I Kept Playing...

[Mizango]

Despite the amount of fun I did have playing FFXI, I eventually grew out of the game. Looking back, even though it was great times and I have good memories, it was still a colossal waste of my time and money.

While I agree with that you can say that about anything really. Take away FF from the equation and you would have spent the money out hanging with friends drinking, at the mall or anything like that. Im sure all of us could go through our closets for instance and remember drunken nights that we look back on now and consider a waste.

The money I spent monthly on FF is nothing compared to the all bags of weed, shrooms, acid, liquor and condoms I spent while in college. I mean I easily would have 250 a week allocated for CPU parts, shrooms, Goldschlager and Nikes. I mean I can look back now and be like "Oh man what a waste", but in the moment it worth it and then some.

Its in the eye of the beholder really. I payed for FF and had a blast doing it. I wouldn't take it back or wish I had done something differently with that money. I mean last month alone I spent over 350.00 in books. Most people would see that as a waste and perhaps I may too when I turn 60, but in the present I am as happy as can be and enjoy reading my books. Internet, Cable TV, Tattoos, New computers, DVDs, Games are all luxuries. Luxuries that to some are reckless and time consuming, yet to others are what they find joy in.

Well let's be honest, I'm sure there's just as much gaming addiction as there is gambling.

Oh absolutely.

[volcanicweather]

I really related to that and was like that at one point and time with XI but to a lesser degree (i.e. I never quit my job, but I did take less hours and stopped hanging out with most of my friends). It was a very low point in my life and it's why I'm extremely hesitant to start another MMO. I'm a huge perfectionist and it's impossible to be "perfect" in a MMO no matter how much time you put into it.

[Mizango]

I dunno, I think this is more fear-mongering by people who want to panic parents into controlling their children into absolute submission to societal norms. MMOs are still a fairly new form of entertainment (just 10-12 years old) and therefore as scary as rock and roll in the 1950s. I'm absolutely certain that some cases end up like this but if most people turned into this we'd have a lot more news stories about starving children and walking zombie-like people.

I've been playing online games since 1994 and in that time I've managed to graduate university, travel three continents, work overseas, get a black belt in taekwondo, and get married.

Agreed, I too have played just as long and am married, have a wonderful daughter and quite successful if I do say so myself. Vidya games are and always will be a crutch for a persons social shortcomings.

Sup Jack Thompson.

[Vandalhart]

Well let's be honest, I'm sure there's just as much gaming addiction as there is gambling.

Oh I'm sure that's a correct statement. I wasn't stating it trying ot make it sound like anything in the gambling industry is actually working, but just that there are more safeguards available in some countries. The only area I'm even thinking of is slot machines/video lottery terminals. I realize there are other forums for gambling besides those.

I dunno, I think this is more fear-mongering by people who want to panic parents into controlling their children into absolute submission to societal norms. MMOs are still a fairly new form of entertainment (just 10-12 years old) and therefore as scary as rock and roll in the 1950s. I'm absolutely certain that some cases end up like this but if most people turned into this we'd have a lot more news stories about starving children and walking zombie-like people.

I've been playing online games since 1994 and in that time I've managed to graduate university, travel three continents, work overseas, get a black belt in taekwondo, and get married.

How many people here can actually relate to this fellow?

I played alone for a while when my wife(gf at the time)and I moved to a new city, then I got her playing.. and we still play together. We've gotten married, and will eventually start having kids. We got a puppy so we've been (mostly her) cutting back on hours. I still play, but try not to do a lot of things that are super commitments like Dynamis.

I could easily see myself falling into the same trap he had.. but truthfully, I know I have responsibilities I can't shirk. I know the addictive trait runs in my family, so I could just be a little overly paranoid. When I don't want to play, I don't play. I'm glad I'm able to do that.

[aduidarnenye]

I'm just thinking, why is it more socially accecptable to go out drinking with your friends after work every day because you're out of your house with "real" people opposed to being abnormal and maladjusted if you go home and play online with people who are apparently not real?

[isladar]

Making that distinction gives people the capacity to distance themselves from the consequences of how they chose to interact. "Oh man, I'd never steal from my buddy right here, but this other dude that I can't see? He had it coming." To be fair, it's not as if the treatment of those you know face-to-face is some kind of by-word for courtesy and respect, it's the categorizing the two interactions as separate (with separate moral scales) makes us feel justified in actions that otherwise would be condemned.

I feel the respect you tender to someone that cannot directly confront you, or enforce social agreements, is a better measure of character than the respect given to someone who can enact "real life" consequences. Just because you can't see a person, doesn't mean they aren't a person; ethics that only extend to situations which can directly influence your daily life aren't really ethics, they're punishment-avoidance mechanisms.

[Sqwunk]

My form of self control was unplugging my ethernet cord when Dynamis-City was announced instead of Dynamis-CoP. Fuck 5 hour zones tbh.

I've since quit playing XI myself, it just wasn't fun anymore, and I was having more fun hanging out with my friends playing rock band and SSBB, and hanging out with my girlfriend.

