it doesn't help that I read fast enough to finish most books in a matter of hours rather than days or weeks.  I still try to start what look like really good books on Fridays rather than during the week.

Tweej

Maybe just the fact addiction hass today more of a negative connotation... in the media its all rehab and addictions and none of it seems a good thing... and with the extreme storys true or false about addicted gamers dying or serious overdoing it in a way that makes MMO players look bad i think nowadays people are scared to be tagged like that....

 

I personally feel addicted to MMO's as a whole... from starting on WoW it wasnt enough that i was bored i then looked for something new and better... which has lead me to a million trials of crappy f2p MMO's or past their sell by date MMO's but also to EQII which i think is awesome... and i'm returning for my 2nd spell in between two spells on LOTRO which i will return when the new content is added and the expansion is due...

I also have tried a return to WoW twice but haven't felt like it has what it had over me when i only knew of WoW and not MMO's in general...

 

 

brostyn

Seems to me people still say games are addictive. Heck, its in even in marketing campagins.

 

Unlike drugs, games are something people want to be addicted to. Kinda like sex.

randomt

And its we the gamer's responsibility to stay in healthy enough shape, and eat/drink well, etc. 

ThomasN7

Maybe because if they admit they are addictied they don't want to be appearing on the Dr Phil Show ? Ok, all jokes aside but thats a good question. Games considered by many are just a hobby and not a way of life for the gamer but when you see people playing a hobby 8+ hours a day and ignoring things that really matter in real life people perceieve it to be a problem and rightfully so. Though I could imagine there are many things that factor into why some do not admit to addiction.

Galaxo

If i'm not in a good clan/guild/alliance/kinship i can't get addicted.

I can't say i am addicted to games but i am addicted to internet

TeflonEddie

I'm not addicted to MMO's. I spend a reasonable bit of time playing MMO's but no longer than other people spend watching TV or reading, or doing whatever myriad little recreational activities that most appeal to them. I'd estimate that I play MMO's for between 10-15 hours a week.

Are MMO's by nature addictive? Sure they are, but everything can be. A work colleague of mine had to have therapy because he was addicted to cycling of all things.

TdogSkal

well first off Addiction is a word that is over used.

Most people are not addicted to anything.  Just because you spend alot of time doing something does not mean your addicted.

You spend 8 hours a day a work but I bet your not addicted to work.

 

Sydonaii

Unfortunately, my grip with the whole thing, is that everyone just pretty much loves to tag " addiction " to anything fun. Of course it will be "addictive" because its fun. Why do so many people have to put down anything fun in this world and make people who do it too much feel self concious about what they do? Because peoples lives have been ruined by it? O please. There is a reason why folks blame the player.

 

People need to just shut up and let people live. if someone wants to do something, because its so fun to them, LET THEM. What is the big issue? Because your life is so " properly " balanced you have to go around telling everyone to do less of this, less of that, etc. before you know it, everything that is fun, will be tagged a addiction, and the world will not stop until everyone is wearing 1 white t-shirt, 1 white pair of pants, 1 white pair of shoes, a white car, eats exactly 3 meals a day, exactly 8 hours of sleep, because be carefull folks, if you sleep for 8 hours and 1 minute, your addicted to sleep.

 

If someones fun activity, hurts them in real life, they have noone else to blame but themselves. The game did not stop that person from eating, showering or anything. It was fun, we as people let them do it because it was fun for them. It is up to the PLAYER, not the people, to stop themselves if it starts to hinder their well being. This is my opinion on this matter, it is not a insult, i really hope noone takes it that way. This is also my first post, nice to meet some people.

eminn_hawk

Originally posted by bobyates


I dunno about other people but i for one get addicted to a game really easily. If its fun to play bam im a addicted. Now maybe not every one gets addicted but i bet alot of people do. the first step is admitting u have a problem.

I am addicted to MMO's i have been all my time of play them witch is like 7 years and i abmit to it BUT i dont have a problem people that are on crack have problems not people with addictions to MMO's its just a life style to most and to others i just dont know.

chrisleko

It does have a great deal to do with the the negative social stigma of addiction.  When it comes down to it, a great deal of activities many people do are addictive in one form or another.  I watch a great deal of television (I get annoyed when I miss a show, that's why I have a tivo), and I know I'm addicted.  As another poster said, I am also addicted to reading.  I read an great deal, i don't always have the time to get into a good book during the day, but i make an effort to read every night before bed.

People don't like admitting addiction because it is generally a bad thing.  If games do get in the way of life, eating, drinking, taking care of your kids, or just plain socializing, then it becomes an issue.  I know people who play WoW 4 hours a night during the week and 8 hours on each weekday.  I couldn't do that, but he can and it doesn't affect his life.  Good for him.

