About two-thirds
(62.1%, N=2328) of EQ players would consider themselves addicted
to EQ. There are no significant age or gender differences.
How many hours is too many hours of EQ? And does
that automatically equate to addiction? Many respondents tried to
grapple with this issue:
I play EQ for 18 month now. And when I take all
time of my characters and calculet the average I played 4h a day.
This is mad. I tryed to stop playing EQ for some month, because
I had to do a excam. But I found me everyday looking through the
internet and reading EQ sites. I often find me thinking about
EQ and daydreaming. I am addicted and know that, and I like it.
[m, 24]
I like to play EQ alot. I play whenever I have
free time. I don't watch tv during the week anymore but I don't
miss it at all. I tape some shows on some nights that I watch
on the weekend. I play at work as well during lunch. Basically
if I don't have to do anything I will play EQ. I don't consider
myself addicted but I can say it takes a lot of my time. I enjoy
playing many of my characters but not as much as I do playing
with the same people all the time and friends I have made in the
game and guildmates. If I had to play without them I would just
solo until I was able to play with them. [m, 28]
I do think i am an EQ addict, and yes I have tryd
to stop. This was after i got my brother hookd on it tho, so even
after i quit, he beggd me to get back on to play with him. I held
out for a long time, but I eventualy crackd, and got re-addicted.
I think i like EQ, but i cant be shure. Its just to damn addicting
to know if i actuialy enjoy the game. You might say, "well
you would know if you like it or not" Well that might be
true for some, but i just dont know. [m, 17]
On the other hand, there were clear-cut cases where
the respondents themselves recognized that their game-play was seriously
affecting them:
Yes, I am now officially a hermit. I had problems
keeping in touch with old friends to begin with. Now its rare
I see anyone other than the two people I live with. Both of which
also play EQ, constantly. My girlfriend, and my roommate. Neither
of them have jobs, and both of them play EQ 95% of their time
awake. When I come home from work in the morning, my girl logs,
and sits in my lap and watches me play. I dont have a phone plugged
in anymore, I just check messages now and then. I dont answer
my door. I barely talk to any friends or family. We have fun,
I love EQ... but it -IS- without a doubt, an addiction. When your
sitting there, knowing you have important things to do, but keep
playing anyway... when your two closest loved ones cant pry themselves
from "the game" to get themselves lives... when there
is no food or clean clothes... etc... etc... [m, 22]
Yes, I consider myself addicted to EQ. I haven't
tried quitting yet, but I will have to in a few months. I don't
spend enough time with my 2 1/2 year old daughter. I'm a full-time
mom, and my daughter watches TV all day while I play the game.
In September, I will start homeschooling her, so I'll have to
cut down on my EQ time. I'd like to stop now so I would have time
to take her to the park during the week, or even let her play
in the backyard, but leveling, getting new spells and new skills
is all I think about. [f, 27]
Several respondents articulated some of the effects
of withdrawal:
I recently had to spend two weeks in another country
for my job. Because the latency back to the US was so horrible
there, I couldn't play EQ (600ms and greater). A day didn't go
by that I wasn't thinking about it - would my friends surpass
me in levels, would I lose interest in the game from not playing
(yes, I was actually worried about this). I made a point of browsing
the message boards every day to see what Verant was up to, found
myself feeling anger and delight in the opinions expressed by
both sides. I am now a permanent part of this community. [m, 27]
I am addicted to EQ and I hate it and myself for
it. When I play I sit down and play for a minimum of 12 hours
at a time, and I inevitably feel guilty about it, thinking there
a large number of things I should be doing instead, like reading
or furthering my education or pursuing my career. But I can't
seem to help myself, it draws me in every time. I have been out
of work now for over a month and now find myself in a stressful,
depressed state that it only quelled when I am playing EQ, because
it's easy to forget about real world troubles and problems, but
the problem is when you get back to the real world, problems and
troubles have become bigger, and it's a bad, bad cycle. I've tried
quitting seriously on several occassions, but I was shocked to
find each time that the experience reminds of what I've heard
quitting heroin is like. There are serious withdrawal pangs, anxiety,
and a feeling of being lost and not quite knowing what next to
do with yourself. I don't think this could possibly be the norm
for most people, maybe I just have an addictive personality, although
I've never been addicted to anything before in my life. [m, 26]
Many respondents gave reasons for why they felt
the game was so addictive. One often-cited reason was that it allowed
players to escape the real world:
I think anyone that plays more than 20 hours a
week is addicted tho most would deny it. The sad truth is that
in many ways EQ is better than RL. It is easier to succeed in
EQ, I can be beautiful, fit and healthy in EQ - in real life I
am chronicly ill and there isn't much fun or achievement to be
had. EQ is more than just an opiate, and much more than just a
game. In a very real sense EQ gives me an opportunity to feel
free. [f, 36]
I continued to play because I was also unhappy
with the circumstances in my real life and needed to "forget"
about it for as long as I could. I was having financial troubles
and marital problems as well. I could ignore my real life and
escape into eq. This wasnt for the fun, it was a "need"
that I felt to not deal with my life responsibly and eq was my
chosen method of "druging" myself into blissful ignorance.
