Legality aside, what are the key differences between playing a MUD game and smoking that reefer? I poked around the internet and stumbled across a marijuana fact sheet published by the ADA (Division of American Drug Abuse http://www.well.com/user/woa/fspot.htm) that is actually posted on the WELL network, apparently it’s not a small world anymore, sorry Disney. Here is one of the questions asked to this doctor:
What about psychological dependence on marijuana?
Long-term regular users of marijuana may become psychologically dependent. They may have a hard time limiting their use, they may need more of the drug to get the same effect, and they may develop problems with their jobs and personal relationships. The drug can become the most important aspect of their lives.
I'm no doctor, but this can easily be changed after reading this Rheingold article to say something like this:
What about psychological dependence on Multi-User Dungeons?
Long-term regular MUDders may become psychologically dependent and obsessive with a particular game. They may have a hard time limiting their use, they may need more of the game to get the same effect, and they may develop problems with their jobs and personal relationships. The game can become the most important aspect of their lives.
All joking aside now, there is something to be said about this new and dangerous form of addiction. Smoking weed is commonly looked down upon by teachers and parents, with good reasons. Weed appears to make users lazy and stupid even though there is limited scientific information that proves that to be true. There are also very limited health risks that a user faces while smoking pot. I’ve seen firsthand how real a weed addiction, although purely psychological, can affect someone. On the other hand, I’ve also seen how much more dangerous it is to be addicted to a game then it is to be addicted to weed. MUDs take up hours of a user’s life and before they even know it they’ve wasted a whole day. Online gaming is a form of distraction, one that may not “get you high” but one that limits the way one lives their lives, ones REAL LIFE, not one of the other three they have online. I’m in no way advocating the use of marijuana, rather I’m pointing out that maybe drugs are not the most dangerous thing facing our youth in the future, maybe online gaming will become the next great epidemic to plague a youth that has already been heavily-saturated with the use of technology. Are drugs now becoming a retro problem for todays youth? Only time can tell, stay tuned folks.
2 comments:
You make a great point about the comparisons between pot and MUDs. Both distract and take students away from REAL LIFE situations like studying, class, and participating in extra curricular activities. So Pot is illegal, yes. Pot destroys brain cells. Gaming or MUDing is legal because lets say it doesn't destroy brain cells. However as you said, people may "develop problems with their jobs and personal relationships." Isn't that a problem for society and the individual. MUDing seems to do just as much harm as pot.
I agree with you in that online communities, MUDDing, and online video gaming can be addictive. But, I don't necessarily consider them to be in the same class as drugs such as marijuana. I might put it more in the class of something such as alcohol. With alcohol, there is a way to use drink responsibly without altering one's health or behavior. This is the same with the online communities, it can be healthy and fun when kept in the right perspective. Drugs such as Marijuana, on the other hand, are intended to create an altered state and seems far more addicting by nature.
Post a Comment