When friends in MMORPGs seemingly fall into an addiction, what is the best approach?
Today I want to address a topic that is not directly related to a specific game: Addiction Among Friends. For “our” generation, it is quite normal to meet people online and thus form friendships that may last for many years or even a lifetime. This often holds true even when you will never meet these individuals in real life.
I am sure that anyone with a large friends list has a few of these players on it: They are virtually permanently online. And no, I don’t mean that “typical phase” that each of us goes through, where a specific game is played excessively for a few weeks. I am talking about an online presence where one can speak of an addiction even without expertise: 12-16 hours a day, day after day.
Since I am (usually) relatively direct, I simply address the issue with people. So far, they have mostly denied that it is an addiction – but honestly, what else could this person possibly say?
Ultimately, it could not matter to me. What other people do with their lives is ultimately their own business, which I have no right to interfere with. I would probably think that way even if I did not know these individuals for years. They hold the same value for me as an acquaintance from childhood – friends, indeed. I only reluctantly let friends run into ruin (unless they play Hanzo).
It would be simple if I could just “come by in real life” to drag these people away from their computers and instill sense and insight in them – or perhaps to recognize that my assessment was wrong. But with “online friends,” that is not always possible.
I am frankly quite at a loss as to how to deal with this problem long-term.
It makes me sad to see some friends “wasting” their lives when I simultaneously know that they are actually incredibly creative individuals with much potential to excel in other ways. Then I also find myself asking: Who am I to judge how they lead their lives? These two thoughts then escalate for me.
I get angry and sad every time I see friends online for days and weeks. Eventually, I can’t stand it anymore and simply remove them from my friends list – at least on Battle.net. Then I don’t have to see it anymore. Of course, that does not solve the problem. But it does feel good for me – a bit selfish, I know.
Do you have such people in your friend circle who are on the verge of sinking into a swamp of addiction? How do you deal with such situations, or how would you? Do you take action and intervene? Or is “each their own maker of happiness” and should take care of it themselves?
Last week, it was about Dead by Daylight – the Noobslayer is actually not designed that well.
