SL Addiction: A Problem?

I don't have the time to be addicted to it. Most I can manage most evenings is two hours, sometimes a tad more than that, often rather a bit less than that. Too tied up with work, family, and other interests, really.

People who get addicted to things (games, substances, activities) are typically folks who have some sort of imbalance in their lives which results in a kind of "hole" of time on their hands. It's much healthier to have a full life, with a full schedule (and in fact this is what comes up in many addiction recovery programs) than one with too much unstructured time on one's hands if one has any sort of addictive personality at all. Computer games are particularly problematic these days because of the prominence of the computer in the home -- it's easy for folks who, again, have too much time on their hands to spend it in front of the computer in the comfort and safety of their own homes -- it's a very private activity, in that way, which is the case with most addictions as well.

Best advice if someone you know seems to be slipping into an addiction to SL or any other online game: get them busy out of the house ... activities, gym, social events, continuing education, movies, anything to get them out of the house for extended periods, and get them tired as well.

Many people have addictions to several aspects of life. Even food.
And has gone as far as attempted lawsuits against McDonalds and other fast food places.
Sex addiction is very common. Who would they blame for that?
It really amazes me how some people put the blame on someone else other than them selves and lack of self control. Maybe the blame should always stem back to the parents and the up brining of the person. But guess what? Everyone has their own mind and make their own choices.
Consequences keep most people from going down the wrong roads.
Lack of self control will lead to disaster in a persons life. But always boils down to SELF

I am addicted to corn on the cob. And will not eat any other vegie.
My mother must be devastated.
Maybe she should sue farmer Joe for growing such sweet juicy corn!
Pardon the pun

I think we may be using the term "addiction" a little too freely. There are addictive qualities to the computer and even to sl, but I am not sure sl has the same destructive capabilities that alcohol has (for example). I've done my time in rehab (a misspent youth, temptations of my career, a hedonistic lifestyle) - I think that communicating with other people through this medium of expression and even having "relationships" is NOT as dangerous as suggested and does not require rehabilitative procedures. Moderation is key to the whole business. Most of us come on to relax, talk to partners/friends, and prolly even do as I do - that is, phone friends in real while sl hovers electrically in front of us on screen; and we may do this, as I mostly do, before I turn off my bedside lamp (wherever I am) and go to sleep.

Peoples use the term addiction when they can't understand why something is taking you a lot of time and energy and they don't think it's justified.

QFT! Society today has a BIG finger pointing problem, instead of taking responsbility for their own choices and learning from the mistakes they made. Sheesh...not a difficult thing to understand IMHO!
Oh and the sex addict, who would they blame? Well daytime tv probably...or maybe they walked in on their parents when they were a kid

that would lead to a phobia, not an addiction

I try to moderate inworld time by not being inworld doing nothing. I don't do any housework, or other chores while logged in, if it is necessary for me to go afk for more than 15-20 minutes I log off. Why use up a slot that someone else can use if I am not doing anything? Also I don't forego any RL activity for SL, if I have things to do, I make sure they are done, or log off at the time I intend to do them.

I agree with Jig that "Addiction" is another one of those buzzwords that the drive by media has used so capriciously, that it cheapens it's meaning, and does a disservice. I think balance is important, and definitely" the too much time on our hands' issue is a good one. For some, SL is their only social outlet for whatever reason, but for the majority of us, we all can step away from the computer more often, and go out and play in the sunshine.

An interesting perspective is that a lot of SL users are admitted internet junkies, gamers or people who spend a lot of time at a computer, so the draw of SL is understandable. But I always wonder what really grabbed me, I'm none of those things. Never really was interested in computer games, or the internet as anything more than someplace to do some shopping and maybe some news reading, or necessary research. I didn't even own a PC until I was 30 years old, preferring to just use work and or library computers. And other than SL and the 2 forums I visit from it, that hasn't changed. Go figure.

One would think so, but you never know.....

Addicted? Well, yes. And I smoke more when I'm online too.

Has it stunted my life? Maybe just a smidgeon. Hubby couldn't beat it, so he joined it. Now we're both addicted. Problem solved.