[m, 33]
Yes, I do consider myself addicted to it. I think
I am because I like hanging around with many people at a place
and doing something fun. Since EQ is half social and half an RPG,
that's the perfect enviroment for me. There's also no stress about
real life relationships while in EQ since they aren't real life.
I don't have to worry about that girl that I just bought a drink
for and if she thinks I'm "cute", and I don't have to
worry about that random guy trying to start a fight with my friend.
In EQ, both situations can be just turned off; worries are gone,
and I continue with the fun I was having before. [m, 22]
Other players talked about the friends and social
obligation factor:
I am an EQ addict. I play every day, only taking
a break when I get to a point where I have real life stress over
something that happens in game. When I do take breaks, it's usually
for only a day. I worry about my game life as much as I worry
about my real life. If I am late getting on, I feel like people
will be disappointed with me. As a guild leader, when conflicts
arise people come to me to resolve them. People look to you to
have events, help them get things, quest, etc. I have had people
in my own guild leave because they didn't feel we gave them enough
of our time or enough "phat lewt". I try to please everyone,
but it is unrealistic to think you can be everywhere for everyone,
keeping them all happy. It gets to be a heavy burden to bear,
and sometimes I end up in tears out of frustration. I am an addict.
Will I quit? No. Why? Because I love it. =) [f, 30]
I'm addicted to, so much as the interactioni between
friends that I have meet in game. I look forward to going home
after work and loging in to see haow every one is. Did they have
good a good day at work. Did there baby get over the colic problem.
It's like a small town...only you get to choose who you want to
be around. If I don't feel like being around a particular personality...I
just play a different character. But on the whole I see these
people as an extended family. Each one that leaves (and I've known
several) and never returns hurts as much as loosing a "true"
friend or loved one. I have tried quiting...and just limiting
my play. But when you progress in levels, and to group with verious
people you MUST level, it makes it difficult to just "limit"
your play time. I am currently looking at getting one character
high enough to go on a Dragon/Plains raid. After that I am going
to reconsider keeping my account open. [anon]
Other players attributed it to the constant presence
of the "next best thing":
The game is set up to make you want the next best
thing. "Oh look what that guy has! How do I get that?"
The answer is always to spend more time online either getting
higher level to go camp the item, or to just go camp the item
(or slight variation, camp the quest items that result in the
new item). But you are rewarded for playing more. Better items,
more freedom on where you can go. [m, 21]
And players who do quit EQ may find themselves hooked
into playing again:
Every few months I get really bored. Im either
stuck in a nasty level and cant find something interesting to
camp/kill for good xp. Or maybe if Ive found it consistently hard
to find good groups. Sometimes its just cos Ive come across too
many kids playing EQ who have no sense of fair play and treating
people with respect and ruin my EQ experience. And I can only
ignore 20 people at a time dammit! :-p So I take a break - cold
turkey - and say I dont want to play EQ ever again. Of course
I always seem to come back after a month or so. Usually when Im
bored and have nothing better to do. But of course thats usually
all it takes...I get hooked back into the whole levelling and
exp junkie cycle. [f, 27]
I had been playing EQ for about 2 months when
I began to realize the amount of time I was spending away from
reality and my obligations. I gradually weaned myself off EQ after
another 2 months. I haven't played EQ regularly for a few months
now. Although I have regained some control, I still feel serious
urges to play now and again. EQ has a very distinct society that
I found appealing. Everyone who played found something they liked
alot and just kept doing it. Repetition and social interaction
is what addicted me to EQ. I would wager to say that I am still
addicted even though I don't play for long stretches at a time.
EQ is highly addictive and quitting entirely is something VERY
difficult to do. After all, if you do quit... everything you worked
so hard for (your stats, equipment, friends) is gone forever since
characters are stored solely on the Verant servers. The only thing
you can take with you is the stories. And those anecdotes will
haunt you endlessly until you give in to the urge to re-immerse
yourself in Norrath just one more time. [m, 27]
But players who have it under control put a different
spin on things:
In a happy way, yes. :) It's true that I
would feel a lot of pain if I had to quit EverQuest...but I think
that far from being the "menace" that I've seen EQ addiction
made into, it's actually a lot more healthy than (for example)
people who come home in the evening and spend 4 or 5 hours watching
television. In EverQuest, I interact with people, do creative
things, think and strategize, and generally enjoy myself. I think
it's not much different than other forms of recreation with friends
and others. So no, I've never tried quitting. Why would I want
to? I enjoy spending time playing EverQuest, and I don't see it
as fundamentally unhealthy behavior. [f, 23]
More recent
findings on this issue can be found at the "Ariadne"
report.
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