But I do spend time with my friends!
by Dan Crislip 
May 9th 2007 at 12:00PM
Upon my now bi-monthly visit to my parents' house, they inquired if I had done anything social with my friends in the last few weeks. "Of course," I replied, "we started raiding Karazhan about a month ago, and defeated the Curator, Aran, and the chess event!" They looked at me strangely, and I immediately realized that I was talking about people I've never met in person and whom I spend time with only in a virtual setting. I began wondering if I was losing touch on reality, that a video game was becoming a real setting for me to socialize. I soon realized that it was not just me, but instead it is becoming a phenomenon that is quickly becoming the norm.
Every day I work with people all over the world by phone and by email, and every night I do the same thing. Some may say that it does resemble more of a work environment than a friendship environment, but I say it can be both. I log into our Ventrilo server and chat it up with everyone who is online. I have my friends, and my not-so-friends, and sometimes we work hard, and sometimes we goof around.
I believe that if you take it to a level that you desire, the WoW realm can be just as much a social environment as a party with friends, a date out with your sweetie, or a business trip. Granted I've never slaughtered the undead in my sales trips, but I'd love to claim a Karazhan raid as a business expense!
What social event do you take along with you into World of Warcraft?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Odds and ends
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Thijz May 9th 2007 12:08PM
Some of my friends play WoW on the same realm as I do, so I use it as a replacement for MSN Messenger sometimes. When I need one of them I check MSN first, and if they're not there I check WoW.
Ryan May 9th 2007 12:18PM
I recently xfered to another server to get away from my RL friends. They were always annoying me come heal this come heal that. ughghghgh I also xferd because my old server is not very progressed as far as raid progression now im in SSC what are other peoples reasons for xfering?
ten-min-one May 9th 2007 12:33PM
@OP: "I soon realized that it was not just me, but instead it is becoming a phenomenon that is quickly becoming the norm."
In Spain we say: "mal de muchos, consuelo de tontos".
The fact that something bad/wrong is the norm makes a silly consolation.
PS: Please excuse my English; I hope you can understand my translation.
Jeff May 9th 2007 12:35PM
I know what you mean, I too work in a IT environment... With a sort of Corporate MSN and Conference calls, I surprise myself sometime pressing my Ventrilo keys at job to speak back :)
Last time my boss was coming over, but he resisted my freezing trap and my concusive, So I could not evade the encounter... XD
Jeff May 9th 2007 12:38PM
One fun thing in WoW is taking a good beer in real life, while hanging out in the tavern of Stormwind with real life friend that are too far to really meet them face to face.
Sort of like the 3D Chat rooms that were popularised in the 90s... WoW is a spin-off of that IMO.
Bunkai May 9th 2007 12:46PM
My opinion...not that anyone actually cares...is...
Log off and leave your desk chair!
If WoW has become the primary social avenue in your life, you need to re-evaluate yourself, your relationships, and your social inadequacies.
There's a reason that REAL LIFE is referred to as "REAL".
Time to Get Real!!!
krizoitz May 9th 2007 1:10PM
@6. Agree completely. My number 1, golden rule for WoW is this: Real life comes first. If i have the chance to go spend time with real friends in real life or play WoW, real life wins. If i ever get to the point where i am one of those people who are like "no man, sorry gotta raid Karazhan today with my guildies" I'll quit the game.
Lunada May 9th 2007 12:57PM
@6 Thats rather closed minded of u. Just because the internet is a fairly new venue for social interaction doesnt mean its bad in any way. Most people r not the stereotypical game player that spends every hour of every day on WoW; many actually have lives they live and find WoW to be the stress reliever in their down time. The advancment of technology will bring new ways for humans to interact; and only those who r truely afraid of change and advancement will look down apon these interactions.
FireStar May 9th 2007 5:33PM
saying playing wow is the same as a "date with your sweetie" is going too far. I don't want to think about you hugging/kissing your computer.
Franchi May 9th 2007 1:03PM
@4 Yeah dont you hate that? I tried to stealth and sneak out the back door but me being lvl 1 and him being lvl 70 kabillion, he saw right then me. Swear he would be a priest as he just mind controls me back to my seat.
Cohn May 9th 2007 1:16PM
I had lunch with a guildie today. Does that count? We talked about WoW most of the time though, so that might not count.
