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When escapism goes too far. The curious world of "poop sockers."
Amathe
Member LegendaryPosts: 7,630
MMOs offer a somewhat unique opportunity to escape from the rest of the world. You get to be somebody else, in an alternate world, and still be in the company of other people. It's active entertainment, where you do things, rather than passive entertainment like tv and film.
Some people take this opportunity way too far. They stop living in the real world and spend almost all their time in the game world. "Life" is reduced to the fulfillment of basic needs, like food and having to relieve onseself, and for the most part all other time is spent "in game." Some people call that "hardcore." Some, including normal hardcore players, would call that "nuts."
There was one rumored incident where a player many years ago needed to relieve himself but could not tear himself away from his game, so he removed his sock and, well, used that. After that, the term "poop socker" came to mean someone who played 24/7 and neglected even their most basic needs.
Some countries have passed laws to limit how much time someone can play a game, at least at internet cafes.
Have you known people whose playtime has reached the point of ruining their life, making them crazy, or being very unhealthy?
Is there anything you can do? Is there anything the game company should do if its records show someone playing round the clock?
EQ1, EQ2, SWG, SWTOR, GW, GW2 CoH, CoV, FFXI, WoW, CO, War,TSW and a slew of free trials and beta tests
Comments
i wouldn't say i let a poop sock come into the equation, but when i was runing a guild last year, i let my social contacts get the better of me, and actually fell prey to a online romance. It was great, it became too real, the real life situation was simple, I was lonely(no family, rl friends were having their own lives and romances), and well she had a kid, and just got divorced, and father was getting custody blah blah, drama happened.
Invited her to come live with me, and when she did, we hit it off, but she was all drama'd out over leaving her kid that she actually moved up to alaska to follow her ex, because she couldn't handle not seeing her. found out 3 months later she was staying with him, and she got kicked out because he moved his new gf in, so she went back home, and transfered to a new server probably to go try to get another person to escape with, since despite the warnings(which seemed like bitterness and jealousy at the time) she tried to do the same thing to 3 people.
So while i didn't lose anything, and it actually prompted me to get back into the dating world(where i met my ex who i still live with, and my current fiance) I still refuse to take any sort of online friendship or relationship too seriously because in real life, everyones different and relying on them to say get a place together(as roomies) or move near them(as friends) would just be a mistake since it just doesn't translate.
There are medical conditions that could lead to this. Obsessive/compulsive comes to mind. If you have abandoned everything to live in a virtual world, can't hurt to tell your doctor. He can subscribe something like prozac.
It's a matter of degree. If something becomes a problem it could be an illness. Healthy people rarely obsess to point it becomes a problem. For long anyways.
Well shave my back and call me an elf! -- Oghren
I also did all my dating online. I chatted up the ladies online and met almost all of them in real life, also met my wife like this. I did/do not consider myself a hardcore poopsocker gamer.
I did indeed game a lot but never allowed it go so far I neglected my health and hygyne. I did not know anybody that did.
Gaming can be addictive and one should take that into account when one indulge also one should not forget what really matters and thats fun. The moment you feel you need to game you are slipping to the dark side.
Gaming should be something you want but never need.
There are some people who will be happy being hooked up to the Matrix.
But isn't becoming obsessive a definition of being a hardcore gamer?
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/RZetlin
It all depends on the value of the life they were leading before the game took over whether or not I would call them "nuts". There are a whole lot of lonely people out there, a lot more than you would probably expect. A lot of people have little to no social life for whatever personal reason. If I had to choose between a lonely life trapped in the city looking at the masses unable to connect...and losing myself in a game and find a social outlet in that, well it would be an easy choise.
So it all depends on what they lost when they started playing all day every day. Believe it or not, but there are people that have only gained by doing this. If they had a full life and lost their loved ones, job etc because of the gaming obsession then yes I would call them "nuts". However I have a strong feeling that the majority of those that play almost every waking moment do that because the game added to the value of their life.
I don't think game devellopers should try to protect people from this kind of obsession. I consider an mmo that does not give the option to play 24/7 a bad one. They should be doing their very best to get as many people in the game and have them spend as much time in it as possible. They should focus on making the "next best thing" and not focus on protecting people from the very products they create.