/me walks away giggling.

* Built, organized and started a private clubhouse for folks I know well; movie nights and other group activities in the works.

* Am soon to be displaying my RL digital art in an SL gallery (details coming soon! LOL)

* Chasing down inworld writing gigs with two respectable SL publications

* Keeping up with an SL blog

* Will be racing formula one next season (I need more practice)

* Have photoshoots with 2 or 3 SL model hopefuls every month

... plus a full time jobg, a novel manuscript to be finished by January, a 2nd non-SL blog and downtime to rest the brain ...

Addicted? I don't have TIME to be addicted!

Well. I'm bipolar and I've been known, during certain "manic" phases, to stay inworld for 24-36 hours in a row because I just HAD to finish a build.... Fortunately for those who have the misfortune of living with me in RL, that doesn't happen often. If it wasn't SL it would be something else.

That describes my use of the internet and computer also.
At least there are two sane people in sl!

Where do they hang out? Maybe we can go meet them.

!



Where have we heard that before?



Oh Lord.... there are none so blind as those that will not see...

Let the rest of us know so we can gather outside of their homes with torches and pitchforks.

Edited



Where have we heard that before?

Okay - can you now please stop?

Don't smoke around computers. They don't like it.

Besides, taking a cigarette break away from the computer every hour or so helps keep the muscle atrophy away.

I'm bipolar & have BPD too & I'm not sure whether i'm addicted or whether it's simply that my rl has absolutely nothing in it so if i'm not online i'd never see or talk to anyone & would be sat staring at 4 walls. Don't think i'm addicted, cause I can be away from here, but it is the only good thing in my life

Yes, I'm addicted.

(Before SL, I was "addicted" to making Sims 2 machinima... before that, Sims 2... before that... other computer-related creative activities....

I don't have a problem with alcohol, pron, weight, food, nor do I smoke... I don't watch hardly any TV... )

But yes, I am addicted to SL.

I don't consider it a problem though. Should I only define it as an addiction if it's a "problem"?

I do find SL appealing. I could go on for hours on end, but like many of us I do have a life outside of SL. That is why, when I work on a project in SL (like what I am doing nowadays), I simply save my work up to that point by linking all objects, right-clicking, and selecting "Take" - my work is saved.

But SL is not really a game like Sonic The Hedgehog or Super Mario Bros. Back in the days of Nintendo (and now it's PlayStation), kids could go on for hours on end trying to reach their goal of mastering the game. They get so into the game, they don't realize what priorities they have to take care of. As a matter of fact, and I am not one to say this, but I know of one person in RL (whose name I won't mention) whose brother once committed suicide because of a stupid computer game.

There are limits for everything we do. We do have RL commitments more than we have SL commitments. Reality comes first. We have to distinguish fantasy vs. reality when it comes to SL (and other PC games out there that exist). I don't play PC games unless it's a game show related PC game - like Press Your Luck or Card Sharks.

In Press Your Luck, you don't get caught into the game - unless you were someone who has a strong desire to beat the former contestant Michael Larson, who was on in 1984, memorized the board patterns, and racked up $100,000+. But in such game, it ends when everyone has used up his/her spins. So really, you don't get caught into a game show-related PC game, but you do with Nintendo or PlayStation games.

Such Nintendo or PlayStation games should only be exposed to adults who are mature enough to know when to stop, IMO. I just bet many parents now feel very regretful for giving their children a PlayStation for Christmas at some point, only to lead to addiction and ends up holding back the child's development with regards to behaviour and learning.

My condolences go to those families and their kids who were victims of such addictive virtual devices.

Don't have any romantic expectations, go with the flow. RL is very different from the virtual. I haven't met anyone from SL other than people I already knew in RL, but I do have many experiences from online dating.

I met my partner online a little over 12months ago, but I had to kiss a lot of frogs!

After a year of being moderately social I'm now much more content in my home building, preparing classes...and venture out mostly to take more classes.

As my former husband used to say, "There are a lot of boors in the (SL) world."