I have a lot of fond memories of WoW. While it is a bit of a waste for a young person who is doing it instead of working on their future, it seems ideal for someone who is retired. Problem solving, socializing, etc. is way healthier than most screen activities.
I agree that WoW is a waste when considered in relation to the space of possible things a young person can be doing. In practice, though, teenagers are basically trapped in their school related social circle and activities. For me, WoW was a place to be someone else, other than who I was at school, and to feel valued for reasons beyond my performance in high school social games.
Beyond that, I legitimately think that my experiences with raiding, min-maxing, grinding, etc. were a sort of preparation for the social dynamics of... corporate leadership. Of course, a lot more was required (technical skills, philosophical grounding, etc), but it was a good start.
Growing up in suburban Houston our options truly were limited to make WoW not a bad option to engage with all sorts of people. ALL other social activities require a car, so until my mom or dad will was available to drive me my only recourse was the internet.
Now I live in Taiwan and I envy the young people who i see out and about all over thanks to the bus and train system, participating in all sorts of random activities.
