Ditch your escapism and go see the world
No matter what time I call my male friends, it’s always the same breaking news: “I leveled!” “I bought a mount!” “I have more than 3,000 armor!” “I picked up an epic item with a .2 percent drop rate!”
For those of you tilting your heads in puzzlement, consider yourself lucky; you haven’t been confronted with World of Warcraft maniacs.
World of Warcraft (or WoW, as players call it) is a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game, or MMORPG, according to www.worldofwarcraft.com. In a MMORPG, thousands of players exist via Internet in the same game world at the same time, with dozens of “worlds,” or servers, to choose from. This means there are literally thousands of people worldwide who are simultaneously sitting at their computers and playing with - and against - one another.
Even the players admit this is an enormous waste of time. My male friends in particular - and I’m reassured that I’m not alone in this - will spend about six hours a day playing. Their day-to-day lives consist of Warcraft, school and work - only in extreme circumstances do they pause to eat and sleep. I’m starting to forget what they look like.
WoW is slowly but surely removing people, specifically young men, from our society because they’re too obsessed to stop playing and physically interact with people. Though girls do play, they’re the minority.
However, I would be remiss in saying Warcraft is the only thing that tempts players into sitting down in front of a glowing screen and forgetting other people’s existence. Video gamers exhibit pathological symptoms of withdrawal from reality. Games such as Final Fantasy boast an entire world vastly different from our own, which players can escape to.
To me, that’s what it seems to be about: escapism.
Escapism is seeking distraction and relief from unpleasant reality through entertainment or by engaging in fantasy, according to the Oxford American Dictionary. When applied correctly, this concept extends far beyond the world of computer and video games; it becomes a way of life.
Escapism is the same concept behind reality TV, or any television show for that matter. People watch TV and retreat into oblivion so they don’t have to think about their actual lives and problems, such as having a minimum-wage job, paying bills or having lackluster love lives. Any mode of escaping is a stress reliever.
The problem isn’t that we use these things to relax; all too often the problem is they’re used to entirely withdraw from our real lives.
Furthermore, escapism is dangerously similar to isolation, which is a symptom of depression. Excessive use of anything - be it TV, computer, or video games - begins a self-imposed seclusion that drives people apart.
Even worse, escapism has become a nationwide problem. Americans today are less involved in any sort of civic activity, and I’m not just referring to politics.
Robert Putnam explored a worrisome phenomena in his book, “Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community.” Currently, many societies and clubs that experienced growing membership for decades have suddenly found only a few, steadfast members who are even interested in participating. From bridge clubs to school bands, to the NAACP, community groups of all sizes have proven that members don’t want to attend functions. Everyone is sitting at home trying to forget about his or her life.
The mystery to me is why we feel the need to escape. America is in a state of growth, and a majority of its citizens lead quality lives. As children, though, we’re introduced to TV and begin training on how to ignore the real world.
Most people can’t remember the last time they visited a national or regional park. Or the last time they went on a hike or exercised outside of the gym. So few people have a connection with the world and its people around us. The result is a very lonely society.
There are other ways to improve your life and other ways to put distance between you and your problems. Interact with other people. Visit a park. Go out and live.
Coming back to reality isn’t a bad thing.
Read the original article online here.
