I set out to find one and I found "Second Life". I signed up and I like it, a 3D world you can walk around in and explore, even make real life money from it..
My question is, I can feel myself getting more and more addicted to it and the people I know through Second life are so into their roles it's scary!
Is this a safe fun addiction to an online game? or is this something to steer away from?Second Life: Online Game or Addiction?
What makes SL an easy addiction is that it fulfils people's fantasies. Everyone reacts differently to an experience like SL, it's HOW you react that makes a place like SL a fun place where you remain level-headed, or an addictive millstone around your neck.
When you first arrive in SL, it's so easy to become wrapped up in it to the point that you want to be there more than you do real life. After all, real life is a dull job, a mortgage, overdue car payments and kids flunking school. In SL, you look perfect, your partner looks perfect and the only bills you have is rent or tier payments if you choose to own a spot of land.
There comes a point where you must start to see SL as an illusion - albeit a fun, welcoming illusion. Once you realise it's not real, then you can enjoy both SL and your real life too. I know people who try to control other people in SL. They simply can't see that their view of SL is not other peoples view of SL. I know people who take it all far too seriously and end up being as miserable in SL as they are in real life. Their addiction has clouded their view of what the purpose of SL really is - to be a fun diversion.
I have been with the same partner in SL for almost two and a half years and that has now spilled over into a real life relationship. That was not something I ever expected to happen when I joined SL. We were never dumb enough to think for one moment that our avatars were anything like our real life selves, so maybe that's why our SL partnership was able to flow so easily into real life.
Just remember that every person you meet in SL is playing some form of 'perfect' version of themselves. They are playing the 'fantasy' version of themselves - how they would like to be. Some people feel the need to make people believe that's how they are in real life. They don't intend to hurt others, but when they find someone else who doesn't get the illusory aspects of SL, it can make for fraught situations.
If you treat the whole place as an illusion and accept that the majority of people are just living out their fantasies, you will be in 'safe addiction' territory. Have fun and allow yourself to do lots of different things. If you start to take it all too seriously, or only hang out with people who take it very seriously, then you will be in 'weird obsessive addiction' territory. People who say SL is no different from real life are missing the point. It's VERY different from real life. Even disabled people who say that using SL gives them the freedoms they cannot have in real life are still just living a fantasy - albeit, one that makes their real lives much happier.
In time you will spend time back in the real world and you will see the clear differences. Right now you are experiencing something new, so enjoy it, but if you remember it's all an illusion, you will enjoy it even more and for much longer.Second Life: Online Game or Addiction?
People have plenty of chances to ruin their life's
"Second Life" is just one more chanceSecond Life: Online Game or Addiction?
It sounds like you need a break from the game. You just have to remember that it's just a game and the people you interactive with in there are just ordinary people like you. Second Life is like an internet chat room on steroids.
It's easy to get addicted to games. They are way more fun than our real lives at times. Why don't you take a break? Inform whoever you need to ingame that you'll be "on vacation" and unavailable for a few weeks. Then just leave it alone for 1 or 2 weeks and spend some time with your family or just enjoying the sites and sounds that your city has to offer.
If you return to the game, then set a time limit on your online time.
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