wow and addictions
patrick morris
the recent talk on the world of warcraft game being an addiction got
me thinking.
the problem with an addiction is not the substance, it is what is
being denied awareness, what is being dulled out with the addiction.
the addiction is not for the high it is for the low after ward, a
defense against letting what your being wants you to know/
understand/ work on/ through / deal with / engage with. The
addiction is a numbing out it is a way not to engage, it is a flight
from a dawning awarenes of something uncomfortable. wow with an adult
might be an addiction, we as adults ( read masters of myriad of minor
and major deflective addictions) see it as a turning away a numbing
from reality, something repetive with not much challenge, the same
thing repeated over and over and over. kids on gamea stop if this
scenario presents itself ( read boring game) if they are engaged ,
especially in an intense way it ain't no addiction. wow really is a
very complicated game that mirrors so many aspects of reality in
western culture; I mean the chosing of 2 professions alone; the need
for community/ help / cooperation in gathering materials and engaging
in quests; the big city the vast landscapes, the figuring iout how to
get around.
it seems like an ideal learning for engaging in our adult world.
iof a kid was intensely engaged in music it would not be limited to
an hour of play , it is seen as something special, something to be
proud of to brag to other parents to, but frack , it ain't leadin to
nothing , or if engaged in american history again pride but what is
it good for? now what it is good for is that it is not the specifics
but the capacities/ containers for ideas a to be engaged that are
being formed. wow is at least as valuable, the knowledge base is more
likely to find analogous interface with future encounters in life.
it is time to sing out and praise our kids for there dedication
their perseverence ( ideally not ot them or they will get to big
headed and this may distract them from further living at an intensity
we can only enviously oogle at. bu lets be parents old school and
brag and gloat of our kids acheivements on wow to our in laws and
parents and co workers; lets us not be ashamed but take up the banner
of unschooling to not be afraid; let us humbly ask our children (read
wise zen masters) to initiate us into this level of existence that
captures one's heart and soul.
I digress; now I don't hear any mention of what the kids feel or
think about their parents limiting their time on computers / wow.
why? they don't count? have they been engaged? they don't have any
thing to offer? if this is any where on the continuum of unschooling
it is an edge of a big bang about to split off in to an alternate
universe where our laws of physics and reality don't apply.
the parents are afraid, this is sad only if they don't engage their
fears , worries as something that resides in themselves, as something
they don'r like, as something they need to understand not as
something to obliterate with control, " there is no monster in that
closet if I just think happy thoughts it nain't there" open your eyes
it is there it is in you , it is why you are driven to addiction, the
coffee, the bag o chips and other lovely addictive modalities. please
don't feed this to your kids , if you try to control them they will
understand no matter how they might resist, that yes there is
something very wrong in the world and i need to be very afraid, my
parents can only show me how to hide and cower then pretend so
daintily that I am a burger of this town I have control "but shiver
did you hear that sound is it the evil king approaching.
dang talk to your kids they can show you a different way if you have
the courage to begin a relationship with them, if you don't it truly
is a sin of humanity to teach them that the parents who begot their
hides are also cowards in a world of fear.
please i beg you parents join the new guild of unschooler world of
warcraft players and awaken to the existence you were born for , the
time has come, you must choose quicky
patrick, andrea and adli
me thinking.
the problem with an addiction is not the substance, it is what is
being denied awareness, what is being dulled out with the addiction.
the addiction is not for the high it is for the low after ward, a
defense against letting what your being wants you to know/
understand/ work on/ through / deal with / engage with. The
addiction is a numbing out it is a way not to engage, it is a flight
from a dawning awarenes of something uncomfortable. wow with an adult
might be an addiction, we as adults ( read masters of myriad of minor
and major deflective addictions) see it as a turning away a numbing
from reality, something repetive with not much challenge, the same
thing repeated over and over and over. kids on gamea stop if this
scenario presents itself ( read boring game) if they are engaged ,
especially in an intense way it ain't no addiction. wow really is a
very complicated game that mirrors so many aspects of reality in
western culture; I mean the chosing of 2 professions alone; the need
for community/ help / cooperation in gathering materials and engaging
in quests; the big city the vast landscapes, the figuring iout how to
get around.
