Game Addiction Vs. Drug Addiction: A Firsthand Account

Many claims have been made against the most popular Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) World of Warcraft. I myself have been addicted to both games, and they did take a bad toll on my teenage years. Many of the players I encountered on a daily basis lived much of the same life I did. I was living in my parents basement with no job, playing this game days on end. I dropped out of high school, later college, quit my job two times, and even lost a fiancee. Playing the game around 16-18 hours a day to become the greatest Mage my server has ever known. My brothers both had begun playing with me but they knew when to much was really to much.

With my vast experiene of World of Warcraft and no job to make money, I did something most players in the game hate. I began using my huge knowledge to farm gold. For those of you who are not familiar with the term, "farming", refers to staying in the same remote area getting lots of items and gold for barely and work. These areas are exploited and used to make money in the real world. When I actually did sleep (around 6 am - 9 am), I would have a program set up that would actually play my character for me. Killing creatures and gathering minerals while in my sleep. I would wake up to more gold and items than I would know what to do with.

Selling these items and gold online I would average about $500 a month. Doesn't seem like a lot, but than again you have to think. Bills included world of warcraft, and thats it. As my social life was all but destroyed, I would spend the $15 on my subscription, sometimes pay for my brothers subscription as well, and the other $485 was split into two catagories. $100 a month would go into savings for those later months when I didn't make any money from Ebay, and the other $385 would go into food and drinks for the weekly friday - sunday night "Warcraft Party" that my brother and I would throw in my parents basement.