MMORPGs: Ultimate Hobby Or Waste Of Time
The other day I joked with a friend of mine about what my life might be like had I, instead of playing MMORPGs over the past 10 years, done something more productive with those 14,962 hours (give or take an hour). In an alternate reality I’m most likely a famous brain surgeon who does male modelling on the side or a Nobel Prize winning physicist and poet. It made me wonder – has all that time I’ve plugged in MMOs just been one big waste?
I think back to my days of summer holiday at University when I literally had nothing to do except hang out with my friends, drink beer, watch Jackass, occasionally attend half-assed Kung Fu lessons and play MMORPGs. A lot. I was kinda like a middle class, well-spoken, redneck geek who instead of living in a trailer park, stayed in a comfortable flat in town and pondered existentialism whilst battling the undead mobs of the Estate of Unrest in Everquest.
Being married and shackled to a full-time job, I now look back at those years with mixed emotions. Half of me regrets not taking advantage of my time more and using it for more product pursuits whilst the other half of me really envies my past-self and wishes I could still be doing that right now. I guess it boils down to what you think the purpose of life is: is it about doing something meaningful for mankind or is it simply just about enjoying yourself and being happy?
MMOs are serious business and very few people play them lightly. They tend to require a lot of time and commitment and aren’t called addictive by many people for no reason. In many ways, they are indeed the ultimate hobby as they offer a huge amount of scope and lifespan yet on the other hand, they are also very demanding and suck up much of our lives.
I guess as I’m getting older, I’m starting to look at life in a different way and now my spare time seems more precious than ever. Should I be spending those rare hours plugging away at a MMO or should I be trying to do other things and better the life of myself and family? It’s tough because I want to achieve more in my life yet I also selfishly thoroughly enjoy my hobby.
Hmm, too much thought for me tonight so I’ll put it out for discussion. What do you think? MMORPGs – ultimate hobby or complete waste of time?
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If you didn’t have MMOs, chances are that you would have wasted away your time with beer, television and contemplating your own navel – since that’s what people at Uni usually do. I’ve wasted hours on games and MMOs during my life, but I have a feeling that I would have wasted them on something else if I hadn’t been playing.
Yeah, more than likely. I think I’m assuming I could’ve done something productive but it’s more likely that I would’ve just watched a lot of TV
Why are you writing this post and pondering your pondering’s?
Back to grinding Sir!
Aye, aye!
Gordon, my friend, everything that doesn’t advance your life in some way is technically a “waste of time”. The thing is, as humans we crave and need something to fill a void that we have for something that isn’t just work, which is what advancing your life is, essentially. That’s why entertainment and the need to forget one’s own problems and trials is always going to be around.
MMOs simply crystallize that for geekery by being so obvious about it. If you think about all the hours wasted raiding or pvp’ing, it’s really just not something that is actually, honestly, worthwhile to your overall life – but we do it because it makes us feel like our brains can unplug from that life, if for a little bit.
It’s when you are more invested in unplugging from life than you are in living it that playing MMOs in any serious manner has dark consequences.
Well said! I think you’re right and no one can pursue “work” 24/7 – we need entertainment and technically speaking all entertainment is both a waste of time and very valuable.
In terms of entertainment, escapism and enjoyment, MMORPGs have been very worth it for me!
ULTIMATE HOBBY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Prior to MMOs my hobbies were stamp collecting, ornithology, car brochure collecting, football, hooliganism, alcoholism, pot smoking, D&D and other rpgs, computer games, reading, and trying to get laid (usually unsuccessfully).
I deeply regret that my distraction with MMOs is depriving society of further efforts in these directions and can only hope posterity will forgive me.
ROFL!
You are my new hero!
Look at me atm:
Instead of writing these lines I should prepare my CV for a job I need to get to survive here. What am I actually doing? Discussing about mmorpgs if they are an ultimate hobby or waste of time…well…and you are pondering about your wasted time…
Main post starts here:
If you regret that you invested that much time in MMOs -> they are a waste of time.
If not -> its ok.
Comparison: You are in a Casino with the people you like. Lets say you lose around € 100.- . So you got 2 choices: Regret: because you could have done muuuuch more better stuff with that money (including getting angry) or dont think about the lose and smile about the nice time you got with your wife/friends and the thrill at the tables.
That easy it is for me!
You speak the truth, oh wise one! I shouldn’t feel ashamed of spending time doing what I enjoy.
thought you are the wise one and I am the sexy dude…
It’s a hobby. If you stopped it you would substitute it with some other interest or form of entertainment. Or you would find yourself with all sorts of spare time and just fall back into it.
That’s what I do.
I also find I consume more (which might be good for the economy) when I’m not playing a MMO. I buy more books, music, non-MMO games or movies.
Now if there was some way to hook a treadmill up to power my computer it might actually be a healthy hobby.
Hehe, yeah if someone invest a way to work out whilst sitting in front of a computer, they will be a millionaire!
I have frequently had this thought and often wondered how life would be different if I didn’t spend all that time playing MMOs. Generally I’m not sure I’d have done anything other than find a different time sink and filled my idle hours with it. I also think of what playing MMOs has done for me:
1. I’m an extremely competent manager. Leading a raid guild has given me huge insight into how people work and getting a job done. In the real world everyone wants you to already have management experience but will rarely give a new person the chance to earn it. This let me do that.
2. I’ve met people from literally all over the world and broadened my world view. From a small town in Georgia I’ve met people all over the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Europe and even a few from Asia.
3. I’ve made some very real, very long lasting friendships with some awesome people. I would never have met these people otherwise and they have had a big influence on my life.
4. I’d be far more introverted. I was a fairly shy fellow in high school. MMOs forced me to interact with others (at least back in my day they did. Now they don’t as much).
