Warcraft addiction?

I read a series of articles on google last night about people who were so obsessed with the progression their character that they completely abandoned their real life responsibilities.  They lost their jobs.  They lost their families.  They lost their ambitions in life.  Although many of us have not made decisions bad enough to lead us to the same circumstances, I’m sure we can all relate to wanting to play for only one more hour before work or sleep, or even sacrificing a little time with RL friends in order to play on raid night. 

As I read through the articles, I couldn’t help but notice how much I have in common with some of these people.  Maybe not losing my job or family, but in the past I have had what I would consider a problem with WoW.  I knew the amount of playtime I was having was not healthy and I could see that in my relationship with my girlfriend and my friends, but even still it was difficult to stop playing.  But, thankfully, I have matured past that stage in my life.

While I was reflecting on all of this, I couldn’t help but wonder…with 12 million+ subscribers, how many people can have this problem?  Can WoW even be considered an addiction, and if so, why? Here are a few things to consider:

Can WoW be considered an addiction?

I don’t think any of us can ignore the fact that WoW has the ability to suck you into the game completely.  While many of us are able to make decisions that will not lead to us losing everything precious to us, there are many who are not. 

Dictionary.com defines addiction as “the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, as narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma.”  There is no doubt that WoW has psychologically addictive properties, but how about in comparison to truly addictive substances such as drugs or alcohol?  While alcoholism is an addiction, it is not only psychologically addictive, but physically addictive as well.  Your body can become dependant on the presence of alcohol.  That is why a detox period is needed for those who depend on alcohol on a day to day basis.  While there are "detox" programs available for WoW addiction, they don’t require your body to adjust in a way that a chemical dependence does.

So although WoW does have psychologically addictive properties, it is not something that our bodies can actually become physically dependant on.  But there is no denying that there is a worldwide problem with the addiction to WoW.

Why?

I think the biggest factor here is that the game never ends.  Sure you can grind out 80 levels, but that is only the beginning of the game, in all honesty.  Once you hit 80, and are wondering where to go from here, you realize that all the shiny, fancy gear that the big boys are wearing is actually within your ability to achieve now.  There is also a constant supply of new and fresh content to experience.  Aside from expansions, there are new instances, new areas, and new achievements released with patches.  This not only increases the temptation to play, but it also increases the demand that the game has on your time.

I would love to hear your opinions.  What do you think, can WoW truly become an addiction?  Have you had problems with it in the past?  Are you having problems with it currently?  

Just to lighten the mood a bit, if you have the time, watch the video below.  I got a chuckle out of it.