How do you distinguish an addiction from something that’s just really, really good?
In general, addiction is hard to define and is some extent an issue of cultural convention. We can’t label all superstimuli as addictions.
Strong verbal declarations by the individual who have the relevant behavior that they wished they could stop is one good indicator that something should be considered an addiction.
If it is something that is not normally part of the human set of behaviors and creates strong physical or mental dependency effects in those who engage in that behavior then it is likely to be useful to think of it as an addiction. Thus for example, social interaction is a normal part of human behavior so we don’t call it an addiction. But I have seen people who are away from their WoW for too long become cranky and irritable in a way that looks pretty similar to how a smoker acts when they can’t smoke for an extended period of time.
I should probably be more careful with the term addiction than I am since it is a term that does have a history of abuse.
But, whether or not we use the term addiction in this context, it seems that WoW does become a massive timesink for no substantial positive gains.
In general, addiction is hard to define and is some extent an issue of cultural convention. We can’t label all superstimuli as addictions.
Strong verbal declarations by the individual who have the relevant behavior that they wished they could stop is one good indicator that something should be considered an addiction.
If it is something that is not normally part of the human set of behaviors and creates strong physical or mental dependency effects in those who engage in that behavior then it is likely to be useful to think of it as an addiction. Thus for example, social interaction is a normal part of human behavior so we don’t call it an addiction. But I have seen people who are away from their WoW for too long become cranky and irritable in a way that looks pretty similar to how a smoker acts when they can’t smoke for an extended period of time.
I should probably be more careful with the term addiction than I am since it is a term that does have a history of abuse.
But, whether or not we use the term addiction in this context, it seems that WoW does become a massive timesink for no substantial positive gains.