Notes

Doctor Claims that 40 Percent of World of Warcraft Players are Addicted



Doctor claims 40 percent of World of Warcraft players are addicted


A psychologist in clinical practice has launched a war against Blizzard ...

Jeremy Reimer - Aug 9, 2006 9:11 pm UTC



A few years back, when I worked at Electronic Arts, a coworker of mine had a troublesome issue. He spent much of his time playing EverQuest, the massively multiplayer online role-playing game. When he wasn’t playing, he was chatting about the game, posting on forums about it, and dreaming about when he could login the next time. He was a fervent player, frequently logging in the moment when he returned from work. It was no surprise that his actions caused a negative impact on his family and social life, and eventually cost him his job.



Many of us have known individuals who have similar characteristics to my coworker. Gaming addiction is a problem that goes back to MUDs that were text-based. However words like "Evercrack", "World of Warcrack", and others have become more common in recent years. Now the Dr. Maressa Hecht Orzack, psychologist in the clinical department at McLean Hospital in Massachusetts, has come forward to claim that as high as 40 percent of World of Warcraft players are addicted to the game.



Dr. Orzack, who is the co-founder and coordinator of the Computer Addiction Service, told Ars in an email that the 40 percent figure came from "a forum that Nick Yee is the administrator of" but did not reveal any other method for arriving at this number. She added that "even if the percentage is between 5 and 10 percent, which is the norm for many addictive behaviors, it's an overwhelming number of people who are completely out of control." Orzack says she has been studying the issue for the past 11 years. She claims that she is overwhelmed with people asking for assistance, typically worried parents, spouses with no support, and sometimes the players themselves.



She explains that MMORPGs generally employ what is known as variable ratio reinforcement. Variable reinforcement is the idea that rewarding good behavior by offering rewards is the best way to maximize the behaviour of the subject. Then, the reward amount can be altered to alter the number of times a subject has to demonstrate the behavior before the reward is given. For instance If a rat is required to press a bar to receive food, then it will press more quickly and more often in the event that it isn't aware of how many times it will need to press the bar. Similar to this in World of Warcraft would be purple (epic) loot drops: you don't know when they are going to occur, but that will increase the probability of getting these drops.



Orzack feels that the games are the fault more than the players. In an interview, she said that "This isn't about willpower and restraint." These games are designed to entice and keep you engaged. And then it's a cycle. people start spending too much time playing, and their careers and relationships begin to fall apart."
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So , what's her plan of action? She believes that MMORPGs should be accompanied by warning labels on the box, similar to as cigarette packaging does today. In addition, she believes that addiction to computers (not only gaming as such, but also excessive chat and Internet use) should be considered to be legitimate mental disorders and therefore be eligible for health insurance. The American Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders does not currently cover gaming or Internet addiction.



Orzack isn't the only one concerned about players playing too many online games. China recently imposed time limits for MMORPG users, citing concerns that citizens were spending too much time playing games like World of Warcraft. Amsterdam recently established a rehabilitation center for addicts to video games. Although there are clearly those who fall into the MMORPG trap it is not an epidemic. World of Warcraft has a player base of 6.5 million and is increasing. If 40 percent of those people become addicted, that would mean that 2.6 million players are heading to the psychiatric unit. Orzack's numbers may be exaggerated.



This is also a personal one for me, since I was averse to MMORPGs for several years due to concerns about their addictive nature but finally gave in to World of Warcraft because many of my friends were playing it (I believe that many others fall into this category). While I acknowledge the game's addictive nature, I often wonder if the word addiction is being used too widely, and possibly being applied to areas that are not really relevant. In our daily lives, we all do things that operate according to the variable ratio reinforcement principle. Work, for instance. Promotions, bonuses, and raises are given at a variable rate. We don't have to worry about getting too dependent on work. Rewards with variable ratios seem to be an inherent part of our human nature.



Still, there are people who are considered to be workaholics, in the same way that there are those who are addicted to fitness or other activities generally thought to be positive. True, those who spend too much time on these activities can result in negative effects on their lives. These issues are not something that can be blamed on addiction or pushed by pharmaceutical companies to market more products to the general population. The solution is to create greater awareness about the necessity of balanced lives. That, perhaps, is the greatest variable ratio reward of all.



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