Win, Lose or Die: Online Gaming Addiction

On NBC's hit comedy "The Office," oddball Dwight talks about his experiences with the online game Second Life. "I signed up for Second Life about a year ago. Back then, my life was so great that I literally wanted a second one. Absolutely everything was the same...except I could fly."

Second Life is a virtual world online, featuring a downloadable client that allows users to interact with each other using customizable characters (often called "avatars" in online gaming). Unlike similar games of the past, Second Life has strong ties to the real world. The Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs has made an agreement with the developers of Second Life to establish a Swedish Embassy, which will promote Sweden's traditions and culture within the game.

Eve Online combines a virtual world with sci-fi gaming. Banner ads for the subscription-based game urge you to "embrace your alter ego," emphasizing that the "second life" you have with EO is better than the life you already have in the real world. While horror stories of Second Life and EO addiction have yet to emerge, as they have for other games, one can't help but wonder if this is a dangerous message to send.

Shawn Woolley, a 21-year-old man diagnosed with schizoid personality disorder, played the online game EverQuest up to twelve hours per day. His disorder led to social phobias and avoidance, and his mother called the game "the perfect escape." He also suffered from regular seizures, aggravated by regular computer use. On Thanksgiving morning, Woolley shot himself after one last session on EverQuest.

According Jay Parker, a chemical dependency counselor who has founded Internet/Computer Addiction Services in Redmond, Washington, says games like EverQuest are specifically designed to be addictive. One client of his dropped out of college several months after he began playing; after 36 hours straight of EQ, he began hallucinating severely. Parker says, "I can't think of a drug he could have taken where he would have disintegrated in 15 weeks."

Michael and Iana Straw, a couple in Reno, played Dungeons and Dragons online while their children literally starved. When authorities intervened, the two infants were severely malnourished. The one-year-old girl's hair was matted with cat urine, she was dehydrated, and she weighed ten pounds; the two-year-old boy had a genital infection and difficulty walking due to underdeveloped muscles.

Undoubtedly, the Straws would not have been exemplary parents, even under the best of circumstances. Maybe Woolley would have killed himself anyway, due to his disorders. Perhaps Parker's patient would not have succeeded in college, due to his addictive tendencies. But in all of these cases, online gaming was the catalyst that led to a quick, disastrous end. There is no question that role-playing games like Second Life, EverQuest, World of Warcraft, Eve Online, Dungeons and Dragons, and many others specifically appeal to those who are bored or dissatisfied with their own lives. People with disorders associated with social phobias, such as schizophrenia, autism/Asperger's, and others, are likely to be drawn to a fantasy world that allows them to escape from their lonely realities. Rather than seeking psychological treatment, they seek the non-threatening interaction that can be found behind a keyboard.

The CEO of Sony Online Entertainment, the company that develops EverQuest, said about the 21-year-old's suicide:

"When I spoke with Ms. Woolley, I expressed my condolences. And it's really one of those terrible things that happens. And there's just nothing to suggest that EverQuest had any role in his death. EverQuest is a game. And I don't see any connection between a form of entertainment and somebody's tragic suicide. It's entertainment. Is a book dangerous? Is a TV show dangerous? I think the answer is no. People need to take responsibility and say, 'Hey, you know, this is too much. Enough's enough.' It's a game."

There is something bitterly amusing about video game addiction, but it's something that has to be taken seriously. Gaming addicts can't stop any more easily than an alcoholic can stop drinking; however, they are arguably just as capable of having the sort of "breakthrough" that leads chemical addicts to seek treatment. But just as alcoholism was unheard-of in the 1950s, the idea of video game addiction is scoffed at today. But it is real, and hopefully in the future there will be more treatment centers geared towards those who seek relief from these destructive habits.