Well at least that is the same as real life and fantasy world. Isn't it amazing how a person will always believe their recently met love over the people they have known much longer and already trust. I'm amazed everytime that happens to someone.
Yes clearly people can do anything too much. They can shop too much, order from infomercials (ok even doing that once is too much), eat too much, sleep too much, drink too much etc etc. It's no different from just about anything in the world. Is it sad and pathetic when it happens to someone? Sure it is, but that same person likely would of gone head first into something else and never looked back anyways.
I don't think it should ever be the companies, or the governments, responsibility to protect people from themselves. If you are going to eat yourself to death that is your choice, same with gaming. If you are going to game to the point it effects your life negatively, that is your choice and hopefully you will learn from it.
I am a gamer and enjoy the escapism. But my ex took it too far. She was on WoW or F2P mostly web based games all the time. Not a poop socker, but she weighed around 90 pounds when I left her because she really wouldn't stop to eat.
"Never met a pack of humans that were any different. Look at the idiots that get elected every couple of years. You really consider those guys more mature than us? The only difference between us and them is, when they gank some noobs and take their stuff, the noobs actually die." - Madimorga
Yes clearly people can do anything too much. They can shop too much, order from infomercials (ok even doing that once is too much), eat too much, sleep too much, drink too much etc etc. It's no different from just about anything in the world. Is it sad and pathetic when it happens to someone? Sure it is, but that same person likely would of gone head first into something else and never looked back anyways.
I don't think it should ever be the companies, or the governments, responsibility to protect people from themselves. If you are going to eat yourself to death that is your choice, same with gaming. If you are going to game to the point it effects your life negatively, that is your choice and hopefully you will learn from it.
Yes I agree, and would add there is no need to have additional laws or regulations of gaming. There are already laws like child abuse and neglect laws for poop socker parents.
Further, specific laws against gaming are arbitrary. People can just as easily escape to television or drugs and neglect their children. I used to be a social worker and one mother, who did even have electricity, had stacks, probably thousands, of romance novels.
"Never met a pack of humans that were any different. Look at the idiots that get elected every couple of years. You really consider those guys more mature than us? The only difference between us and them is, when they gank some noobs and take their stuff, the noobs actually die." - Madimorga
No offense, but it almost sounds like you believe that the internet is the cause of all the evil in the world. You do realise people got mugged, raped, tortured, betrayed, taken for granted, taken advantage off etc long before we even knew we could use a rock as a weapon....right?
The internet is a not a safe place, but neither is reality.
AhHa now i can finally get my wife to lose weight-i will buy her a subscription to WOW and check back on her in 6 months.
Thank you
Be carefull, to most of us it has the opposite result so she might come back 50 pounds heavier.
LOL....this thread is hilarious.
Yeah, I've known my share of "poop sockers" over the years. But hey....if that's how they enjoy themselves, what business is it of mine??
I mean Hell.....I'm sure we all know people who lay on the couch and watch the tube all weekend.
When I was by myself for a couple years after my first marriage, I built what I called my "Lazy Station". A recliner with a leaf from the dining room table across the arms, with a wireless mouse and keyboard velcroed onto it.....a cup holder, ash tray, and my mini fridge with coffee maker on top right next to it.
Other than food and bio breaks, I could spend a couple days in that chair easily playin' MMOs.
I call it luxury. I'm sure some people will call it crazy, but I don't really care what other people think anyway. If I can spend my time doing what I enjoy, then I consider it time well spent.
i have yet to meet an unhappy gamer!the average doesnt drink doesnt spend a lot (asie from a good computer)
no the only one unhappy are the one not participating !those are unhappy its hard to plan a skeem or a good thing if the person responsible is ignoring you and having a ball
thats what makes me laugh about this issue !its often parent that feel its not normal even tho they spend more time then the game in from of the tv bein g brainwashed by that trash(i listened to it for 30 years when i discovered the net i sold the cinema the tv the shound chain.and baught a computer a good pair of headphone and i ve been happy every since
no more horror story from x,y,z part of the world etc! if i want news i get the news i want the the one the tv show decided because it should rise their rating
there probably are unhappy gamer but most its the one around them busing like fly for attention that wants in but dont want to come play .i wanted to give my old comp to one of my relative she tho was offering her the hand of the devil !oh well.
