A NEW ADDICTION?

VIDEO GAMES and the WEB?

(When Entertainment Becomes Addicting.)

C.G. Jung once suggested to "Roland H." that he needed to find and repair his spiritual side or he would never be able to kick the drink. Roland joined the Oxford group, practiced the "6 Steps" and the rest is history. Jung, Bill and Roland died long before the advent of the Web and the growing electronic "cyber-land". What would they have to say about this NEW ADDICTION?

This was brought to mind recently when a friend called me asking for assistance in getting his computer back from a bad crash. When I determined that he had a corrupted hard drive and that it would either need to be replaced or re-formatted, he asked, with quivering voice, "Just how long will this take?"

I figured I wouldn't be able to get to repairing his computer for about a week. Busy schedule, lots of writing to do. He reacted like a junkie in need of a fix:

"What do mean a week?! I can't wait a week! I have to get on line! I need to get on line tonight!"

I was startled. "Well, friend, what's the urgency?"

He started to sweat, "I have attend my chat group at 7:30 PM.... I'm always there. People will expect me!" He continued, "And. . . I know I'll have mail and I promised to send some pictures to a friend of mine in California. . . oh. . .  this is just awful!"

He paced for a minute and then exclaimed, "I'll go out and buy a new computer tonight! I can't wait a week!"

I felt it was time to have a discussion about his reaction to my telling him I wouldn't be available;e for a week to repair his PC. During our discussion my friend calmed down and realized that he couldn't really pin-point WHY it was that he NEEDED to be on line badly. Further discussion revealed that he felt MORE IMPORTANT online and SAFER being his TRUE SELF. He felt that the anonymity of having an AVATAR (web name) gave him the freedom to speak his mind and be "himself".

I found this particularly interesting. The 12 step groups owe much of their success to the anonymous element. When sharing at a meeting, people can feel free to speak what is on their minds and leave safely knowing that their words stay in the "room". In my friend's situation, the anonymity was addictive!  What sort of program could I suggest for a person like that? Probably a group where stating your FULL name and giving out your number and address was a must! No, that wouldn't work.

I thought of C.G. Jung and his spiritual theory. Not one to "soap box" and take another persons inventory, I felt my friend would have to respect my boundary of waiting a week for my assistance or go elsewhere for help. He agreed to waiting a week and felt a bit foolish. Then a few minutes later he was flipping through the newspaper and stopping on each computer advertisement. "This looks like a good deal. . . . oh, here's another."

I excused myself and bid him, his dead computer, and his newspaper a farewell.

I soon forgot about the matter and went about my day. Working, writing and researching.

Later I called another friend and asked if him and his wife would like to meet for dinner. He sounded tired and very sick. I asked if he was feeling well and he replied, "Yeah, I'm just a little beat from being up all night."

I asked, "What were you doing up so late?"

He replied, "I was playing EVERQUEST on line. Oh my God! That game is addicting!"

He described the game as a virtual world with no end,  where you develop your character, slay other characters as well as computer generated ones. He said, little by little, you collect power and skills and increase your level of status within the "community". He said he was now a level "50" and had much respect among his fellow "EVERQUESTERS".

I focused on one of his statements and asked, "If you say it's addicting, why do you play? Is there a way to WIN this game? Is there an END in sight?"

He said, "There is no end! They (the creators of Everquest) publish expansion packs and they keep increasing the size of the world so it will NEVER END! The thrill comes from how long you can survive and how much you see before someone takes you out of the game."

A bigger fix each time? Hmmmmm.

I had to ask, "So. . . how does your wife feel about you playing this game all evening?"

He exclaimed, "She HATES it! She can't stand that I'm in there every night playing EVERQUEST, but she doesn't understand how much fun I'm having either!" Then he said, "Hey. . . at least I don't do drugs and I don't cheat on her either. She's lucky!"

So there you have it. My two addicted friends. Each with one thing in common; They enjoy ROLE PLAYING. Each replaces their own loss of spirituality with an exciting rush of being in a new world and living the life of a fictional being.

Can we pin-point when this electronic entertainment has become an addiction?

What are your feelings? Do you feel like the "Cyber-world" has a hold on you? Do you feel you have LOST a friend or family member to the Virtual World? Write in! Start a discussion in the RecoveryWorld (or any other) chat room tonight. I would love to hear your reaction.

Until next time!

Pat N.

(You can write Pat N. at staff.contact@recoveryworld.com Make sure you plae the words "e-Mail for Pat N." in the subject area of your e-mail or it will be deleted automatically.)

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