[Vandalhart]

Yeah, I must say poon definately takes precedence over FFXI.. but I hate it when the wife tries to control my game time by making herself available just as I start doing something in game. Especially when she's been made aware of it well before I start.

[Evensong]

I'm just thinking, why is it more socially accecptable to go out drinking with your friends after work every day because you're out of your house with "real" people opposed to being abnormal and maladjusted if you go home and play online with people who are apparently not real?

Because there is this stereotypical image of the people who play (and are real people); people probably suffering from some sort of "geek-syndrome" and probably people you wouldn't want to go out and drink with in "real life". That they are emaciated, unshaven, filthy and unsociable. (See above example!)

I think we are nearing the point where this perception is slowly changing (though extreme and isolated examples being popularized aren't doing much to help this change), but I don't think you can put the two examples on a par with each other entirely. I personally play with other people to enjoy the game; they are real people, yes, but the people are there for the game and not vice-versa. I think the problems begin when one takes the game for more than it really is. Balance is the key really; making time for everything, especially for priorities. Of course, SE makes certain it forms "scheduling" into a concept impossible to adher to.

[EternalSnow]

Very good article. As well as a good ending.

[Absolutely Virtue]

If you took the time to read that instead of doing what you should have been doing (which is getting your ass to the aery, now), then you're a casual and your opinions on gaming addiction don't really matter. Just sayin.

[The Stig]

We all need a filler in life.

Agreeing with what AV said about the "time wasting" issue, it's really to each their own, aside from "over the line" things I never really considered anyone's activity a waste of time (in respect with the fact that is what they enjoy doing). The "over the line things" comes from the people who annoy/terrorise people or generally being a penis then I will consider that a waste of time and everyone else's efforts (because other people will have to waste their time, unless it part of their job, cleaning up the mess).

[Elvis]

Good article. Makes me hate FFXI a little bit more. :D

[Serra]

I'll agree it's a good article, but at the same time, I also agree that all the talk about video game addiction, in my opinion, is largely fearmongering and people trying to make a name for themselves. I'm not saying video game addiction doesn't exist, because really, you can be addicted to anything. At the same time though, I feel people outside (and sometimes even in the video game community) are too quick to call it an addiction.

Losing jobs, being malnourished, losing a significant other -- I agree the author was addicted to video games. But then at the other end of the spectrum are people who would be classified as addicts because they skipped classes to stay in an exp party or camp an NM. No one ever addresses the alternative that maybe the class was boring and they would 've skipped it regardless of whether they had been playing an MMO or not. I know I skipped plenty of classes in college to play FF, not because I was addicted, but because I had no reason to go to class when I could just as easily learn the material on my own before exams..

One of the other problems I have is people who say that spending time with people online is less worthwhile than spending time with people in real life. No matter how you look at it, there's a real person behind every one of those characters (ignore gilsellers...). There's nothing wrong with having obligations to both -- my friends have gotten mad at me when I've passed on going out with them because I offered to help a friend in FF, but they'd be just as pissed if I offered to help them move and then went to hang out with someone else.

And in many ways, isn't an MMO just another type of social venue? Everyone who plays is on because they're interested in the same thing (more or less); people talk, interact, and joke with each other; and they connect and form real friendships. So how is that different than say going to a bar or pool hall to interact with people, especially if you prefer killing dragons to getting drunk off your ass?

[Elvis]

MMO is a social venue, but it's not the same as going out into the real world and talking to people face to face. Or just being outside. The day to day stuff. I think if people played in moderation, then what you're implying is completely fair.

But within the context of an addiction to MMOs, I think the experience ceases to be 'another social venue'. It becomes a form of escape, that then becomes your life.


....and when you're escaping from life, where are you going to run to?

http://www.retrocrush.com/archive200...ads/caruso.jpg

[barber2006]

One of the other problems I have is people who say that spending time with people online is less worthwhile than spending time with people in real life. No matter how you look at it, there's a real person behind every one of those characters (ignore gilsellers...). There's nothing wrong with having obligations to both -- my friends have gotten mad at me when I've passed on going out with them because I offered to help a friend in FF, but they'd be just as pissed if I offered to help them move and then went to hang out with someone else.

And in many ways, isn't an MMO just another type of social venue? Everyone who plays is on because they're interested in the same thing (more or less); people talk, interact, and joke with each other; and they connect and form real friendships. So how is that different than say going to a bar or pool hall to interact with people, especially if you prefer killing dragons to getting drunk off your ass?

Clinically speaking, one of the primary determinants of happiness and personal satisfaction is involvement in a supportive community. Generally speaking, those with close and consistent relationships with other people are happier than those without such relationships. Furthermore, more intimate relationships provide an even larger support. Incidentally, for those that have done any crisis or suicide treatment study, having involvement in a supportive community (family, friends, spouse, support groups, etc) is perhaps the best way to prop yourself up during those difficult times that can lead to depression or worse.