she knows where to find me !she wont shes probably busy searching for a rich hunk to marry then scam the hell out of him
couple months later we ll see that dude start to play mmo and hes gona be another happy gamer
yep i have yet to see one unhappy gamer .be they slim fat tall or short they are all happy.try try that in the real world lol!
sorry if it sounded that way !i believe its actually the reverse!the inernet got corrupted because of real life scammer
ask china for fun why they are so strict ,i bet in 4000 year!the bipolar democracy we have, too will be as strict as china when we have 1 billion people in america.
This thread reminded me of the blog I did right before WoTLK was relaseased about my experience with real life Sockpoopers, these two the last I heard were in jail surrounding a incedent where they tried to scam a GS employee out of two WoTLK collectors editions, a scuffle ensued and they attacked the guy..anyway enjoy....
I tell folks about a couple here in the town that I live in. I'll call them Shaun and Wendy. (Because hey that's their names..) They basically live in this 1960's Single wide Trailer which they rent by the week, they are on Public assistance/food stamps (Which is what the State of New York calls welfare) and works only long enough to pay their WoW subscription each month. Shaun and Wendy had a gorgeous little girl that Social services took away last summer..they will never see her ever again because they were too busy Raiding Kara to go to the hearing. If you see them in public they relate everything to WoW, for instance if they buy eggs, one will remark that the eggs do 200 points cholesterol damage….they actually say things like Lollerskates and leetsauce outloud, they are a walking embarrassment to anyone that has ever played any type of game…period.
I can always tell when Rebecca runs into them in a store, it usually goes something like
Me: Hey ! You're back...soandso wanted to know if you wanted to help out in Slave pens tonight?
Rebecca: No I don't want to play for awhile..lets take the kids out for dinner tonight.
Me: You saw Shaun and Wendy at the grocery store…didn't you?
Rebecca: Yes now if you'll excuse me I am going to take a shower, Hug my children, and stay as far away from the computer as possble for the next three days.
I know a lot of folks that has a lesser addiction to the game, but they still give me plenty to cringe about when they do things like pawn their kids off to Grandma, or lay out of work just to play…Rebecca and I could always take or leave the game, it's a fun diversion but we usually play only when there isn't much else to do. I think the main gist of what I am trying to impart in this blog is simply this; Yes the Expansion pack rocks the Casbah, just remeber that you have a real world to deal with, and you can only hide in a computer generated fantasy for so long.
Well that's my experience with sockpoopers, I know that most folks aren't like this, but we do have extremes in any hobby.
This sword here at my side dont act the way it should
Keeps calling me its master, but I feel like its slave
Hauling me faster and faster to an early, early grave
And it howls! it howls like hell!
Have never known a poopsocker IRL and I have plenty of friends who play MMOs. I did have one co-worker who started playing WoW on US servers (we're in Europe) and missed a load of days in work from being "sick", which I'd interpret as being worn out from staying up all night to play at high pop hours US time. She got given a warning over it though and rerolled on Euro servers. She did realise things were getting out of hand.
I think for most people who abandon RL to spend all their time in a computer game, something else has to be going on, the game is the conduit for the escape, but to want to escape real life so badly - there has to be something else.
Personally speaking, I game to relax and unwind, if I'm stressed out from work or frustrated about something , I like to drop into my game and distract myself from all of that. I know the stress or problems will still be there when I stop playing, but I will stop playing after a couple of hours because that much distraction is enough. Sure I have long play-sessions sometimes, but that's due to having free time and wanting to have fun - there's a difference between that and playing as escapism.
I'd hate to think I'd ever end up passing up an evening out with friends to game, or neglect myself in any way to game, and I can't really understand why others would do so. Although, it's all too apparent, some people do. I'd hope their friends and family would advise them to get some help (or drag them along bodily for some) as soon as their gaming stops being a hobby and becomes something more akin to obsession.
