World of Warcraft Addiction

Sometimes I wonder, "Am I addicted to World of Warcraft?"

I could compare myself to the die-hard WoW players, who raid for hours on end, and devote entire weekends to powerleveling, and forgo sleep. Compared to this crowd, I'm a WoW wimp.

But in my life, there are times I'll forgo doing something I should be doing in order to play WoW. An hour or two will fly by while running around Desolace whacking Slitherblades and Scorpashi. Turn ins here, running around there, whacking this monster, looting treasure chests, shopping the auction house, selling loot - it all becomes so compelling, it's literally a never-ending story.

If I played WoW hours like a raider, my life would fall apart - addicted or not, this kind of devoted game play isn't possible as a mom and a professional writer and speaker. Then if I add in all of my other interests, there really is very little time to play WoW and still get sufficient sleep.

Yet, I do. Sometimes I play WoW when the dishes are piled up, when the underwear drawer is empty, and when I have a deadline. "Just one more thing, then I'll camp out," I think. And that one more thing becomes two more things, then five, then ten. Before I know it, I have no time left to do those dishes, the laundry, the writing, before I'm forced to stop playing to feed my children or take them to a class.

So when is it an addiction, and when is it merely getting lost in the moment?

Just like food, alcohol, TV, and so many other pleasurable things in life, there has to be a way to find fun without crossing the line into obsession and mindlessness. The fine line between the two is hard to find in WoW, because the nature of the game requires a high level of participation in order to play effectively. Even a casual gamer has to spend at least a half hour or an hour in order to do anything significant. If you count running and flying time, the time it takes to find a safe place to camp, vending, turn ins, and all of the details that, individually, don't take much time at all, it adds up fast.

Having fun and being addicted are hard to separate in WoW, but I believe it's possible. If it's not, then I have to give up WoW, because after all, WoW is only one possible thing to do in life. And, I have a pretty good feeling, that it'll always be there to go back to.