it seems like an ideal learning for engaging in our adult world.
iof a kid was intensely engaged in music it would not be limited to
an hour of play , it is seen as something special, something to be
proud of to brag to other parents to, but frack , it ain't leadin to
nothing , or if engaged in american history again pride but what is
it good for? now what it is good for is that it is not the specifics
but the capacities/ containers for ideas a to be engaged that are
being formed. wow is at least as valuable, the knowledge base is more
likely to find analogous interface with future encounters in life.
it is time to sing out and praise our kids for there dedication
their perseverence ( ideally not ot them or they will get to big
headed and this may distract them from further living at an intensity
we can only enviously oogle at. bu lets be parents old school and
brag and gloat of our kids acheivements on wow to our in laws and
parents and co workers; lets us not be ashamed but take up the banner
of unschooling to not be afraid; let us humbly ask our children (read
wise zen masters) to initiate us into this level of existence that
captures one's heart and soul.
I digress; now I don't hear any mention of what the kids feel or
think about their parents limiting their time on computers / wow.
why? they don't count? have they been engaged? they don't have any
thing to offer? if this is any where on the continuum of unschooling
it is an edge of a big bang about to split off in to an alternate
universe where our laws of physics and reality don't apply.
the parents are afraid, this is sad only if they don't engage their
fears , worries as something that resides in themselves, as something
they don'r like, as something they need to understand not as
something to obliterate with control, " there is no monster in that
closet if I just think happy thoughts it nain't there" open your eyes
it is there it is in you , it is why you are driven to addiction, the
coffee, the bag o chips and other lovely addictive modalities. please
don't feed this to your kids , if you try to control them they will
understand no matter how they might resist, that yes there is
something very wrong in the world and i need to be very afraid, my
parents can only show me how to hide and cower then pretend so
daintily that I am a burger of this town I have control "but shiver
did you hear that sound is it the evil king approaching.
dang talk to your kids they can show you a different way if you have
the courage to begin a relationship with them, if you don't it truly
is a sin of humanity to teach them that the parents who begot their
hides are also cowards in a world of fear.
please i beg you parents join the new guild of unschooler world of
warcraft players and awaken to the existence you were born for , the
time has come, you must choose quicky
patrick, andrea and adli
Schuyler
> please i beg you parents join the new guild of unschooler world ofI loved the whole post! And I've ordered our second WoW game today, so we'll
> warcraft players and awaken to the existence you were born for , the
> time has come, you must choose quicky
> patrick, andrea and adli
be double the power double the fun in a few days and do Burning Crusade mid
January. Here's hoping that the UK folk can play on US servers so we can
join the unschooling guild.
Schuyler
-----
www.waynforth.blogspot.com
Deborah Markley
I would like more information on how to join the unschoolers guild on WOW - my son is very anxious to meet other unschoolers!
:D
Deb
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
:D
Deb
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Ren Allen
~~bu lets be parents old school and
brag and gloat of our kids acheivements on wow to our in laws and
parents and co workers; lets us not be ashamed but take up the banner
of unschooling to not be afraid; let us humbly ask our children (read
wise zen masters) to initiate us into this level of existence that
captures one's heart and soul.~~
Hear, hear!! That whole post was just awesome Patrick. I'm printing it
out for my WoW players.:)
Ren
learninginfreedom.com
brag and gloat of our kids acheivements on wow to our in laws and
parents and co workers; lets us not be ashamed but take up the banner
of unschooling to not be afraid; let us humbly ask our children (read
wise zen masters) to initiate us into this level of existence that
captures one's heart and soul.~~
Hear, hear!! That whole post was just awesome Patrick. I'm printing it
out for my WoW players.:)
Ren
learninginfreedom.com
Judy Temple
I liked and think I understood this post, yet I still have a question.
