NationStates Jolt Archive

So, we were watching a documentary about "virtual worlds" tonight, and of course they were talking about World of Warcraft, particularly about how addictive it is. Then they moved on to South Korea, where the government has started a massive campaign to try and cure teens of internet addictions.

So I had to explain to my mother that yes, my brother is playing that very same game. Yes, every day. Yes, many, many hours. Yes, he doesn't leave the house anymore. Yes, he doesn't care all that much about uni anymore. Yes, he's paying money to play.

So basically we came to the conclusion that he's probably addicted.

We joke around a lot on NSG about how addicted we all are, so maybe it's time to be serious for a second (because while not nearly as extreme, I spend way too much time on the computer as well - talking to you guys rather than real people here in Brisbane).

How does one know when one is addicted to something that isn't your traditional drug? And how does one cure a person from WoW-addiction?

Cut 'em off. Cold turkey.

Seconded. Do a trainspotting on him and lock him in a computer free room for a few days.

Another trick might be to convince him to give you access to his character for a little while(to try the game out or something), then violate their TOS in a very serious manner and get his character deleted and probably get him perma-banned from World Of Warcrack.

Well, my brother is 18 years old. As much as I agree with the cold turkey suggestion (I was thinking about trying to ask him not to buy the next ticket when his current one runs out and wait two months or so - just sampling real life, so to speak)...it's not gonna happen without him agreeing to it.

But I suppose there's also the risk that if he doesn't have WoW, he'll just play something else all day. He's certainly more likely to do that than to suddenly get a life.

Steal a vital component of his computer.

Even if he does, the novelty will wear off.
He's been playing for well over a year now, has two lvl 70 characters and who knows what sort of fancy items.

I think if it was gonna wear off (it did for me after a week or so), it would have already.

EDIT: Time Warp! Yay!

Even if he does, the novelty will wear off. The game will either become too boring for him, or he'll find something new that is better than WoW. Rather than cut him off cold turkey you could try to wean him off by introducing other games, which can be finished in a short time frame.

I recommend Fahrenheit.

Another trick might be to convince him to give you access to his character for a little while(to try the game out or something), then violate their TOS in a very serious manner and get his character deleted and probably get him perma-banned from World Of Warcrack.

I know (think) this is a joke, but could I counsel against it anyway?
Best case, he'll just make another character using a different email address.
Worst case, he will be very, very angry with you. You remember the guy in Korea or somewhere who killed his mate because he sold his rare imaginary sword? Yeah, that.

To offer some actual advice, I suppose you just have to persuade him that real-life is better than computer games. Somehow. Um, good luck with that ;)

I've been addicted to computer games since ... well the Commodore 64. There's three computers in my house and I own all of them.

This topic was inspired by me, wasn't it?

This topic was inspired by me, wasn't it?
No, I only saw your silly comment after I made the thread. It was inspired by SBS TV tonight.

wow can be really addictive - I just quit after 2 years of full time warcraft, so this is from experience. I've tried to just stop playing before, but never managed to stay away for more than a week or so, so this time I deleted all my characters and items, cancelled my account and uninstalled the game. It's been almost a month and I'm so glad I did it; I do miss playing, and I miss the people I knew online and the online contact with some of my Real Life friends.

The thing that made me quit was the knowledge that there were a lot of things I should have been doing that I wasn't - finally I couldn't ignore the sensible voice in my head shouting at me. This seems to happen to almost everybody at about the two year mark, so maybe your brother just needs a bit more time to get it out of his system. I suggest trying to get him interested in other things tho, so he wants to spend time away from wow. The game is never finished, so it won't end on its own - he will have to choose to leave it.

How do people get hooked on that game? After a couple of days I had to stop because it was an absolute chore to play.

escapism, the false sense of achievement and the social interaction :)

Aww crap. I forgot to watch it. :(

I play lots of internet games, online. Yet, I mostly play them with people I know from real life. I was addicted to Lineage II back in the day. Happily, the comic atmosphere of World of Warcrack didn't attract me a lot.

Then again, I am studying a magister, I am writing an script, I have two jobs...

Not too much of a blast for free time.

Advise: Reduce his free time. Idleness is the path to the dark side.

Well he could be off in a bar instead.

'Least you know where he's at.

Get him an extremely hot girlfriend. Or just any friend......

So, we were watching a documentary about "virtual worlds" tonight, and of course they were talking about World of Warcraft, particularly about how addictive it is. Then they moved on to South Korea, where the government has started a massive campaign to try and cure teens of internet addictions.

So I had to explain to my mother that yes, my brother is playing that very same game. Yes, every day. Yes, many, many hours. Yes, he doesn't leave the house anymore. Yes, he doesn't care all that much about uni anymore. Yes, he's paying money to play.

So basically we came to the conclusion that he's probably addicted.

We joke around a lot on NSG about how addicted we all are, so maybe it's time to be serious for a second (because while not nearly as extreme, I spend way too much time on the computer as well - talking to you guys rather than real people here in Brisbane).

How does one know when one is addicted to something that isn't your traditional drug? And how does one cure a person from WoW-addiction?

the problem with games like WoW is how it is an addiction. He's meeting people, hanging out with friends, they're doing stuff together, etc...
The problem for most people is that its all on-line.

If instead of this he was going to a bar/club or a park every day to hang out with his friends, to meet people, etc... and was losing interest in Uni and such, we would not be calling it an addiction.

Your brothers problem seems to be his ability to prioritise. He needs to concentrate on his academics and that's what needs to be made clear. Whearas in his free time, let him do what he wants. whethers thats going to a bar or playing WoW

EDIT: escapism comes in many forms these days. Whether you pissed, reading a books, or claiming your a women on-line (as we know there are no wymin on the net!). Balance is the key.

So, we were watching a documentary about "virtual worlds" tonight, and of course they were talking about World of Warcraft, particularly about how addictive it is. Then they moved on to South Korea, where the government has started a massive campaign to try and cure teens of internet addictions.

So I had to explain to my mother that yes, my brother is playing that very same game. Yes, every day. Yes, many, many hours. Yes, he doesn't leave the house anymore. Yes, he doesn't care all that much about uni anymore. Yes, he's paying money to play.

So basically we came to the conclusion that he's probably addicted.

We joke around a lot on NSG about how addicted we all are, so maybe it's time to be serious for a second (because while not nearly as extreme, I spend way too much time on the computer as well - talking to you guys rather than real people here in Brisbane).

How does one know when one is addicted to something that isn't your traditional drug? And how does one cure a person from WoW-addiction?

Addiction is really defined by the consequences, if there are un intended consequences (harmefull ones) then it may very well be an adiction

I know I am borderline myself but I tend to back off before any harm comes to my life (like gave up WOW myself) but I tend to find something else to obsess on

I know (think) this is a joke, but could I counsel against it anyway?
Best case, he'll just make another character using a different email address.
Worst case, he will be very, very angry with you. You remember the guy in Korea or somewhere who killed his mate because he sold his rare imaginary sword? Yeah, that.

To offer some actual advice, I suppose you just have to persuade him that real-life is better than computer games. Somehow. Um, good luck with that ;)

Yeah, it was a joke. The "stealing a vital part of his computer" idea is better anyway.

He's been playing for well over a year now, has two lvl 70 characters and who knows what sort of fancy items.

I think if it was gonna wear off (it did for me after a week or so), it would have already.

EDIT: Time Warp! Yay!

So I know people who played longer then just stopped cold turkey. They got bored and found new games. You should try and wean him away from it with something that can hold his attention.

I'm addicted to milk.

No, seriously, I am.