Second Life Addiction, a virtual plague?

Second Life is web-based virtual world created by San Francisco-based Linden Laboratories.
However, its similarities with other online worlds such as the popular game World of Warcraft, end there.

The entire world (or grid as it is commonly called) is in fact shaped and created by the players themselves. The ability to own your own land in Second Life is also a major drawing point, from small plots of land where you can build a house or purchase entire islands where you can run your own night clubs for instance, or build huge castles - it's completely up to the user what happens with his or her own land.

Second Life also has its very own inworld currency, known as the 'Linden dollar' which is exchangeable to USD, making it possible to earn real world salaries selling items they create.

Many call Second Life a "game", and essentially, that is how Linden Labs presents it to it's players, known as "Residents". In Second Life, there are no scores, no leveling and no end boss to fight, in fact, many would argue that Second Life isn't a game at all.

The term "Gaming Addict" defines video game addiction, or more broadly video game overuse, which is excessive or compulsive use of computer and video games and interferes with daily life. Instances have been reported in which users play compulsively, isolating themselves from family and friends or from other forms of social contact, and focus almost entirely on in-game achievements rather than broader life events.

There is no formal diagnosis of video game addiction in current medical or psychological literature. Inclusion of it as a psychological disorder has been proposed and rejected for the next version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

Many recovering game addicts describe a sensation of being "brainwashed" by their game, often admitting that they are usually unaware of time passing while 'gaming', to an excess that often results in physical and mental illness; in fact, it is as if the gamer actually forgets he has a 'real life', and his game becomes a compulsion. This compulsion often causes the addict to wake early, after little sleep, and where a non-addict might visit the bathroom or turn on the coffee machine, our addict begins his daily routine with turning on his computer. His day begins and ends in front of a screen, breaking only to eat or use the bathroom. Some gamers will admit to creating a 'bathroom bucket' nearby the gaming area, in order to allow more time to play. Even the most important human needs become inconvenient.

Possible symptoms

Excessive use of video games may have some or all of the symptoms of drug addiction or other proposed psychological addictions. Some players become more concerned with their interactions in the game than in their broader lives. Players may play many hours per day, having late baths and regarding personal hygiene as a waste of time, gain or lose significant weight due to playing, disrupt sleep patterns to play and suffer sleep deprivation as an effect, play at work, standing in the middle of nowhere looking into space for a considerable amount of time, avoiding phone calls from friends and/or lying about play time.

Possible causes

Theorists focus on the built-in reward systems of the games to explain their addictive nature. In reference to gamers such as one suicide in China, the head of one software association was quoted, "In the hypothetical world created by such games, they become confident and gain satisfaction, which they cannot get in the real world."

In short, the gamer "games" in order to fulfill a void, one he may not be capable of naming. Second Life in it's simplest form, is essentially an instant rewards system - not unlike the hamster in the cage: He presses a button and a delicious, high fat treat appears. The more he presses, the more treats appear, until he is compulsively pressing and eating. And then, when the button is removed, the hamster continues to mimic the motions, looking for the treat. Even when there is often a bowl of suitably nutritious but very simple food, inches away. The hamster is so "addicted" to the rewards system that it's possible he would starve rather than return to his less flavourful, colourless, healthy food.

Researchers at the University of Rochester and Immersyve, Inc. (a Celebration, Florida, computer gaming Think-tank) investigated what motivates gamers to continue playing video games. According to lead investigator Richard Ryan, they believe that players play for more reasons than fun alone. Ryan, a motivational psychologist at Rochester, says that many video games satisfy basic psychological needs, and players often continue to play because of rewards, freedom, and a connection to other players.

The shared public and private community of gaming appears to affect the addictive potential of video games. Online massive multiplayer online role playing game or MMORPG games such as Second Life have a tendency to be the most addictive. Dr. Brent Conrad, a clinical psychologist in Halifax, has worked with children and teens that, like a full time job, spend 40 or more hours a week playing online games.

"Most people can play most games without becoming addicted, just as most adults can drink alcohol on occasion without becoming addicted or gamble from time to time without losing their life savings"

Less than 10% of gamers develop extreme gaming habits where accomplishments in a Virtual world become the priority and hinders achievements and advancements in the real world.

Many gaming addicts finally reach a breaking point. Often, this point is one that comes a little too late, when the loss is at it greatest. Daily life is malformed, the gamer has lost his sense of self, and even to the extreme, he has lost his family. Recovery programs such as AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) describe this as "hitting bottom". And the only way out, is up. Fortunately, such programs do exist for gamers. One example of such a program is called OLGA-Non, or Online Gaming Addicts Anonymous. http://www.olganon.org/

As with many Video Game Addiction recovery programs, OLGA-Non is forums based, allowing it's members to post and read personal narratives, anonymously, disclosing the results and effects that gaming addiction has had on their personal and professional lives. In addition, such sites also include chat rooms, in which members can connect in 'real time' and communicate with other addicts, on a safe, essentially one-on-one basis. This is especially helpful when the gamer finds he has an 'urge to game' upon quitting. Senior members are encouraged to "sponsor" or advocate for newer members, in order to develop a relationship and partnership in quitting. In addition, members are encouraged to search, host, and join face-to-face meeting groups and hold weekly recovery meetings in which they often follow the AA model of 12 steps to recovery, modified to support the gaming addict's specific needs.

The first step to qutting Second Life, as in the 12 steps, is to admit there is a problem. Gaming addiction isn't always recognised based on how often or how long the addict games, but more so, simply how the addict games. A good indicator that it has escalated to addiction, is the recognition by the gamer himself, that the game he plays has taken him away from the 'real life' he used to know.

If you believe yourself to be suffering addiction, or you are a family member of an addict - don't lose hope. Second Life addiction is one of the hardest to break, but it is possible. Take the first step and seek out local Gaming Addiction Recovery Facilities, search online for forums and groups or visit such forums as those in OLGA-Non. Even if you are simply curious about the path a gaming addict follows before he realizes his addiction, take time to learn. Education is the strongest weapon we have against such an illness. And yes, understand that gaming addiction is an illness. Illness cannot be cured by will alone, as many realize, support and care; time and patience are needed to find a cure.

You may wonder about the person who created this article. I'll tell you, I myself am a Second Life addict. As I write this article I am working my 12 steps, posting to forums and taking it one day at a time. I was 3 years in-game, and nearly lost everything. I suffered mentally, physically, emotionally - all until my breaking point, the day I sat and begged my partner not to leave me, her fear of losing me to addiction was too much and she was basically walking out the door. She had chosen to save herself and give up on me.

It took the near loss of the most precious thing in my life, to make me see that no virtual, pixel-ated, multi-player reality would ever compare to the fulfillment that one simple thing provided me: a human hug. And that was one thing I could never have found in Second Life: Human Contact. Today, I carry that with me as my healing mantra - "no human contact" and I repeat it whenever the urge to game appears.

So please, take your time, and realize that you are only human. There is a reason why you can't seem to stop logging in even though you don't want to. You too have a void to fill, and it will take time to discover what that void needs, but trust me, if you want it, you will find it... and it won't ever be in Second Life.