Breakfast topic: Has WoW had a positive or negative impact on your life?
by Elizabeth Wachowski 
Jul 24th 2007 at 8:00AM
There's a fairly familiar troll thread on the WoW Europe forums -- the usual "people who play WoW are wasting their lives" spiel. "I am worried that people are, and will, lose the best years of their real life to WoW," writes Anti. "... In my experience, between 18-21 are the best years of your life, partying, girls, going mad, you get the idea...those years can never be replaced ... Most people WILL look back at some stage in their lives and regret the real life they threw away to play Warcraft. And if they dont think it was wasted time, and still regard it as time well spent, their present life at that time must be sad."
The thread has a lot of responses, from people regretting the time they've spent in WoW to celebrating that they didn't waste their youth drinking and partying. So that inspires me to ask: Overall, has WoW been a positive or negative force in your life? Do you regret the time you've spent on WoW, or consider it a good investment?
I've been playing WoW for two years now, and I don't really regret the time I've spent on it. I don't neglect my real-life responsibilities to play, I haven't become a lump attached to a keyboard, and in many ways, WoW has actually enhanced my real life. I've met tons of people who I would never have occasion to meet out in the world. I visited a new city to meet some guildmates, and liked it so much that I ended up moving here. WoW helped me get a writing job and opened up new career opportunities. Heck, WoW even helped me learn French, although most of what I learned was raid instructions and curse words. Sure, I sometimes get scared when I realize my /played on all my characters is in the triple digits, but if I hadn't played WoW, I would have just watched TV or stared at the ceiling.
What about you? Has WoW been a good thing or a bad thing for you?
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Virtual selves, Breakfast Topics
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Nick S Jul 24th 2007 8:10AM
I think of it this way: some people watch TV - I play video games instead.
I also have a rule - if there's a chance to go out with friends and the only reason why not is WoW, then friends automatically win.
It works. And when I quit, I'll probably watch TV just about as much... couple hours a night, few nights a week.
But, then, I'm a pretty casual player, so maybe others feel differently.
Lee Jul 24th 2007 8:15AM
World of Warcraft has had an incredible impact on my life. And believe it or not, it has been a good impact. I have been playing since Jan 05, and regret nothing. I have made new friends I would never have met in real life, and the friends I have in real life are WoW "addicts" too. And since I am headed to high school, and won't see them on a regular basis any longer, WoW is a great way to help me keep regular contact with these friends I have grown to love as part of my family.
I am only 14, though... so I can't say if I would regret missing those best years of my life. But honestly, I am the type of person who wouldn't want that type of life. I am the type of person who just wants to be happy, with friends, playing music, watching TV. Partying? Nah. Not my style. Girls? I have the most wonderful girl in the world, so again, not interested.
I am not lacking in grades... I am two years ahead of my grade, with a 4.0, as are all my friends. I don't stay at WoW my entire life... I get out, play guitar, go out with friends, etc. You get the idea.
So, in conclusion, WoW is not a regret. I still do other things I enjoy, and love my life. WoW is just adding to it, and I wouldn't be surprised if I continued playing into College.
Shinagani Jul 24th 2007 8:17AM
Like Nick said I never watch TV, and if I do I have it on in the background while I play WOW. The only part of my life I've lost to WOW is sleep.
I almost never play before 10 pm, so it's hard for me to miss out on my real life when I'm never playing while real things are happening.
The only time it really interferes is when I'm too tired to wake up on time in the morning...
CursedLight Jul 24th 2007 8:19AM
I would have to say that WoW has not ruined my life. Amoungst other things I life, (I'm 25 btw) I've learned to balance everything. I have a great time signing on, running instances/raids and talking to people in my guild. It's really sad when someone looks at this game from a purely selfish perspective ("omg! I spent 3 years gearing on epics and I sold my account! what a waste of time") While those epics were nice to look at, I'd cherish the friendships I made more. Nothing like breaking the time zone barrier across the country and meeting people for a small monthly fee. But, to each their own.
FYI, my 'sad' RL consist of a full time job, part time grad school, full-time GF =D, new housing, engagement soon, and the option to miss a couple of raids to work on my garage. Now, that is life.
java Jul 24th 2007 8:24AM
All things considered WoW has been the best entertainment 50 cents a day can buy. WoW hasn't detracted from my real life time, it has detracted from the amount of time I spent watching TV. When you compare the two, WoW is interactive, inspires leadership and teamwork. TV inspires you to watch the next poorly written show so you can be sold on stuff they advertise in commercials.
Every so often a TV news or some other venue run a segment on some gaming (usually wow) and how addictive (waste of time) it is. Sure there are people in the game who play to excessively, but the same is true with watching TV. Remember the context of those segments are written by the same people who want readership, tv ratings. If you are gaming you aren't helping those media venues make more money by watching the commercials or reading ads.
