Media
Madness Part 3 —œ Achievement (aka. Damn you, media!)

This rang true to me. I could relate. When I’m swamped with
anything that demands my attention, and especially if has a deadline attached, my
mind is usually, and quite reluctantly transfixed on that. And upon completing
whatever it is I have to do, there is a definite sense of accomplishment.

Since I’ve been quite busy with real life things lately, I
have neglected MMOs entirely. Not because I hate them, but simply because I’m
fulfilling that basic human need and want to achieve something elsewhere. Had I
no real life commitments, I would almost certainly start playing more MMOs.
(P.S. Don’t get me wrong; I still love MMOs.)

At first, I wouldn’t think about it, but I would probably
sink a huge amount of time into this in an attempt to keep a steady flow of
‘achievement’ coming. Doing this enough, it would be completely probable that I
would get all too comfortable using MMOs as my sole source of gratification.

Now, presuming this happens, I’d be stuck. I would have
neglected all the things in my life I used to be passionate about and love
deriving a sense of accomplishment from. This includes but is not limited to
all your hobbies. Most importantly, this can involve neglected whatever it was
you did to make money. Lose the sense of accomplishment you gain from work, and
you lose interest very fast.

This is where a lot of the ‘propaganda’ about MMO addiction
comes from. ‘Your life will fall apart! You’ll be a loser!’ is usually the
basic message behind the so-called problem of MMO addiction, and as much as I
hate to admit it, there may actually be solid basis for these concerns.

It impossible to say that all people who play MMOs will
fall into this trap; however, there no denying that there will inevitably be
some people who will completely lose track of their ‘real life achievements’
and focus completely on their online persona.

How detrimental this may be to a person life is completely
circumstantial.

Let assume that you’re a single parent, working a menial
job, struggling to support a child, not to mention paying the bills. One day
you find yourself playing an MMO. It fun, you can forget about real life and
you can become someone else and achieve some truly impressive things in game.

But what about your life? You wouldn’t have time to work
extra hours to attempt to get out of the rut you’re in financially. You lose
passion and motivation for work, and ultimately this leaves you stagnating,
playing games mindlessly, merely sedating yourself, so to speak. Then there
the issue of supporting your child.

Sure, it may be an extreme example but I’m 100% sure this
kind of thing happens, and does effect peoples’ lives in various ways.

You get the point.

Coming back to the so-called ‘propaganda’ and bad news MMOs
get, I can’t help but think that the media is (yet again) going about this
issue in completely the wrong way.

Shouldn’t we be educating people on the fact that, if you’re
not careful, it quite possible that MMOs can influence your sense of
accomplishment, and in turn affect your life in whatever degree?

Instead of this completely manipulative delivering of
information based on fear tactics, would it not be a good idea to simply
educate people about the possibilities and,
for lack of a better word, risks of
MMOs?

Perhaps, I’m being too optimistic, but hell, it just makes
sense.

I’d love to hear everyone else thoughts on this also. Visit the forums and verbally abuse/amuse me!

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