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.

So Alex, I understand you were playing World of Warcraft? Can you tell me about it and how it works?
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!

Warning Signs to Watch For - Cyberbullying