While World of Warcraft is a revolutionary game that set an extremely high standard for competing MMORPG's, many users consider the game more important than their real life. Their addiction to Blizzard's hugely popular online game, World of Warcraft, has ruined their social lives.

Some have compared the addiction to that of heroin, cannabis and other drugs. When a player enters the addiction stage they commonly experience withdrawals -- including agitation and constant thoughts about what they might be missing out on while their character is offline. While the saying "time flies when you're having fun" certainly is true while playing World of Warcraft, severe addicts will lose their regular perception of time, ultimately altering their body's natural sleep cycle to accommodate for their lengthy playing periods.

Many player's social lives have been ruined by the game. It's not uncommon for an otherwise outgoing individual to lose all self-confidence and basic social skills as they spend the majority of their time in silence, madly clicking and key-pressing to further better their character.

One that is addicted to World of Warcraft will rarely acknowledge that they are addicted and will deny that they are spending too much time playing the game. Therefore it is important to monitor playing times and/or restrict the amount of hours they can play. It is also recommended that you encourage them to take regular breaks and keep in contact with their friends, ensuring that they spend more time with their friends than with their "online friends".