Addiction in any form is scary stuff. It's just insane how deep you can go before you even realize you're addicted. Basically MMO addiction went like this for me:
- Start playing game
- Spend less time socializing because of it
- Feel more bored because of it
- Play more of the game to fill the void
- Spend even less time in the real world
- Feel even more bored
- Play even more of the game
I played MS for over 5 years, but I didn't really hit full addiction until when Pirates came out. I initially only planned on getting to level 70 (I had a previous 4th job character, so it didn't seem like a big deal to get to 70). That didn't last and when I wasn't busy with class or work I was soon spending all my time playing MS, and when I was bored of that, I was on forums posting about MS. (I actually managed to maintain my grades because instead of skipping classes I was just not sleeping). The low point was probably my 19th birthday. I had spent the entire night grinding, and didn't go to bed until around 10 AM. I didn't wake up until it was already night, and I had several missed calls from my family wishing me a happy birthday. I felt pathetic calling back and telling my mother that I had slept through it. And then I couldn't think of anything to do, so I just went back to playing. During my periods of addiction, I found it hard to talk to people about anything. My mind kept going back to what I was doing on MS. I couldn't be funny or interesting; I couldn't hardly think of anything to talk about, even with my best friend.
I didn't really get better until summer, when I went home. It really helps to have people around you that care about you. And over last winter break, I finally quit again just because I actually didn't feel like playing anymore.
I think there's a lot of people you can blame for gaming addiction. Society doesn't make it easy to make the transition to adulthood, gaming companies are really good at making games addicting, and people are just stupid in general. It's a really big problem.
The competition part is the worst. There never seems to be an end to online games. Once you beat your friends, you look for other people to beat. Once you reach your goal, you set a higher one. I played MS for over 5 years. I quit 2-3 times after reaching big goals (3rd job, 4th job), but every time I came back I just started on a completely new character and played even more hours than I had previously.
btw I've seen a a poster on GameFAQs called Homerowed, and I've never seen that name anywhere else. Same person?
This basically is me. Nothing is as interesting as MS seems to be. I always feel bored playing MS, but then when I am doing something else MS seems like it would be so much fun to play. So what do I do? I go play MS for a few more hours, rinse and repeat. Because of my gaming addiction I haven't been able to learn things I need to learn to be a successful adult. I look at myself and I see what I've done to myself, but I can't seem to stop. Hell, I've been saving up even more money just so I can get NX on my dual blade even though I said I would stop. It all scares me so much. It even changed my personality. I used to be a social butterfly, optimistic, and the guy who was funny. Who am I now? I'm the quiet, shy guy who rarely speaks and spends every moment thinking about how well I am going to gaming that night. And, the worst part is, I have been in residential treatment for my addiction. I was put into a treatment center for 10 months where I couldn't have access to a computer ever and my whole life was scheduled doing therapeutic activities. I just don't know what to do with myself, really.
