Virtual Addicts
“Evercrack”, indeed!
I rarely make social commentary on this blog, but in this case, I’ll make an exception. Wired News ran an article recently about on-line game players and addiction. It seems that there are a number of games that include character boosting “drugs” that players can use to get more points in their respective games. These drugs work like real drugs, with side-effects. Like, for instance, they give you the boost, but eventually require higher doses. Eventually, requiring doses so high that they can kill your character. But, even knowing this, people still use them.
Wow. What does this say about our society? First, it’s interesting that the game designers would put drugs into the game. Especially drugs that have consequences. Second, that people who know better, or should know better, still use them speaks to something fundamentally flawed in our society. Has life become so cheap? Even virtual life? What’s next?
More importantly, how many good stories are there in the discussion of what this all means and what might be coming? Go, write them. Make us think!