I had an experience once.... I was down on my luck, I was depressed and sat at home and played a game alot. Railroad Tycoon. From waking up to going to bed... Building railroads. After a week or so, I decided enough is enough, so I turned my computer off and went out to a club and had some beers, hoping to hook up with something. No such luck. After two beers, I started to have hallucinations on the dance floor, seeing all the people there, walking and dancing, as locomotives, and the people behind them as cargo wagons... I started to see the railroad infrastructure in the club, were the rails went and what cargos went where.. and and I ran away from there, had a good long nights sleep and decided to ease up on my gaming until I was mentally stable again.
I have no idea if that has happened yet, but at least no more hallucinations.
"This is not a game to be tossed aside lightly.
It should be thrown with great force"
I knew a guy who started WoW when he got hurt playing baseball at college.
Long story short, he put on 40 lbs and played to the point where he did not go to school the following semester. He was ALWAYS on, with multiple levle 80's and multiple raids a day.
Fortunately, last I spoke with him, he was back in school and looking to sell his account.
i wonder where his so called friend were while he was gaining 40 pound .i doubt they were at his side .
I agree with you, people say "Bob spent all his time on the computer and gained 40 pounds its so sad", except they forgot to consider that Bob might be more happy than he has been in years!
Why do the non-gamers say "oh that's so sad", partly because they don't have something as fun as the game so they are jealous and they want to justify that they must be living a better life, it must be better because they are not having fun, right?
It's true that a lot of women don't enjoy video games so they are very jealous and concerned that if the men enjoy the games more than the wives then the wives will be all alone with nothing fun like a game. It is always selfish when they say "oh that is so sad."
Cryptic is trying a Customer Development approach to MMO creation.
I find sitting at a computer playing games less "sad" than sitting on the couch drooling at the TV screen......or going out to clubs night after night spending obscene amounts on drinks, catching VD, and knocking up strange women.
No one is saying that playing mmos is bad, or is worse than other time pursuits.
The issue is when someone stops taking care of themselves to an extraordinary degree because they can't tear themselves away from a game, even long enough to address basic needs.
EQ1, EQ2, SWG, SWTOR, GW, GW2 CoH, CoV, FFXI, WoW, CO, War,TSW and a slew of free trials and beta tests
lol... when I first got into Asheron's Call I would play for 3 to 5 hours a day, that was the worst I have ever gotten, and my friends thought that I was a poopsocker. They'd come over around the same time every day and find me playing the game and would just assume that it was all I ever did. Honestly it was a good excuse not to hang out and do 'Redneck' stuff like drinking beer and two-tracking while listening to *cringe* country music. If you asked any of them about me today they'd probably look sad and say something about online games taking over my life. It's pretty funny that if you spend your time doing something someone else isn't interested in you are 'wasting your life' even if they spend just as much, if not more, time getting drunk and making asses out of themselves.
This is a genre that requires a big time investment, so it's no surprise these kinds of things pop up.
I mean just think about it - you're playing the same game at the same time as umpteen thousand other people, the natural human tendancy is to distinguish yourself from the crowd, and generally the way to do that is to play more. People who play more network more within the game, are more skilled at the game (through virtue of practice), and generally are more advanced in game. Games aren't real life - more casual people aren't going to continue to pony up a subscription fee for a game they'll never be able to 'win', even if winning is defined as being relative to everyone else. Especially if winning is relative to everyone else.
It's such a fundamental thing, I don't see how it could be, or even should be, resolved. Just look at WoW - it's gone further than any other game I can think of to try and put everyone on an even playing field and for every barrier Blizzard has removed the community itself has put another one up (the most obviously blatent example being the widespread use of the Gearscore mod)
That's a good point. These games are fun and can be a healthy escape and a great hobby. We all agree with that, or we wouldn't be here.
However, I don't think that it would be healthy for most people to put on 40 pounds due to inactivity and overeating, as is what happened to my former athlete friend. Indeed, he did have some good times playing and I can vouch for that because I had a lot of fun playing with him.
However, he lamented his weightgain and regretted his decisions while actively playing the game in excess and making no effort to change at first. These are side effects of his excessive gaming and, I don't think that any part of it can be considered positive.
He took the hobby to a level at which it was harmful and negatively affected his life, which is what we are talking about on the thread.