Is he addicted, yes.  Is it really a major problem, no.  When it is, I might think about having an intervention.

After all, we all tend to be addicted to at least one thing.  Poker players love poker.  Readers to love to read.  Musicians are addicted to playing.  It's just a matter of finding something which we love, are addicted to, but isn't destructive to our lives.  Many of us think because it doesn't harm us, we aren't addicted.

 

paulscott

Though shall not mention video game addiction until politictions like Hillary are buried.  It's just common sense(unless of course you could get video gamers to vote then we get catered to like old people).

Munki

Originally posted by GreenChaos


Like they used to.



Back in the old days of MUDs and Everquest.  People who played these games would freely admit that they are addictive and very very time consuming.  It was something we all acknowledged.  It was not a bad thing it was just the way it was. 



But now you bring up this topic and everyone denies it?



I remember a few years ago asking something about Everquest (he played all the time and would play during work).  And he said, I love it but, it is addictive and time consuming.



I asked someone about MUDs before I started playing them and he said they are very fun, but addictive and time consuming.



It used to be a common fact.  Now if you bring up the topic everyone says, no no no, it's the player not the game.



I started playing playing MUDs and MMOs knowing full well they were very time consuming because everyone playing would admit to it.



So the question is why is it so taboo to call MMOs addictive now, when it used to be common knowledge?

Addicted is a powerful word. Its also a word that people dont understand and misuse VERY often.

In your case I think your misusing the word addiction, with the phrase "enjoy playing,"

Ive been a rather vocal advocate of how MMORPG's satisfy next to all of peoples entertainment needs in one little 15 dollars a month package. For those of you who regular the bar, you'd know this is a killer deal.

Most parents, and many older people grew up playing Pong, maybe some single player offline games. These games were fun, but they weren't very social. You got lonely and in all honesty, if you could play them for weeks without going out, there was something wrong with you.

MMORPGs in contrast have many things people look for in entertainment. It has the social aspect people need, it has the competition that some people need. Its got the game/fun aspect, and its cheap.

This makes MMORPGs more like a sport than a video game by most peoples ideals. Videogames in the past have been a very solo adventure. Just you, the TV and the console. This difference now is that you are engaging in social, competing with others and having fun.

So if you want to say people are addicted to mmorpgs, you should also be saying people who play sports every day are addicted to the sport. The problem with this still is that people take addicted to sports as a good thing, and addicted to videogames as a bad thing. Its just how society thinks, which is simply a bastard child of misinformation and fear.

demarc01

Its more to do with the way the word *addiction* has changed in meaning than the actual attitudes of MMORPG players.

Addiction has taken on a very negitive aspect, the word as used in todays world, is very negitive. Its changed from a very neutral word that could mean spending alot of time consumed with an activity to a word that infur's a reliance on an activity. Thats why alot of players will distance themselves from the *addictive* tag.

Sure there are players who get overly involved with a game and it does take on an addictive (By todays deffinition) quality .. but those players are in a very small minority. Most of us still manage to work, interact with people outside of the game and live quality lives. The amount of time spent on an activity does not define it as addictive or not ... drugs are addictive ... being a user and not taking drugs leads to all sorts of withdrawl symptoms etc ... stopping playing a MMORPG does not have the same effect for a vast majority of the player base. (Again there are some people ... a small minority .. who suffer classic withdrawl symptoms)

So its more to do with the useage of the word than the actual activitys of the players. Where we all called Everquest Evercrack and joked about being addicted to it because we played x-hours per week ... the tone of the word has change enough that its not what we were expressing back in 2000. Blame the media for that

Netzoko

Who says we are covering it up?

Hi, my name is Net and I'm an MMORPG addict.

Jadetooth

I'm not addicted. I just really like my games.

daylight01

Hi,my name is daylight(also known as sinhealer) and  I am a mmo addict.

*group together* welcome sinhealer

*sinhealer*I try to quite but it just keeps nagging at me,I cant leave it behind

*group together* *nods*

*sinhealer*I keep praying everynight that every game was like darkfall and would never release,but every day I awake and mmo's still excist.

*group together* AMEN!

*sinhealer"please god give me strength to accept the things I cannot change(darkfall release),

*sinhealer*give me hope to think that a sandbox title is near,

*sinhealer*that not every forum is based on a *why we hate soe*

*sinhealer*I dont ask much,please deliver...

*7 days later and 6 GM posts later god response*

*You shall have your sandbox title,but not now,ohh not now and you will never get ride of the soe haters as I am 1.

