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Sep 07, 2005 14:49

Below is my first ever published column. Yay. :) Located at: http://www.dailytoreador.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/09/02/431891798c461


By Chris Atwood/Columnist
September 02, 2005

"WoW, why does everybody keep calling me? I'm busy!"

Before this starts, let it be known: I do not hate video games. In fact, I rather enjoy them. What I have gotten tired of, however, is being blown off so that people can pretend to be Isha the Princess of the Thieves or Arat the Orcish Shaman instead of having a real life.

All right folks, I know that I am not the only one on this campus who has been repeatedly ignored not just once, but repeatedly, by a video game addict. Jeez, there's even a group for us on facebook.com. Not to mention various Internet groups such as Everquest Widows and Spouses Against Everquest, which are dedicated to people who have been blown off for a digital alter ego.

For those of you to whom this concept might be unclear, let me illustrate with a hypothetical story. You come into a dorm room in the late afternoon, and see someone you know sitting in front of his computer, playing WoW (World of Warcraft). You imagine that he has just gotten up, because you know for a fact that he went to bed when you got up at 8 a.m. To be friendly, you invite him to go to the dining hall of your residence hall because it's dinner time. He grunts, doesn't look up at you, and then responds, "Could you wait an hour or two? I just started this quest in WoW and I really need to finish it. I've got some noobs (new players) with me, and they'll give me a bad reputation if I don't finish this run with them. How about I call you when I'm done?"

Slightly frustrated, you agree, but go to get something to eat anyway. After eating, you go do some reading, watch the news, and other various and sundry activities. You get back to the room to discover your friend has not moved from his chair, hasn't eaten in at least 24 hours, is nocturnal and doesn't plan to change.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is where I draw the line. I am, as I imagine most people blown off for a "casual" addiction to MMORPG's (massive multiplayer online role playing games) are, fairly understanding. I was willing to wait, to a certain extent, perhaps 15 or 20 minutes would have been appropriate. But a few hours? Do I look like I have nothing better to do than sit around? Well, maybe I don't...but that's not the point!

There is more than just a rant here. Video game addiction is a serious problem and it affects more people than we think. Whether it is our friends who ignore us, a member of our close-knit group of friends who appears to drop off the face of the planet or perhaps a parent that forgets their child in order to do a 72-hour raid in Everquest. The problem is serious and sometimes can have dire consequences.

Melissa Orzack, director of the Computer Addiction Studies Center in Massachusetts, said "symptoms of game addiction include falling behind in school and work and basically deferring everything else in your life so you can play. Compulsive playing tends to mask underlying problems such as depression, anger and low self-esteem."

It's kind of scary that people who are your best friends, significant others or parents could actually be all kinds of crazy. All the time you think they're just wasting their days away and being anti-social, there's something much deeper going on. So seriously, guys, if you know somebody who's addicted, get them some therapy. Don't let the game rule them. Be compassionate, and get them some help. They might not thank you now, but they'll probably thank you later.

My final plea, as somebody who has been intentionally disregarded one too many times, try to help yourselves guys and gals. People want to hang out with you; otherwise, they wouldn't call you and ask you out for pizza, rather than using the in-game pizza ordering system (courtesy of Pizza Hut). So tell people that Isha the Princess of the Thieves is washing her hair tonight (she obviously needs to remove dungeon grime from last night), or that Arat needs an evening spent in the real world. Then disconnect, go out and have a good time!
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