In the small redneck town that I grew up in, the fastest internet connection was dial up - and that was only found at the library. Okay, maybe Poplar Bluff isn’t that bad, but it’s not far off. It was not until I came to Rolla that I discovered video games and the internet can control people’s life. There was a point in my life during which I was somewhat antisocial and my only friend was the controller to GT4, but I am glad that I put that life behind me.

Then one day a friend let me play this life changing game, World of Warcraft. After about four straight hours of playing he kicked me off of his computer so we could go eat, and thankfully he never let me play again. While I was eating, I realized that it is fascinating to be someone else and control a “life”, but I was already controlling a life that was much more rewarding than being a character in some fantasy world.  My friend Lorali recently gave up the World of Warcraft and does not regret it.
Aaron: About how long did you live in the World of Warcraft?
Lorali: I “played” WoW probably 5/7 days a week, 14+ hours a day for about two and a half years.
A: Wow, what was you social life like while playing WoW?
L: I never left my house, and if I did it was to go LAN with other WoW people.
A: The people that you were in a clan with, did you know them personally?
L: No
A: How often do you attend social events now that you have stopped playing?
L: Usually six or seven nights a week I hang out with friends
A: Do you think that sites such as Facebook have the same effect on people?
L: I think that they are pretty much like “WoW” or other games. Like online games they are addicting and have both social and anti-social values to them.
A: What advice do you have for WoW gamers?
L: Once your prepaid account runs out, don’t buy another one. People eventually will get bored with it if they have not played it for a while. And to also have face to face conversations with people; although it is not 100% necessary it is an important part of life to create social skills.
Although some people will never play WoW, they will use Facebook. Even though Facebook was created as a social networking site I believe that it’s lost that value. Not because one socializes less but because you don’t talk face to face. Yes, it’s a good way to talk to friends that are no where near you, but I know that I sometimes find myself spending more time on Facebook than I do with friends. But like all things in pop culture it will change the world, and we will only know the effect it had on us in time. (As a side note, I didn’t mention MySpace because it is only used by two types of people, 14 year old girls and 35 year old men pretending to be 14 year old girls.