What to do about a 23 y/o hooked on WOW

[IEC]

Originally posted by: TecHNooB
My cousin (about to turn 27) who currently lives at my house, does the same thing. Plays WoW all day. He still goes to school too. Has yet to get his undergrad. Used to live in Taiwan. Flunked out freshman year and was sent to the military for 2 years (where he was basically a secretary). A year after he was out, he spent another year in limbo preping for entrance exams. This time, he went to a university in Taipei which is by his home. Because of this, he would skip class daily to play WoW. Ended up getting kicked out again and his parents sent him over to the states to live with us and get a degree at the local community college. All programs at the community college are two year programs. He never studies. All he does when he gets home is drop his bags and play WoW like I used to do in 5th grade. Difference is, he's not a 5th grader, he's 26. If he's in danger of failing he will drop courses without telling anyone or hide his report card. There's a lot more details I can add but I'm not going to. Basically, he's a huge failure and he needs to gtfo of my house.

Kick his ass. Seriously. Intervention is needed.

 

[IEC]

Originally posted by: Rubycon
Find out how many hops to the game server. (tracert)

Change TTL value to an integer 1 to 2 lower than the average you find in your trace.

Oh God, no, you didn't just... yes you did

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: Foxery

Originally posted by: spidey07
Or do what many other successful parents have done - cut the power to their room and put a lock on the circuit breaker. Lights out means LIGHTS OUT.

Once you force the child into a regular sleep and wake pattern you can start the path to success. Structure, regimen, rules...that's what the child needs.

Tell me... how old were you when you forgot what it was like to be young?

Being a nazi parent just makes your kids hate you, and want to continue their behavior even more.

This kid either
A) Will burn out on the game and find his own way, or
B) The OP is greatly exaggerating, and the kid manages a viable social life plus an evening raiding schedule (note the weekend party)

I'm still young at 37, but it's time to force this child, at age 23, into adulthood. It's clear the child is not going to do it on it's own.

You think I'm trolling or kidding, but co-workers have gone though similar situations...a lazy ass kid living in their home. Once you start forcing into their head the consequences of their actions and decisions they'll eventually come around. The child will be pissed at first from you cutting power and taking away what they hold dear (power, roof over head, food, WoW, Internet) but the child will thank you later.

 

[mrrman]

Well Ive voiced my concerns to his mom and now she will deal with him. She is having a talk with him later this week. Maybe an end to the BS...PS I liked the locked box router solution...I told my fiance if this continues...I will be doing this.

 

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: ConstipatedVigilante
Wow, what a loser. I knew some people who played Warcrack all day in high school, but honestly...23? Does he even have a degree? I don't understand how people can play WoW all day long - it's not nearly as stimulating as being with real people. And I wouldn't be able to help thinking of myself as a loser if I did that. Does he think he's going anywhere?

Who needs a degree when you have EVERY enchantment and EVERY jewelcrafting pattern? You could make like, 2000 gold per day easy!

In all seriousness, calling him a loser and further demeaning him isn't going to motivate him. He needs a reason to change something. Start by disconnecting him from the Internet. Next charge him rent. If he doesn't pay his rent, pawn his belongings. When he's sitting in an empty room, he just might decide to make some changes.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: Foxery

Originally posted by: spidey07
Or do what many other successful parents have done - cut the power to their room and put a lock on the circuit breaker. Lights out means LIGHTS OUT.

Once you force the child into a regular sleep and wake pattern you can start the path to success. Structure, regimen, rules...that's what the child needs.

Tell me... how old were you when you forgot what it was like to be young?

Being a nazi parent just makes your kids hate you, and want to continue their behavior even more.

This kid either
A) Will burn out on the game and find his own way, or
B) The OP is greatly exaggerating, and the kid manages a viable social life plus an evening raiding schedule (note the weekend party)

I'm still young at 37, but it's time to force this child, at age 23, into adulthood. It's clear the child is not going to do it on it's own.

You think I'm trolling or kidding, but co-workers have gone though similar situations...a lazy ass kid living in their home. Once you start forcing into their head the consequences of their actions and decisions they'll eventually come around. The child will be pissed at first from you cutting power and taking away what they hold dear (power, roof over head, food, WoW, Internet) but the child will thank you later.

Yep, several years after they do something incredibly foolish, costly and potentially dangerous in retaliation.

 

[LS21]

if the kids like that, perhaps the mom has some issues ?

 

[cherrytwist]

Originally posted by: WaTaGuMp

Originally posted by: George P Burdell
1. Block off the WoW ports and block Blizzard's IP addresses. He's an adult, he can pay his way through your house if he wants to, else he can leave and play WoW elsewhere.

2. Send him to rehab. Seriously.

Gaming rehab?

Wow, someone needs a reality check.

 

[kranky]

Originally posted by: Foxery

Originally posted by: spidey07
Or do what many other successful parents have done - cut the power to their room and put a lock on the circuit breaker. Lights out means LIGHTS OUT.

Once you force the child into a regular sleep and wake pattern you can start the path to success. Structure, regimen, rules...that's what the child needs.

Tell me... how old were you when you forgot what it was like to be young?

Being a nazi parent just makes your kids hate you, and want to continue their behavior even more.

This kid either
A) Will burn out on the game and find his own way, or
B) The OP is greatly exaggerating, and the kid manages a viable social life plus an evening raiding schedule (note the weekend party)

Dude, the OP is talking about a 23 year old who sleeps all day and doesn't work. If you think a parent implementing a rule to discourage that behavior is being a "nazi parent", you must be one pampered kid.

 

[Foxery]

Originally posted by: kranky
Dude, the OP is talking about a 23 year old who sleeps all day and doesn't work. If you think a parent implementing a rule to discourage that behavior is being a "nazi parent", you must be one pampered kid.

No... The OP's attitude and most of the replies have been appropriate for an 8 year old, who will largely do what he's told and forget about it in a week. People who think being forceful works on teenagers and adults has a huge disconnect with reality.

Getting the guy to move out and get a job is one thing. Being an asshole about it is quite another.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Originally posted by: Foxery

Originally posted by: kranky
Dude, the OP is talking about a 23 year old who sleeps all day and doesn't work. If you think a parent implementing a rule to discourage that behavior is being a "nazi parent", you must be one pampered kid.

No... The OP's attitude and most of the replies have been appropriate for an 8 year old, who will largely do what he's told and forget about it in a week. People who think being forceful works on teenagers and adults has a huge disconnect with reality.

Getting the guy to move out and get a job is one thing. Being an asshole about it is quite another.

The problem with getting teenagers or adults to change their behavior is that it must come from within. You are right that you cannot expect the bad behavior to change from a single drastic change in the individuals life.

However, you are quite wrong in thinking being forceful not working on teenagers or adults. The catch is you must be willing to devote all your time and energy into monitoring the behavior of the individual and correcting bad choices instantly and consistently. Most people lack the will, patience and, income to do this successfully.

The solution is to either find a residential solution preferably with the agreement of the individual or, in the case of an adult, to give a deadline for being out of the house. If the deadline is not met, you must be willing to put the individual on the street and change the locks.