BarCrow

Originally posted by Munki


 
Originally posted by GreenChaos


Like they used to.



Back in the old days of MUDs and Everquest.  People who played these games would freely admit that they are addictive and very very time consuming.  It was something we all acknowledged.  It was not a bad thing it was just the way it was. 



But now you bring up this topic and everyone denies it?



I remember a few years ago asking something about Everquest (he played all the time and would play during work).  And he said, I love it but, it is addictive and time consuming.



I asked someone about MUDs before I started playing them and he said they are very fun, but addictive and time consuming.



It used to be a common fact.  Now if you bring up the topic everyone says, no no no, it's the player not the game.



I started playing playing MUDs and MMOs knowing full well they were very time consuming because everyone playing would admit to it.



So the question is why is it so taboo to call MMOs addictive now, when it used to be common knowledge?

Addicted is a powerful word. Its also a word that people dont understand and misuse VERY often.

In your case I think your misusing the word addiction, with the phrase "enjoy playing,"

 

Ive been a rather vocal advocate of how MMORPG's satisfy next to all of peoples entertainment needs in one little 15 dollars a month package. For those of you who regular the bar, you'd know this is a killer deal.

Most parents, and many older people grew up playing Pong, maybe some single player offline games. These games were fun, but they weren't very social. You got lonely and in all honesty, if you could play them for weeks without going out, there was something wrong with you.

MMORPGs in contrast have many things people look for in entertainment. It has the social aspect people need, it has the competition that some people need. Its got the game/fun aspect, and its cheap.

This makes MMORPGs more like a sport than a video game by most peoples ideals. Videogames in the past have been a very solo adventure. Just you, the TV and the console. This difference now is that you are engaging in social, competing with others and having fun.

So if you want to say people are addicted to mmorpgs, you should also be saying people who play sports every day are addicted to the sport. The problem with this still is that people take addicted to sports as a good thing, and addicted to videogames as a bad thing. Its just how society thinks, which is simply a bastard child of misinformation and fear.

I play MMOs quite a bit...well..just WOW for now...and I frequent bars...(and gained my current  moniker b/c of this fact)...and let me tell you....I wish I were more addicted to MMO's...it is much cheaper...When I get into a fight...no one actually dies...and even if it were possible in game to sleep with a strange member of the opposite sex...well...I trust MacAfee over Trojan any day. Any addiction starts with a choice...in my opinion...and as long as it doesnt hurt anyone ,,,and still remains truly enjoyable then it remains merely a choice...if it fails to satisfy either of these criteria...and you still continue...it has likely become an addiction.

apocalance

I've had people tell me that the MMO I play sounds interesting and they'd like to try it. I tell them to stay away unless they have nothing better to do than go home from work, login and spend every waking hour playing it. I warn them that it will consume them and they will become quite absorbed in it. I tell them it is addicting, and unless they are ready to take on a new addiction, they should stay away.

This has succeeded in keeping new people MMO-free. If they've never had it, they won't miss it.

Yes, it's an addiction. But it doesn't *actively* harm your body or mind. You really need to be messed up in the first place to have any adverse side effects from playing a MMO.

IMO, it's healthy. I've never sprained an ankle or busted my face open while playing one, although I have been late to work a few times because I stayed up a bit longer than I should have..

ok.. going to bed now! (Maybe forums are addicting too?)

Anofalye

Addiction is not when you have nothing better to do, it is when it take precedence over everything else.

 

I think peoples are just better at understanding the meaning of addiction, and are also afraid of all the negative press it receive.

ladyattis

To be honest, I don't think we could call constant MMO playing an addiction nor really anything where no substance is consumed an addiction. I would call it having too much free time or even poor time managing skills instead. But sometimes, an MMO is just cheaper than a movie to have, even at 15 USD a month. So, it seems like there's an incentive to play once you're paying for it and all. Plus, there are some folks that have a form of OCD, which really means some MMOs play up features of that condition to their favor as a happy accident (I don't even think the PR/bizz nerds have an idea that it's happening like this yet...). Thus, my personal verdict is no: it's not an addiction, it's a compulsion, there's a key difference and there are different therapies for both.

-- Brede

Travizty

Addiction is not defined by how often someone does something. What happens to the individual while doing it defines whether or not they are addicted.(An alcoholic gets drunk off they're first drink (effect) and continues to drink more and more resulting in our observation "oh he must be addicted he drinks all the time" When in fact it was the effect from the first drink that determined his actions that followed.

I am not saying some people are not addicted to they're MMO of choice, what I am saying is just because a person plays a game alot does not mean they are addicted to it.