[Infowarrior] - FCC Commissioner: WoW a Leading Cause of College Dropouts

[Richard Forno]

FCC Commissioner Terms WoW a Leading Cause of College Dropouts
December 10, 2008

Yesterday GamePolitics reported on concerns by University of Minnesota  
Duluth officials that compulsive World of Warcraft play was causing  
some students to flunk out.

Those concerns have been echoed by Federal Communications Commissioner  
Deborah Taylor Tate (left).

The FCC commissioner commented on WoW during a speech on telecom  
policy and regulation delivered to the Practicing Law Institute on  
December 5th:

     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. 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.

Document Dump: Read Tate's (most non-game-related) speech here.

http://www.gamepolitics.com/2008/12/10/fcc-commissioner-terms-wow-leading-cause-college-dropouts