The other day we talked about how World of Warcraft was being blamed for failing grades in college students. Federal Communications Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate has gone one step further, claiming that WoW and other online games are directly responsible for students dropping out altogether.
"With the explosion of educational resources available online, one might think parents would be 100% pleased with the Internet’s role in their children’s lives," Tate said in a speech to the Practicing Law Institute. "But surveys show just the opposite: a late 2006 survey that showed 59% of parents think the Internet has been a totally positive influence in their children’s lives-- down from 67% in 2004.
"You might find it alarming that one of the top reasons for college drop-outs in the U.S. is online gaming addiction - such as World of Warcraft - which is played by 11 million individuals worldwide."
Tate provides no real evidence of her claim, but we've also seen what happens to people who let their lives be dominated by an MMO's wily charms. While I find it hard to believe that huge swathes of people are dropping out purely to play Warcraft, I wouldn't be surprised if it had a hand in a few educations getting flushed away. As always, however, this is less Blizzard's fault and more the fault of whoever made the decision to let a computer game control them.
Jim Sterling serves as reviews editor for Destructoid.com, head of the Podtoid podcast, and produces a number of news stories, original features, one-of-a-kind videos. With his passionate argumentative style, controversial opinions, harsh delivery, and dedication to brutal honesty Sterling is a name that you can't help but recognize.
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Contest:
11:22 AM on 12.11.2008
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I've been addicted to too many MMO's in the past to dare touch WoW.
They also love to accept 1000s of letters from one person who claim that X radio/TV show offended them, and use said letters to explain why the US needs to be protected from penis and fart jokes.
games dont do anything
same thing when people say guns kill people-wrong again
by the way Jim-now that you are a part of the rebellious colonies have you had the pleasure of acquiring a nice handgun yourself? Might want to hurry on that before the Europa wanna be Obama puts high taxes(first step towards banning) on gun ownership. I love watching the detective movies from the UK like Midsomer Murders etc when some psycho is loose and the police have to call in special "armed" units because regular law enforcement can carry weapons-I digress -WOW didnt flunk out these guys-they did themselves.
You can have a PhD, It'll look fancy down at the dole when you're in the queue to sign on.
They're all just cocks.
Also, who the fuck is Jim Sterling?
now I'm working a very well paying job and living a pretty good life, and they're working at blockbuster, still playing WoW.
People who are addicted; who gives one?
Jim, I agree with your sentiment, perhaps a little too much, if you decide to allow something like that to rule your life, the consequences sift you out of the rest of life, as it should be.
I'm also an honors student with a B+ average.
GG, FCC.
(One of the biggest problems we have in the UK is that everyone is told they're 'special', you're simply not allowed to tell people/kids they're not up to scratch in casse it offends them)
I have recently received my degree in Electronics Engineering with a 4.0 GPA.
So, I would love to give the FCC the big ol' 2 finger salute.
However, I personally watched two of my friends freshman year be put on academic suspension for one year for failing grades. They didnt pass one class in two semesters. they were intelligent guys, but they would play WOW until 5 or 6 in the morning and sleep through all of their classes.
Well, I graduated no problems and have a well-paying (albeit soul-crushing) job and a freshly minted level 80 to tool around with.
Protip: Don't be a moron.
I would also like to blame my crapping habits on WoW and other video games. Where do I sign up?
WoW makes people sneeze, and should be stopped.