The Social Effects of MMORPGs

• A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a genre of computer game. MMORPG players role play animated characters, interacting with many other users online simultaneously. World of Warcraft is often cited as the current exemplar of the genre due to its widespread popularity. Though MMORPGs require no physical interface, sociologists are still able to research in-game social interaction. Gaming culture is proving itself to be a hallmark of the changing nature of socialization.

Interpersonal Relationships

• Because controlling a character in a computer game is a solitary activity, usually conducted without the presence of others, avid gamers are often perceived as isolated. But Syracuse University professor Joshua Smyth reports that MMORPG players, due to the nature of the interactive, sometimes cooperative games they play, often make friends or even court significant others through the virtual world.

International Connections

• Like the Internet, MMORPGs allow for socialization with individuals it might otherwise be impossible or very unlikely to meet. MMORPGs specifically aim to deconstruct the boundaries and borders that exist in the world. The common purposes existing in the game ignore real-world international relations and focus on the world it has created. This creates a unique opportunity for socialization among different cultures.

Addiction

• Video game addiction has been implicated in ruining marriages, destroying families, and even causing parental neglect. MMORPGs are especially problematic when it comes to addiction in part because of the social interactions that also make them so valuable. Leaving a game becomes not just leaving a narrative or a computer screen, but leaving real friends or allies. The in-game goals and rewards also entice players to log on as often as possible.

Sleep or Food Deprivation

• Smyth's research also concluded that MMORPG gamers were more likely to report having skipped meals or cut back on sleep to continue playing. In addition to the social factors contributing to the deprivation, MMORPGs often have complex and multifaceted plots, where no stopping point is intuitive.

Creation of a Social Arena

• Social events in the real world often take place in a setting like a bar, club, or restaurant. In these situations, payment for entry or goods is expected. MMORPGs operate in a very similar way. Many MMORPGs are "pay to play," and will charge gamers money to have access to the game, or to have access to certain items within the game. MMORPGs have created a new, virtual arena where socialization takes place.