why i'm considering quitting World of Warcraft
This is probably one of the few times I'll do this, but I'm going to copy an entry from my personal journal. The other day I was thinking/writing, and this is what came out of it.
____________________
February 20, 2006
So far, this week has been good. Of course, that's mostly because I didn't have school today. I feel like I'm slipping more deeply into a pattern of neglect.
It's World of Warcraft. That stupid game has me addicted, and it's taking $15 from my bank account every month. The past month or so was WoW-free, but I'm back on it now that Matt has recently gotten it. I'm seriusly considering eliminating it. A: It sucks up all my time. B: In order to keep up with my friends (as far as levelling), I'd have to play as frequently as they do, which means I couldn't really "cut down" on my time to make room for other things, like reading. C: If I am going to have a set time limit for computer usage, I would much rather spend it on my blogs and podcast; in this way I would accomplish something mildly useful and exercise my creative skills. These things could actually help me in my future, whereas WoW is just a complete waste of time. WoW not only cuts out useful computer time, but makes it easy for me to skip over homework and instrument practice, not to mention sleep/reading time. The more I write, the more I am convinced that quitting is an excellent idea. I cannot think of a reason to continue, other than because it's fun. But really, I don't need it. Blogging is fun. Podcasting is fun. WoW and other electronic games can be compared to sweets. Eating them is awesome; they taste delicious and are pleasantly filling. But afterwards, sweets make me feel like crap. Reading, media prodcution, and instrument playing are like healthy foods, like fruit. Equally delicious and filling, and they make me feel great afterward. In a way, "Junk in, junk out" isn't entirely inaccurate. I guess now it's settled. I'm quitting.
I'm taking an agressive approach on my time management. I only have approx. 14.5 hours each day, so anything that does nothing but waste my valuable time (exept people) will be purged. I've got a future, and a life, and people around me; those are my top priority.
God needs to help me with this one. It'll be easy for me to "forget" all of this and slip back into my reckless patterns. It's time for change.
_____________________
Now, I wasn't very clear in some of those illustrations, but I wasn't exactly presenting a well-thought-out argument; I was merely writing what was on my mind. So I'll expand from that now.
I was sort of in a "fiery" mood when I wrote that journal entry, so my decisive nature has somewhat lessened since then. I'm still not as sure as I seemed to be then that I want to quit. However, evidence supporting my above claims is overwhelming. In a purely logical sense, it would be wiser for me to quit. I think another reason why I want to keep playing is for the fellowship between me and my friends. If it were just me on there, playing that game alone, I'd quit at the drop of a hat. But I have friends who are playing with me, and that makes it more fun, like I get to hang out with my friends. In a way, that ties in to my "spending more time concerned with people" goal. But there are other ways to spend time with my friends, and of all of them WoW is probably the most shallow.
So really, I think I'm going to quit. But I still have to think about it. Perhaps someone can present me with some reasons as to why I should continue other than "But JM! We need you in order to PWN those n00bs!! Otherwise, we won't have a guy to portal us everywhere!! Waaaa!"
Please don't get me wrong--I'm not judging anyone regarding the game. I don't think gaming is evil or anything like that. I'm pro-gaming. But my schedule is too busy to accomodate it, that's really the root of it. Some people have more time than I do, and that's fine. They can spend it playing games if they want, I'm not going to argue against that.
Still, to those of you who are limited in time and could be spending it better elsewhere, consider what I have said as an application for you, or at least as just some food for thought. Time is a gift God has given us, and I intend to use it to the best of my ability, before it all runs out.
Prayer requests--
->Pray that I am able to keep a disciplined schedule and not slip back into my laziness.
->Pray for my friend Molly Franklin; she's having some family troubles and needs some comfort and healing. Also pray that I can be a good friend to her and that God would use me to comfort and serve her in any way I can.
->Pray for my Dad; our church is undergoing a major change (a good one), but stressful and not without its complications. I don't know if I'm allowed to disclose any specific details, so I'll just leave it at that.
____________________
February 20, 2006
So far, this week has been good. Of course, that's mostly because I didn't have school today. I feel like I'm slipping more deeply into a pattern of neglect.
It's World of Warcraft. That stupid game has me addicted, and it's taking $15 from my bank account every month. The past month or so was WoW-free, but I'm back on it now that Matt has recently gotten it. I'm seriusly considering eliminating it. A: It sucks up all my time. B: In order to keep up with my friends (as far as levelling), I'd have to play as frequently as they do, which means I couldn't really "cut down" on my time to make room for other things, like reading. C: If I am going to have a set time limit for computer usage, I would much rather spend it on my blogs and podcast; in this way I would accomplish something mildly useful and exercise my creative skills. These things could actually help me in my future, whereas WoW is just a complete waste of time. WoW not only cuts out useful computer time, but makes it easy for me to skip over homework and instrument practice, not to mention sleep/reading time. The more I write, the more I am convinced that quitting is an excellent idea. I cannot think of a reason to continue, other than because it's fun. But really, I don't need it. Blogging is fun. Podcasting is fun. WoW and other electronic games can be compared to sweets. Eating them is awesome; they taste delicious and are pleasantly filling. But afterwards, sweets make me feel like crap. Reading, media prodcution, and instrument playing are like healthy foods, like fruit. Equally delicious and filling, and they make me feel great afterward. In a way, "Junk in, junk out" isn't entirely inaccurate. I guess now it's settled. I'm quitting.
