Wow. Not WoW, just wow. I had been ignoring this thread (because I ignore things I have no interest in, like World of Warcraft). I didn't realize it was actually a pretty decent thread until just now.
I agree with Shinra in that a lot of people here seem to be throwing the word addiction around very casually. From a healthcare perspective, the use of something becomes addiction once the use continues despite ongoing consequences. And those consequences can be to their mental, physical, or emotional health. It can be consequences at work, or consequences with relationships. And what is casual use of something to one person could possibly be or become an addiction to the next, but that isn't a call someone can make without being very, VERY close to the situation.
So no, I don't think it's fair to say WoW is an addiction. I don't think it's anybody's place to say "Anyone who _____ regarding WoW is an addict" or anything similar.
That isn't to say that World of Warcraft, or ANY game, can become an addiction. I have dealt with it myself - I have a younger brother who a few years ago had an addiction to online gaming. I don't know all the games but I know that WoW was the first, then others once my parents stopped paying for his accounts. And this was an addiction. He had consequences - failed out of school, lost a girlfriend and then most of his friends, often forgot to eat, and when my parents locked the computer away he would find a way to break into the room to continue playing. It was VERY SERIOUS, alright? He saw a therapist who specialized in gaming and computer addictions for approximately two years and currently has to be actively aware of how he is acting toward gaming in any capacity.
But that doesn't mean that Warcraft is dangerous, or an addiction by nature. That is not your call to make unless you are close enough to witness someone's life falling apart because of it, or you are a professional. These people have years of training behind them for a reason - that reason being that addiction is not a simple thing to categorize or define and every person has their own tolerances and weaknesses.
For example: I cross stitch, at a minimum, 25 hours a week. Most of the time it is well above that. And it is most certainly above 20% of my free time. By most definitions I have seen in this thread, that would make me an addict. And yes, that is a silly thing to do but it is also a silly thing to call an addiction. It boils down to very similar things.
And I feel that for the record, I should state that I disagree with Shinra's disapproval of the 12 Step program. I am an atheist, was raised an atheist, and will always be an atheist, but I do believe that the 12 Step programs are the only programs that have withstood the test of time and helped addicts in many, many areas more than they have been a burden. The programs tell you to look to your higher power, not specifically to a Christian god. Any program directors (or whatever) who encourage Christianity are doing so of their own will, not because the program mandates that.