Addiction in World of Warcraft: A Virtual Ethnography Study

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Author(s): Craig Pragnell (Bournemouth University, UK)and Christos Gatzidis (Bournemouth University, UK)
Copyright: 2012
Pages: 21
Source title: Handbook of Research on Practices and Outcomes in Virtual Worlds and Environments
Source Author(s)/Editor(s): Harrison Hao Yang (State University of New York at Oswego, USA)and Steve Chi-Yin Yuen (The Univeristy of Southern Mississippi, USA)
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-60960-762-3.ch004

Keywords: Information Science Reference / Media & Communications / Social Computing / Virtual Communities & Virtual Reality

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Abstract

This chapter presents an investigation in determining whether players are addicted, or show signs of addiction, to the Massively Multiplayer Role Playing Game (MMORPG) World of Warcraft. Criteria to ascertain addiction in World of Warcraft players were developed based on well-documented theories in the area. A questionnaire was used in order to obtain data for analysis. This was distributed to a population of World of Warcraft players by use of advertisement on guild websites and on the official game forum. The results of the questionnaire show that 11.86% (n=21) of respondents matched the developed criteria of addiction in World of Warcraft. These respondents are considered to be addicted or are at “High Risk” of being addicted. This figure is confirmed by other studies of addiction levels in MMORPGs undertaken by existing research.

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Addiction in World of Warcraft: A Virtual Ethnography Study

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