Addiction

When I began reading the article, “The Human Cost of MMORPGs” I didn’t know what to make of it. Not that I thought it was a joke but I surely didn’t believe it was real. After taking this class I have realized there is so much more to video games than just sitting in front of a screen playing a game. It’s a whole experience of learning the characters, following and developing a storyline, appreciating the graphics and getting lost in the experience of the game. But, “a 15-year old boy collaps[ing] and [going] into convulsions after playing World of Warcraft, an MMORPG, for a 24-hour stretch of time” (Invictus)?! What does this mean?! What does this say about the culture of video games and what it’s doing to America’s youth? An even better question, what kind of stigma will be placed on these games after this accident?

This incident that happened is obviously very unfortunate but I think the bigger issue here is the factor that people becoming addicted to these particular games like they are drugs controlling their lives. I could see how this could become a huge issue effecting not only the gamer whose life is controlled but their families, their work environments, their relationships, etc. just like any other addiction.

But what’s the solution for this?! Taking these games off the market doesn’t solve anything because it a multi-million dollar business and it’s not a problem that affects that even the majority that plays them. Putting a rating on them won’t solve the problem either. This may help some younger kids from purchasing the game but this doesn’t really solve the addiction problem because these gamers are plenty old enough to play them. I don’t know if there really is a concrete solution to this problem only ideas and help groups. That’s the problem with addiction of any kind. It’s about controlling the problem but when you can’t it become impossible to manage.