HOWEVER, where there is a lack of research (which is shocking to me) is whether or not online communities can serve as a reasonable substitute for more traditional communities. Is there something about face to face interaction that is clinically 'better'? Do online relationships inherently have a lower level of intimacy and closeness? Does a players avatar convolute the relationship in a way that erodes the integrity or genuineness of the friendship?


To my knowledge these questions have not been answered on a research level. People can say they are just as social or adjusted sitting in front of a monitor, but there is a difference in the interaction. It really has yet to be determined if an online community can take the place of traditional relationships or if it is more like a replacement for watching TV (which although entertaining, cannot fulfill the role of support/social interaction that people seem to 'need' in order to be happy and/or socially adjusted).

[Bardlet]

I guess you could call me a statistic to a certain degree. (._.;

My gaming habit contributed to the downfall of my marriage- it wasn't the cause of it, despite what some may think. I have a bad habit of running away from facing my problems instead of dealing with them, and FFXI/WoW has been a convenient place for me to hide from them.

FWIW now, I've all but quit playing (I log a few stray WoW hours on the weekend now, barely play during the week) and am getting professional help for the underlying issues that were the cause of all this. MMO's definitely exacerbated the situation, though (it also doesn't help that both sides of my gene pool have addictive personalities either).

[Mizango]

I guess you could call me a statistic to a certain degree. (._.;

My gaming habit contributed to the downfall of my marriage- it wasn't the cause of it, despite what some may think. I have a bad habit of running away from facing my problems instead of dealing with them, and FFXI/WoW has been a convenient place for me to hide from them.

FWIW now, I've all but quit playing (I log a few stray WoW hours on the weekend now, barely play during the week) and am getting professional help for the underlying issues that were the cause of all this. MMO's definitely exacerbated the situation, though (it also doesn't help that both sides of my gene pool have addictive personalities either).

Sorry to hear that and there are more people in the same boat with you than they care to admit. I can personally rattle off no less than 10 couples that ended up splitting for various reason just from my time on Pandemonium. While it does indeed suck I do applaud you for at least realizing that there is indeed an underlying problem and being proactive enough to want to go out and change it, for that I applaud you.

Too many people, all across the board, are in total denial and continue to wallow in the same rut of excuses, self pity and petty self loathing to even care enough to fix the issue. Playing an MMO takes responsibility and a general sense of determination to play the game and not let it play you.

When I see players like Blind of Pandemonium, lolDarkhell of Fenrir, Dalt of Unicorn and their attempts to buy friends, power and respect oh and all t3h l33t gearz by way of RMT it is pathetic and mindbogglingly retarded. There was no real point to that other than to name drop like a motherfucker and remind myself of all the lulz I had at their expense. Man I had all 3 of them on my POL friends list, oh man that was awesome.

[Acturus]

HOWEVER, where there is a lack of research (which is shocking to me) is whether or not online communities can serve as a reasonable substitute for more traditional communities. Is there something about face to face interaction that is clinically 'better'? Do online relationships inherently have a lower level of intimacy and closeness? Does a players avatar convolute the relationship in a way that erodes the integrity or genuineness of the friendship?


To my knowledge these questions have not been answered on a research level. People can say they are just as social or adjusted sitting in front of a monitor, but there is a difference in the interaction. It really has yet to be determined if an online community can take the place of traditional relationships or if it is more like a replacement for watching TV (which although entertaining, cannot fulfill the role of support/social interaction that people seem to 'need' in order to be happy and/or socially adjusted).

Reaching back 6 years or so to a college course that focused on group dynamics and face-to-face interaction, I remember studies that support the idea that non-verbal communication is a crucial part of social interactions and social growth.

In fact, and this also throws back to stuff I read maybe 3 years ago, online gaming is actually a valid tool in healing social-phobic people overcome their phobias.

The key, as with everything, is moderation.

There have been studies that revolve around texting and social networking sites and the effect on teenagers in terms of social growth, but I've only ever heard them referenced in evening news articles that are written to frighten parents more than project an objective set of data. But I'm with you, I'm not sure of any larger-scale studies done on virtual communication using a graphical interface.

A buddy of mine is a professor of gaming and simulation with a Masters degree in Psychology and a pretty good research background in simulator development. I'll try to remember to ask him about this sort of thing the next chance I get.

[Evensong]

To my knowledge these questions have not been answered on a research level. People can say they are just as social or adjusted sitting in front of a monitor, but there is a difference in the interaction. It really has yet to be determined if an online community can take the place of traditional relationships or if it is more like a replacement for watching TV (which although entertaining, cannot fulfill the role of support/social interaction that people seem to 'need' in order to be happy and/or socially adjusted).

I don't think you can say "either...or" in respect to a virtual community taking the place of either. In my opinion, a virtual community can never replace face-to-face interactivity, as it is not only a different form of communication, but a relatively new one. I think it is somewhere between the two forms you have mentioned; a sort of hybrid, if you will.