In my college days, I played World of Warcraft too much. It got in the way of attending classes. Then my graphics card broke. So I started reading psychology textbooks totally unrelated to my classes.
Procrastinators gonna procrastinate. And time-wasters gonna waste time.
Your story is actually probably what the parent was trying to illustrate. Instead of wasting time with WoW, you "wasted" time with something more meaningful (all this being relative of course).
I suspect WoW might be like several other games in that the marginal benefit of continued play after an initial phase is small.
But if it's social/multiplayer and your group feels a personal connection while playing (maybe w/people you know IRL), you might get a greater benefit from the game.
Sure, perhaps not inherently. But do you think, looking across the world, that the median hour spent playing WoW is likely less meaningful than the median hour spent reading a textbook?
Procrastinators gonna procrastinate. And time-wasters gonna waste time.