An interesting little discussion is unfolding in the comment section of a post not too long ago which reminded me of a simple math exercise I was doing to demonstrate the impact of playing MMORPGs.

Nick Yee states that the average time played for MMORPGs is 21.6 hours. Another study states 20-25 hours, plus 10-15 hours on Internet use (probably chatting with other MMORPGers or researching). I personally think that an average MMORPG player spends more likely around 30-40 hours a week playing or researching the game. At the height of my playing I easily spent 50+ hours during work weeks and 70-80 hours during vacation weeks. I read many posts where other players have stated the same. So with all this in mind, consider this:

A week has 168 hours in total. Out of that, use:
40 hours for work
10 hours for commuting (1 hour each way for 5 days)
42 hours for sleeping (6 hours / day)
Average playing time: 30 hours a week (10 hours each weekend day, 3 hours each day)
= 122 hours in total

Which leaves 46 hours = approx. 6.57 hours/day for EVERYTHING else (eat, clean & dress, do housechorse, pay bills, socialize, take care of kids/pets/parents)

or 4.57 hours/day if you are sleeping for 8 hours.

And that’s assuming you work only 40 hours a week!

And that is not even counting “research” & discussions on the game / guild boards!

(I did say it was simple math!)

It's only logical that something will suffer if the person is married, has kids, works full-time and plays MMORPG enough to keep up with other MMORPGers.

Sometimes simply keying in /played helps put things in perspective. Or if you really want to know, track your time played every day. Then think: Would you spend the same amount of time weekly pursuing another hobby (golf, sports, TV, drinking)?

There may be a nasty surprise. If not, good for you!