FCC Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate has determined what she believes to be the leading cause of college dropouts— and it’s not alcohol. Tate recently gave a speech to the Practicing Law Institute in which she said:

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.

I don’t know what’s more shocking, that she believes World of Warcraft causes college kids to drop out or that 11 million people play it. So just remember kiddies: the next time you think you’re just playing a geekily innocuous game of WoW, you could be planting the seeds of becoming a bum!