Oddly enough it just remineded me to cancel my premium movie packages with cable now that the Sopranos are over... even more money saved!
Java
Tool Jul 24th 2007 8:26AM
I can spend all night in a club with people I don't like (and I cant stand clubs) or I can hang out all night with my friends having a few beers chatting it up on vent... Isn't that whats fun anyway? BSing with friends?
(RL friends back in the states, and guildies)
Safety Dancer Jul 24th 2007 8:28AM
WoW, by my own self-control, has been nothing but a time waster. When I have time to kill, I play WoW. I hate people who are like "WoW took my wife, and now I am getting a divorce, ITS ALL YOUR FAULT WOW." Ah yes, it was WoW not your shitty communication skills, or her lack of interest.
Regis Jul 24th 2007 8:37AM
As #1 said "some people watch TV - I play video games instead". Some people spend their evenings watching a movie, I raid.
Most of my IRL friends play WoW, in the same guild as me actually, and as I have moved a long way from them I can still hang out and chat with them, keeping the contact. And I still go out and party on Fridays and weekends, but probably not as often as I would had I not played WoW. And I don't see that as a disadvantage, often I have more fun spending a evening raiding something silly like Molten Core than going out party. And some alcohol may be consumed ;)
Party is not just about drinking in my opinion, it's about hanging out with friends and having fun. And if I can do that in WoW I see no loss.
Brian Jul 24th 2007 8:40AM
The very nature of the question illustrates the misunderstanding, stereotyping, and discrimination aimed at people who enjoy and practice computer gaming as a hobby. If I spent hours at the golf course and $$$ on clubs that would be acceptable - somehow spending an equivalent (and often less) amount of time playing WoW than my friends spend on golf, softball, and watching games at Hooters is somehow wrong and laughable.
The metaverse, whether WoW or others, has added immense satisfaction, entertainment, and enjoyment to my life. Like anything else it can cause damage if overdone or practiced without discipline - but then again I know people who never leave their couch and their newest book! This truly is an issue of discrimination based on fear - and the idea that somehow my time is better spent imbibing mass quantities of alcohol, going deaf to bad club music, and playing my way through countless nameless women for the sake of "enjoying my life" is laughable in the extreme.
BenMS Jul 24th 2007 8:41AM
Quote: BSing with friends?
Damn straight. Nothing better than hanging out with mates, talking utter rubbish, well fuelled with a beer or six. I have met some awesome people in WoW - I drove nine hours to meet some guildies of mine. I also know a lot more about the state of the USA than I would have from watching TV, from talking to my American guild mates. I'm Australian, btw. I'm also planning a holiday to the states soon, and I'm going to try my hardest to meet up with some guildies. I've never been much of a one to watch television, and I read voraciously - the only thing that has lessened in my life since I started playing WoW is I don't read as much. But I feel I get a lot more from WoW than I would from the vast majority of books.
Birthmark Jul 24th 2007 8:51AM
When I raided it was pretty negative. Let's see, I had to raid 4-5 nights a week because we were a Naxx level guild. Basically the raids started at 7:30 server but you actually had to start flying to the instance around 7 and you had to log on around 6:30 to make sure you were repaired, had all the gear you needed and had all the consumables you needed etc. And nobody in the guild seemed to object to going until we cleared the instance or atleast got to the last couple bosses. So we'd go until 11:30 - 12:30 all the time. I had to get up in the morning at 6am at the latest so I could get ready for classes. I was so sleep deprived I started to feel like a zombie. I actually had to take naps after classes almost every day so I could get enough sleep. Also for those 4-5 hours I was raiding I couldn't do anything else other than make ramen noodles or chat on AIM. I said screw it and quit raiding and haven't done it since other than some casual Karazan and Grulls lair and a few trips to SSC and TK for certain bosses where my guild needed me. But this is a REAL problem. So many people still raid like this. The developers really need to do something about it. Even "casual" raiders raid for 3 hours 2-4 times a week. They should reduce trash mobs and remove respawns so raids don't take so damn long.
The same thing is true even for doing 5 man PvE. Your group is depending on you to stay at your computer the whole time for an hour or two. If you feel like playing basketball or w/e it's considered rude to say "cya guys I'm out" halfway through the run. They'll whine and moan that "if you knew you were doing something then don't join the group!!!" So I just stopped doing things that required groups. I'm pretty much a solo player now. Anything that requires a group I just don't participate in anymore. The only exception is arena only because it's the only way I can get epic PvP gear for my head/shoulder/leg/gloves/etc and because the people I play with I've been playing with for over 2 years and I like chatting with them on vent. But I only have to sit at my computer for like an hour once or twice a week so it works out.
daniel.roy Jul 24th 2007 8:51AM
WoW has had, overall, a negative impact on my life. I know that's not the party line when it comes to justifying an addicting hobby, but there it is.
