Will World of Warcraft Destroy Your Life?

World of Warcraft is the most popular MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) to date. With the benchmark set at 9 million loyal gamers strong, it's hard to debate that people like playing World of Warcraft. However, some argue that the new stream of these Online games is ruining the lives of many who suffer from what has rapidly become known as "video game addiction". Can World of Warcraft ruin your life? Let's find out.

World of Warcraft operates solely on one premise, as most games do. You start a character and assume the role of that character (thus, role playing game). While in the game, you travel across the world defeating evil monsters and completing quests for various non player characters that ask you to do them. When you're done completing these quests, your character receives a reward in the form of a new sword, armor or ability. Media outlets and critics of the game say that this is an unhealthy system, and by keeping players craving that reward and the next upgrade for their character, they're keeping the gamers attached to the game.

While it's true that Warcraft operates off of this reward system, doesn't everything else? It's my view that life itself operates off of this very same reward system. What happens when you want to buy a brand new car? You have to go out into the world and complete your "quests" (a.k.a. Job) to earn enough money to buy that car. In all practical applications, there is no difference between doing quests in World of Warcraft for gold or upgrades to your equipment and working your job and saving money to buy that new car. This means that World of Warcraft iself isn't inherently evil, but operates in the same fashion that life and capitalist societies do. This brings me to my next point.

Now that we've come to the conclusion that World of Warcraft isn't inherently evil in nature, what about the people that get addicted? First of all, yes, there are many people that get addicted to playing World of Warcraft. It's going to happen. When you have something in this world that has some sort of entertainment value, you're going to have addicts. The viewpoint i'm trying to convey though, is that you might be surprised to hear that most people who play World of Warcraft on a daily basis are functioning in society quite normally. You just don't hear about them. News outlets operate on a ratings system. It's their job to shock you and strike fear into your heart in order to get you to listen to them. It's like the old saying:

"Say the world is coming to an end and everyone will listen. Say the world IS NOT coming to an end and nobody will."

It's my personal belief that anybody who becomes addicted to World of Warcraft should take the proper steps and personal responsibly that they owe to themselves. If you don't like something about yourself, you're going to need to change it on your own. It's like the lady who sued McDonalds after spilling hot coffee on herself and burning herself. Earth and Humankind is slowly being robbed of it's dignity and tendencies towards personal responsibilty as we continue living. Alcoholics don't try to make Liquor illegal when they're trying to get help. Cigarette smokers trying to quit don't try and ban cigarettes, they just make the personal changes and rid themselves of the habit. If you're a World of Warcraft addict, make the changes in your life, seek help from others who have the same problems and I wish you luck. Just remember, please don't blame an industry that provides entertainment and an interactive social environment for millions just because you couldn't stop playing.