5. I wouldn’t have an extreme hatred for gnomes and all thing gnomish. Some may consider that a flaw. I consider it a righteous crusade.
I suppose when you list the facts like that it actually seems like a very useful hobby. I never considered all of the friends I’ve made or the experiences I’ve had with MMOs. It’s no doubt been a lot better than just watching TV.
Anytime I have second thoughts about my hobbies I think of two things:
1: The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time. – Bertrand Russell
2: If I wasn’t playing games, I’d probably be watching TV which is an even bigger waste.
I’d say it’s both simultaneously.
But, as others have noted, it’s all about opportunity costs — what would you have done with that time otherwise? If you would have just watched TV, then I’d say you didn’t waste your time at all.
If you would have cured cancer, that’s something else entirely. . . . . .
For myself, I don’t consider it a waste of time — I enjoy it, I’ve made friends, it’s low cost per hour compared to many other hobbies, it passes the time, etc.
My parents, on the other hand, think I should be devoting myself more to studying religion. I roll my eyes and think THEY are wasting their time doing that
Opportunity costs is a good point. I think I would’ve just spent it doing nothing
Of course, if one can actually be productive then that’s an amazing thing.
I think I just have a bad mix of amition and laziness
It depends on the person and level of addiction. *shrug*
While I very strongly prefer games to TV, games have their share of utterly mindless activities *coughRepGrindcough*, as well as deleterious effects on psychology. Perhaps it’s better than drunk driving, but just because there’s something worse doesn’t mean that there wasn’t also something better that probably should have been done instead.
I love MMOs. A lot. I do think that most of my time was wasted, but not all of it. I have a few bonds and friendships and connections I would not have otherwise. I just wish I had been more mature when getting into the genre, so I would understand the social and personal repurcussions that come with extended playtime in a virtual world.
There are dozens of books I’ve never read now, seasons of TV series I’ll never watch, and other games whose narratives I will never experience. There are tests I didn’t study for, dates I never went on, and relationships with friends and potential girlfriends that I ruined because of my MMO playing. It makes me sad to think that I let my entertainment take over my life so completely. I think they CAN be a waste of time; it’s up to us to realize how we’re playing them. If we realize they’re so engrossing, they can become the ultimate hobby.
I think it’s about finding a balance. When the hobby starts to interfere with “real” life when it’s problematic and it becomes far more than just a waste of time but actually something that’s detremental to ones life.
I’ve played games my who life and am only an MMOer this past year. I guess anything could be construed as a waste of time depending upon your perspective.
So is reading a book more productive? Taking kung-fu lessons? Drinking beers of the world? I look at hobbies as something fun and entertaining we do to pass the time. If along the way you’ve had fun … then it wasn’t a waste of your time. And that’s the key: YOUR time.
My wife doesn’t understand my affinity for playing WAR. I say well you read books all the time. And these are historical or mind-broadening books but works of fiction. So sitting around reading a Dean Koontz novel is more productive than my sitting and playing WAR? If she were reading books on how to speak another language or about something historical or a self-help book I’d be more apt to give more credit.
Being married like you there are other things that demand time: family, kids, job, house, all that stuff. Life is a difficult balance of things we have to do, things we need to do, things we want to do, and things we wish we’d do.
To each their own … some people play MMOs, some read, some play console games, some play sports, etc., etc. Only you can determine if it was all a waste of time … your time.
I think people are definitely right with the opinion that it’s not a waste of time if you enjoy it and get something out of it. Although there’s perhaps nothing concrete to show form it (i.e. a certificate… nice idea though
) it’s still worthwhile if it gives one pleasure. I still wish there was a way to benefit my career whilst doing it or increase my physical health or something when playing 
I sometimes wonder why I prefer to play MMOs instead of single player games. Trivial tasks often take hours, after all. Besides that, I like to read fantasy novels. Guess I am a dreamer and should finally give in and become an overseer or contractor on a columbian drug plantation?
At least being an overseer on a columbian drug plantation would teach you important skills like people management, socialisation, working under pressure, gun skills and getting the best out of your team with a tight deadline looming,
It sounds more like a general midlife crisis than MMO’s specifically. You could replace it with TV watching, or working in accounting. I think MMO’s are only a waste if you use them to neglect real things that you can actually do. You will not win the Nobel Prize, but you really should get to working back on that science fiction novel you keep talking about (not you in specific.)
Other than that, its cool. The good thing about it being a waste of time is that you can take a break or trash it at your leisure. If you think working in your job has been a huge waste and have kids, chances are its going to be much harder to restart then.
Very true. This is probably coming out because I just got married this year and I’m coming up to my 5th year at my job and starting to wonder “what’s my purpose in life”. I don’t think anyone’s managed to answer that one yet
I’m kind of in the same boat. Gotten to that age (26) where I’ve got higher priorities than sitting around and playing video games all day. I’ve played MMORPGs for the past 4 years (roughly 8000 hours), and I sometimes ask myself why I’m playing.
Here’s my take on it. If you ask yourself why you are still playing, you probably shouldn’t be playing MMORPGs. However, let’s take me and DVDs. I love to sit down and watch a TV show for 45 minutes to 2 hours (sometimes, I’ll get 3 part episodes). Now I never question watching DVDs because even though watching TV is a waste of time according to some, I actually enjoy watching DVDs.
So if you enjoy something, but you put a lot of time into it, then it’s not a waste of time. However, if you have to ask yourself why you’re still playing, then it might be a waste of time. Some people enjoy playing MMORPGs. I enjoyed WoW for the first couple years, before I got to see what was going on. That said, I don’t plan on buying Cataclysm.