I'm taking an agressive approach on my time management. I only have approx. 14.5 hours each day, so anything that does nothing but waste my valuable time (exept people) will be purged. I've got a future, and a life, and people around me; those are my top priority.
God needs to help me with this one. It'll be easy for me to "forget" all of this and slip back into my reckless patterns. It's time for change.
_____________________
Now, I wasn't very clear in some of those illustrations, but I wasn't exactly presenting a well-thought-out argument; I was merely writing what was on my mind. So I'll expand from that now.
I was sort of in a "fiery" mood when I wrote that journal entry, so my decisive nature has somewhat lessened since then. I'm still not as sure as I seemed to be then that I want to quit. However, evidence supporting my above claims is overwhelming. In a purely logical sense, it would be wiser for me to quit. I think another reason why I want to keep playing is for the fellowship between me and my friends. If it were just me on there, playing that game alone, I'd quit at the drop of a hat. But I have friends who are playing with me, and that makes it more fun, like I get to hang out with my friends. In a way, that ties in to my "spending more time concerned with people" goal. But there are other ways to spend time with my friends, and of all of them WoW is probably the most shallow.
So really, I think I'm going to quit. But I still have to think about it. Perhaps someone can present me with some reasons as to why I should continue other than "But JM! We need you in order to PWN those n00bs!! Otherwise, we won't have a guy to portal us everywhere!! Waaaa!"
Please don't get me wrong--I'm not judging anyone regarding the game. I don't think gaming is evil or anything like that. I'm pro-gaming. But my schedule is too busy to accomodate it, that's really the root of it. Some people have more time than I do, and that's fine. They can spend it playing games if they want, I'm not going to argue against that.
Still, to those of you who are limited in time and could be spending it better elsewhere, consider what I have said as an application for you, or at least as just some food for thought. Time is a gift God has given us, and I intend to use it to the best of my ability, before it all runs out.
Prayer requests--
->Pray that I am able to keep a disciplined schedule and not slip back into my laziness.
->Pray for my friend Molly Franklin; she's having some family troubles and needs some comfort and healing. Also pray that I can be a good friend to her and that God would use me to comfort and serve her in any way I can.
->Pray for my Dad; our church is undergoing a major change (a good one), but stressful and not without its complications. I don't know if I'm allowed to disclose any specific details, so I'll just leave it at that.
posted by John Mark at 8:39 PM
6 Comments:
I stopped playing computer games and have not played WoW for some of those same reasons you mentioned. I have been hooked on video games in the past and would easily be hooked if I started again. I'd rather spend my time doing other things... most of them more productive than playing games. As much fun as I have playing them, I often come away from them thinking the way you mentioned (in your "sweet" little analogy) -- I enjoyed it, but feel like I am burned out and wasted.
I became convicted about being a good steward of my time (which is a gift from God). Not that I'm trying to spread my conviction on you... you sound like God's working on your own convictions.
Not that games are bad -- I'm sure some day I'll have a little bit more time and I'll be able to play them again.
I'll pray for you and your requests.
I always consider it this way:
I do not watch television.
I play video games.
I spend as much time playing games as many people spend watching television, whether it be shows or sports.
This is how I justify it.
That doesn't justify anything.
I don't care if you play video games or watch TV or whatever, but the reason you gave is invalid It's not a logical argument.
Fine, it's invalid.
But as soon as anyone says to me, "Don't play video games, read a book!" and that person watches television, THEIR argument isn't necessarily invalid, but it doesn't hold any weight, for me. In the perfect world, sure, everyone should just sit there learning all the time.
Basically, the only time I will ever take advice from someone about never playing games is when that person is completely productive with their life. There isn't anyone on this planet that doesn't unwind in some fashion, the most common of which being watching television.
Keep in mind that reading books can ALSO be a time waster. I seriously doubt that Tom Clancy Novel Number 5,238,974 is a worthwhile endeavor.
But there is this positive stigma associated with books, as if every book is a positive thing. "Oh, it's okay, at least she's reading!"
Mr. Quiring, I KNOW that you watch television. Why do you choose television instead of games? You might not watch very much of it, but you could easily use that time to play some games that you've been looking to play.
