YOUTH VOICES | Sucked In: the Power of Online Role Playing
This issue, we feature perspectives from two
young people at each end of the "tween" age
spectrum: Alex, 14 and Olivier, 9.
Alex T., 14,
is a ninth grader in Los Angeles. He began
playing World of Warcraft on the computer when
he was in eighth grade. Concerned that it was
becoming his main interest—eclipsing physical
activity, homework and time with friends—his
parents first tried to limit his gaming to
weekends, and then decided to take it away
altogether. Here's what he says about his
experience.
World of Warcraft is this massive, multi-role playing game. You're on servers with thousands of people and you interact and play. There are sides you choose, and races and classes within the races. You customize your character—like how it looks, whether you are a member of the Horde or Alliance, and you name it and give it a level.
Is there a lot of interaction with other players?
There are 70 levels, when you get to level 70 you do things called raids, which are like 10 to 25 people and you kill world bosses and stuff, or another thing called "player versus player," where you go into different battle grounds and if you're Horde you face against the Alliance and fight them.
There are different chat channels so can privately message another player. You can also invite people into a party. There are up to 40 people in a raid or your guild, and you can speak within your guild or with whomever you want.
Also, there's this thing that most people use when there are 25 people in a group or a battle ground with other people you know. It's called Ventrilo and it's kind of like Skype—you can speak directly to people over the computer so you don't have to type while you're playing. I used it sometimes, I guess, when I did raids and stuff.
Did you know the players in real life?My stepbrother played for a little while, and so did people I knew from school. But you don't always end up with the people you know because there are 150 different realms. In my realm, I only knew one other person, one of my friends.
Were there every any uncomfortable interactions?
No, not for me. People who play the game are kind of nerdy. [Laughs] They usually don't want to talk to you, they just want to focus on the game. Most people, unless you're spoken to, you don't usually talk.
Did
you spend a lot of time playing it
online?
It was crazy. I spent lots
of time playing it. For a while, it was really
addicting but then after a while I kind of lost
interest. My parents made me stop
playing, but I was basically done by then
anyway.
What
did you think about being asked to stop
playing?
It didn't really make
sense. I was getting really good grades and
still doing everything—football and hanging
out with my friends and stuff.
I played from eighth grade to the beginning of ninth grade. I had straight As until I got a B in the last semester. When I go to this new school, which is like crazy hard, my grades went down a bit. But now I'm getting them back up again.
Did
you feel like it was
addictive?
That was really the
first video game I liked, something about it
was really awesome. You lose track of time,
kind of. An hour feels like 20 minutes. It's
weird.
I am a procrastinator in general, so I'd save [homework and assignments] for the last minute and do them at the end. But even when I played, what I had to do was in the back of my mind the whole time. Sometimes, I didn't do things exactly thoroughly, so I'd have more time to play or be online.
Do you
have rules or limits for the amount of time you
spend online?
For Warcraft I did. I
couldn't play during the week at all, and
couldn't play Sundays. I had limited times on
Fridays and Saturdays. Not really for the
Web. I use the Internet for school and for fun,
and they don't really time that as much.
What
else do you do online? Do you
email?
No, mostly iChat and use
Facebook. I listen to a lot of music and
download songs.
Do
your friends or classmates play e-games a
lot?
Yeah, when I heard about other
people, me compared to them I barely played at
all. Some kids spend their whole day doing
that, and nothing but. Most of my friends don't
play video games so much, but some kids in my
class talk about and I overhear how much
they're playing.
Olivier is 9. A native of the
Midwest, he currently lives abroad with his
family. He answered
bNetS@vvy's questions by e-mail.
Do you
spend time on computers? What are your
favorite things to do on
computers?
Yes, I do use a
computer. I even have my own. Some kids
think that Gameboys are better than computers,
but I still like my computer
better.
I usually play or practice
my typing, search the Internet, go on
YouTube, and play e-games. I use gmail to
talk to my friends and send e-mail. That is
what I do on the computer.
If you find something confusing or
uncomfortable on the Internet, what do
you do?
I usually just close the site,
and if it doesn't want to close then I
tell someone.
What are some
things to watch out for when using the
Internet, games, and computers? What do you do
to keep yourself safer?
Once,
I was searching for something on the
Internet and I saw something that looked good
so I clicked on it. It started to
download something, so then I just quit
everything—even Safari [Web
browser].
When you want to look at
something on the Internet or surf the
Internet alone, make sure that you tell an
adult what you're going to
do.
What sort of e-games do
you play?
I play Angels online. I
also play Runscape and Quest Atlantis.
Do you play with
other people? Are they friends or
strangers?
Yes. When you want
to login to a game like Angels online or
Quest Atlantis with different people playing,
you need to be appropriate with them, and
if it's a game with ages way higher than you
are then you should not play it. But if
it's a game with people one year ahead of
you, I think it would be okay to try it
out.
Are
there fun things parents and kids can do
together online? What are some
examples?
Webkinz is a nice
game to play with different people around
the world. There is also Skype, where you can
see someone in France when you're in
Turkey or in the U.S. There is also
e-mail, where you can chat online.
What do you think parents and
teachers should know about kids, the
Internet and games?
That games
aren't always, always bad!