It's not a dramatically negative impact; I haven't skipped work or lost girlfriends or anything like that. But I could have done different things with my spare time; at least more varied things: play different games, watch more movies, write, even. But here I am, playing WoW. It's the monolithic quality of WoW as a pastime that's really too bad for me.
What do I get for hours of farming, and hours of running instances, once I logoff? Nothing.
PurpleSfinx Jul 24th 2007 9:03AM
The first commenter is very similar to me.
I take every opporunity I can to go out and drink and party etc, I'm 18, so that's normal and fun for me.
I play WoW alot - but *only* if I'd be at home anyway.
Quoi Jul 24th 2007 9:01AM
@12
The cancel button is a couple clicks away. Use it.
WoW has been great. Has it made me a better person? Probably not, but instead of getting stupid drunk and partying every night, I'm playing WoW. I log in for a few hours, joke around with my guildies while we brutally smite mobs and bosses, then go to bed. And I spend plenty of time with my girlfriend, so I don't need to go out and try and awkwardly hit on girls.
viktorie Jul 24th 2007 9:13AM
Here's a completely different way to look at video game "addiction." I'm borderline OCD--lots of OCD tendencies but not to the point where it destroys my quality of life. I'm not a hand-washer, but there are some behaviors I can't control or at least can't control easily.
There have been times when I've let my WoW playing get out of control. It has had a negative impact on my life at certain points, but it was something I needed to do at the time for whatever reason. But on the other hand, I was a "collector of things" before I found video games. Nothing too expensive, no shopping addiction here, but starting with comic books as a kid, I have always had a driving need to collect/categorize physical things that has sometimes impacted my finances and always impacted the state of where I was living. Once I found RPGs and a virtual outlet for this, my collecting stopped. It wasn't necessary any longer. I had an outlet that cost the price of a game and sometimes a monthly fee, and it gave me control over other aspects of my life that I didn't have previously.
I've met quite a few people in WoW with social anxiety, ADHD, physical handicaps, etc., and sometimes the game gives people a safe place to cope with their situations. We make friends and connections we might not have made otherwise, and yes, sometimes playing WoW can be healthy even for those with addictive personalities.
However, I do have just about every non-combat pet in the game across all my alts, and that damn Firefly pet keeps eluding me...
Dotixi Jul 24th 2007 9:15AM
At first WoW had a positive impact on my life. It gave me something else my girlfirend and I could do together. It allowed me to have contact with people I would have never met. Then I began doing nothing but playing WoW. I began getting mad at my girlfriend when she messed up a pull or missed a heal (on me). She stopped playing and so did I. No more yelling.
Heymish Jul 24th 2007 9:15AM
Ahhh. I just love to hear women say they love playing WoW. I just wish there was a drug or hypnosis to get my girlfriend on board.
My experience has been great. I play in a tiny guild with my real life friends. We can't do much past 5-man instance runs, but the heroic mode helped give us more to do.
My non-WoW playing girlfriend makes things a bit tough though.
instar Jul 24th 2007 9:20AM
Not all of us are in the "18-21" crowd. I never touched WoW or any other MMO until I had already gotten my bachelor's degree, gotten a well-paying steady job, and gotten married.
My husband and I play WoW together instead of going out to eat every night (instead, we make food at home which is healthier and cheaper). The time we spend playing WoW I feel is more stimulating than mindlessly sitting in front of another episode of "American Idol"... at least I'm thinking, reacting to stuff on my screen, and having a good time with both my husband and our friends online.
*shrug* Like everything else in life, it's about moderation and priorities. As long as I take care of myself and my home, and don't neglect RL relationships with friends and family.. why should it matter if my choice of evening entertainment happens to be a video game?
Paw Jul 24th 2007 9:21AM
I don't think it is wasted time. If all I would have been doing otherwise is watch TV, I'd rather play. If not WoW, then some other game. If not playing, I would be inside my computer or messing with registry settings and such trying to get it to run faster/more efficiently.
Some people simply are not players, thus they do not get the correlation. For some reason, their downtime consisting of spending hour upon hour on the sofa in front of awful TV (I hate TV), or gabbing on the phone with friends who are miles away, are somehow different and thus less appropriate use of spare time.
Pat Jul 24th 2007 9:30AM
I meant to say...
are somehow different and thus (hours of TV or ceaseless phone gabbing is) MORE appropriate use of spare time.