John Mark, what about the past couple of nights where you've been watching Family Guy online? You could have chosen to play games in the time that you did that. But you chose not to. But somehow World of Warcraft is the source of your problems?
It's all about choosing your leisure activities. I think you two and others think of games as something that you do IN ADDITION to other leisure activities. I see it as something I do INSTEAD, because watching broadcast television has no appeal to me.
How someone (neither of you, here) who spends their time looking at baseball stats, watching baseball games, and memorizing baseball trivia can look at me in the eye and say that I am the one wasting my time, is beyond me. How someone who watches all the latest reality show garbage can look at me and tell me that I am wasting my time, is beyond me. How someone who spends their time looking at myspace can tell me that I am the one wasting my time, is beyond me. How someone whoparties it up on the weekends can tell me that I'm the one wasting my time, is beyond me. How someone who plays music (yes, plays music. According to the perfect little production world we've set up for our argument here playing music does nothing practical, only enjoyable) can tell me that I'm wasting my time is beyond me.
Am I wasting my time? Sure, I guess, if our goal is to be like the Japanese and increase production and efficiency by 15% every month. But, then again, they're some of the biggest gamers on the face of planet earth. Hmmm....
The main reason I have chosen to stop playing games is because I started spending WAY too much time playing games. Sure, right now I watch TV a few hours per week, and I could very well replace that with playing games a few hours per week. On the other hand, I know the way my brain works -- more than likely, I will end up spending more than just a few hours in the games. I get sucked in way too easily, and I will be spending 2x, 3x, or more on the games than I intended.
I like the idea of "planning your free time", that Mr. Davies spoke about in chapel a while back. It's a good idea to schedule free time to make sure I only spend so much time on that activity. I don't care if I spend some of their free time playing games, watching TV, or reading books, but the problem I have (at least in my own life) is when the free time starts interfering with other areas. That's why I stopped the games -- it interfered with my sleep, work, reading, and other areas. Maybe today I could go back to gaming because I've learned a bit more self-control and restraint... but I'm fine where I am -- with just a few hours of TV.
Just because it's not productive does not mean it's "wasting time." It's wasting time when it's taking time away from something better. It is possible to waste time with something productive, when the time could be used better for something else. Yes, it's subjective. But we'll all be accountable to God for our stewardship of our time some day.
God's concerned about our hearts. Does God want us to relax, rest, and have enjoyable activities? I think so. My only concern in my own life is that those activities do not take precedence over the things God wants me to do.
You're right about me watching Family Guy instead of playing games. But that's just because I was being neglectful.
Music is not a waste of time. I'm going to have to come down hard on this, but music is just as useful as reading, if not even more useful. Purely from a logical business perspective, developing your musical skills on an instrument is a great way to build a career, or to have something for extra cashflow on the side. Not to mention that playing instruments has been proven to boost student's performance in school, because it helps you understand and master many things from sequences to mechanics and physics--even mathematics are involved when playing instruments. Discipline is also a hugely prevalent factor when playing an instrument. You don't realize that simply because you haven't learned an instrument that involves lifelong discipline and development. Playing/practicing an instrument is one of the most useful activities one can do. I'd say it is more practical than enjoyable, at times. Playing an instrument isn't all fun and games (in fact, it's seldom fun and games).
There's no arguing against that. In fact, one thing that IS a waste of time is trying to argue against that.
I agree, not all reading is good, but even some of the lower-quality works can help expand your vocabulary and give you a better understanding of our language and sentence structure. But I certainly understand the point you're making in that regard. One can't just sit down and read crap but say it's useful because he's readiing. I could read nursery rhymes all the time and call it useful because I'm reading something, but of course there comes a point where one must move on to more challenging things.
One thing that I would like to mention as a sidenote. We can't judge/justify ourselves by what other people do. Just because someone else is doing something wrong doesn't justify our wrongdoing. Therefore, one can't simply say he is watching TV because besides, he would only be wasting his time in another way. That's a logical fallacy. Rather, we need to analyze ourselves and focus on how we need to improve, and not go by other people's standards. All people are bad examples in one area or another. So that's not the issue. I, personally, would rather spend my leisure time reading and doing productive things that actually make me feel like I'm accomplishing something that is beneficial to me and the people around me. That's just my personal opinion on how I should manage my time. This has nothing to do with anyone else. Like Mr. Q, I can't really just play a game for a couple of hours, I get sucked into it and it takes up all my time; more time than I had planned.
So, in summary--I'm not telling anyone they should quit WoW, I'm simply sharing a decision that I have made for my own personal benefit. The only reference I made to others was in the closing of my entry, where I mentioned that it may be wise for others to take their time into consideration. That's it. You can do what you want with your time, it's none of my business. But my time is my business, therefore I will address in a way that I feel is wise and beneficial.
P.S. I don't suggest you question Mr. Q's time-keeping habits;)
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