Mad Cow May 9th 2007 1:21PM
I too am in the IT field and work with people globally. I play on a server separate from my RL friends and any coworkers/aquaintances for one reason ... to get away from everything. I have characters on a server with my RL friends ... It's quite nice to continue conversations from the day or pick up where we left off at the bar before one of our wives got tired.
For some people though, WoW may be their only form of communication outside of their house. A friend of mine got injured at work and was put on bed rest for almost a month ... he was already a wow player, but he was able to communicate with all of us on almost a daily basis without having to risk further injury, from the comfort of his bed. Same would/could be said for people who are handicapped in some manner and are unable to leave their home or participate in society like you or myself. The World of Warcraft presents them with a social opportunity that they would never have a chance to experience. For them, WoW is doorway to making their life more enjoyable and developing social skills that they may or may not have a chance to develop otherwise.
So 6, before you open your rectum/mouth to speak ... take a look around at the world you LIVE in ... get up out of YOUR chair and get REAL ...
Baluki May 9th 2007 1:24PM
"Granted I've never slaughtered the undead in my sales trips, but I'd love to claim a Karazhan raid as a business expense!"
You're in sales? Well, that's why. You ARE the undead. :)
jess May 9th 2007 1:47PM
I have a friend who plays wow with my fiancee and me. It's our primary form of socialization with one annother in our busy lives. I don't see how playing a computer game togehter is anti social.
Franchi May 9th 2007 1:47PM
Not to mention the friends you develop playing. Im all for keeping things in perspective and quote on quote real life takes priority but Ive played past few months with somebody from South Carolina ( Im in Ohio ) and I now consider him a friend to the point if he needed to borrow couple hundred real life gold, well, er, silver, I'd send it to him. Never would have had that constant, evolving interaction with him and others had I never picked up Wow on a whim despite all the negative things I've heard people say about getting addicted. Sorry, I think I can manage my own life without getting addicted. Even if so though, there are a helluva lot worse addictions out there. lol I at least can see the draw of it...
Rainwizard May 9th 2007 2:09PM
@6: I agree with you to a certain extent. A game should never be a replacement for life. That's the bad end of escapism. If my wife or son need me to spend time with them, that's what comes first-always. If I feel I need to take a solid jog, I will. I think even the most technologically minded of us need to take a step back sometimes and look at where we came from. WoW can never compare the the sheer AWESOMENESS of reading LoTR!
Yet, in defense of those who /do/ spend a lot of time on WoW I say this: Escapism has been, is, and always will be a major focus in human life. All of us seek a way to "switch off" for a while. WoW is a perfectly valid modicum of this.
Everything in moderation, I say.
@3: España? De que parte, querido amigo?
Illuminate May 9th 2007 2:10PM
What happens in WoW between people is an interesting phenomenon, I've felt closer to some of the people I've met on WoW than I ever have to certain friends in real life, even though I've never seen those people face to face.
To examine the reasons, we have to keep in mind what friendship really is, or why we make friends. It's because we have the same interests as those people, or those people are just like we are, in this case it's a bunch of nerds who play WoW all the time ;)
prefect46 May 9th 2007 4:23PM
I played with a guild for over a year and a half, with people who I considered friends, until guild drama got a little overpowering and I left. I stayed on server. After a week, only one person would initiate conversation with me, and that was a teenager who half the guild had to play shrink for. People use the term friend often for the online game, but it's not a true friendship in most cases. Without that bond of real life interaction, in person, you can be just a screen name and a raid slot, albeit with a fun persona.
Or, more simply, when I left the guild my friends in real life who had checked up on me through and through were still there and glad to have me around. The friends I made in game, many whom I had talked to through email or IM never once contacted me.
Razerious May 9th 2007 2:26PM
A lot of people in my guild (we're a raiding guild that started off as a IRL-friend guild, and then we merged with another guild and started a raiding guild) are IRL friends. I've since moved away from my home-town, so WoW is a great way to keep in touch with my friends back home.
I also went out to have a beer (more like ten beers) with 5-6 people in my guild, and that was a lot of fun.
Ok, enough random rambling... Just wanna end this crappy post by saying that I think RL relationships are much more rewarding that internet relationships.
Zinger May 9th 2007 2:41PM
I agree with 6 and all those who agree with him as well. You pasty IT folk gotta admit already that socializing online is no substitute for the real thing...denial is a bitch. Grabbing a beer in real life and drinking in Stormwind with online comrades??? Good lord! If you're under the legal driving age, then ok, you don't have a car and are stuck at home a lot. Anybody with a car or a bus pass better wake up and smell the coffee.