What about when the "addiction" to an online game is being used as a
shelter from what is scary to a sensitive person about life away from
the computer? Do we always trust that very sensitive children will
eventually have the will to leave the relatively safe haven of
make-believe to find a way to support themselves?
I do know a young lady who spent all her time playing an on-line game at
the age of 21, while coming to grips with anxieties made worse by her
parents nasty problems. She did step away after a year or so & is happy
to be making her own money.
Still, I worry about my 14yo boy, who was sooo damaged by the school
system. He is already obsessive-compulsive & after much rejection by
other kids, doesn't have a great desire to socialize in person. He
happily plays 8 bit games in an online community where the kids create
their own games & chat while playing (Beyond). His computer time is not
limited. These days he rotates between Beyond, Oblivion & the Wii. I
remember the friendly young child I knew & wonder if he will hide at
home forever? The more I read these lists, the less I think so but many
of the children we are discussing have never lived through as many
negative experiences as Nick. Nor are they already facing the internal
struggles that OCD & Tourette syndrome place on my son everyday. I would
think he has more reason to use virtual communities to escape.
I've already made the leap of faith & unschool him, I just worry about
the future, given his special challenges. I read to escape. Sooner or
later, I get bored & go looking for challenge. These games are many and
varied. It's the very fact that they are so challenging that worries me.
Why should he ever leave them?
Judy
Mom to three gaming boys.
ps:All the talk of WOW has made me mention it to Nick. I think he finds
the graphics rather intense & uncomfortable looking for his taste so he
probably won't join the guild.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
What about when the "addiction" to an online game is being used as a
shelter from what is scary to a sensitive person about life away from
the computer? Do we always trust that very sensitive children will
eventually have the will to leave the relatively safe haven of
make-believe to find a way to support themselves?
I do know a young lady who spent all her time playing an on-line game at
the age of 21, while coming to grips with anxieties made worse by her
parents nasty problems. She did step away after a year or so & is happy
to be making her own money.
Still, I worry about my 14yo boy, who was sooo damaged by the school
system. He is already obsessive-compulsive & after much rejection by
other kids, doesn't have a great desire to socialize in person. He
happily plays 8 bit games in an online community where the kids create
their own games & chat while playing (Beyond). His computer time is not
limited. These days he rotates between Beyond, Oblivion & the Wii. I
remember the friendly young child I knew & wonder if he will hide at
home forever? The more I read these lists, the less I think so but many
of the children we are discussing have never lived through as many
negative experiences as Nick. Nor are they already facing the internal
struggles that OCD & Tourette syndrome place on my son everyday. I would
think he has more reason to use virtual communities to escape.
I've already made the leap of faith & unschool him, I just worry about
the future, given his special challenges. I read to escape. Sooner or
later, I get bored & go looking for challenge. These games are many and
varied. It's the very fact that they are so challenging that worries me.
Why should he ever leave them?
Judy
Mom to three gaming boys.
ps:All the talk of WOW has made me mention it to Nick. I think he finds
the graphics rather intense & uncomfortable looking for his taste so he
probably won't join the guild.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Joyce Fetteroll
On Jan 5, 2007, at 8:19 PM, Judy Temple wrote:
whatever. It's about being involved with our children and their
lives. Sometimes they do need us to step back and let them mess
about. But we need to know them well enough in order to know when
that is.
Unschooling parents have an awareness of what a child is getting from
what they're doing by talking about it and being involved enough to
carry on a conversation. We shouldn't have to guess whether an
intense amount of anything is a passion or a withdrawal.
Joyce
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> What about when the "addiction" to an online game is being used as aUnschooling isn't about standing back waiting for a child to do
> shelter from what is scary to a sensitive person about life away from
> the computer?
whatever. It's about being involved with our children and their
lives. Sometimes they do need us to step back and let them mess
about. But we need to know them well enough in order to know when
that is.
Unschooling parents have an awareness of what a child is getting from
what they're doing by talking about it and being involved enough to
carry on a conversation. We shouldn't have to guess whether an
intense amount of anything is a passion or a withdrawal.
Joyce
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]