lost his life

[low_delta]

http://www.cnn.com/2002/HEALTH/conditions/06/02/online.suicide.ap/index.html

Why is it the game's fault?

Why will there be a lawsuit?


This was interesting too:
Their mother recalls the time Shawn broke down and cried when another EverQuest player stole the online treasures he'd collected in the game.

"Shawn, that's just a computer," she told him. "It's make-believe."


There is where she's wrong too. It isn't make-believe. He spent weeks collecting those things for his character, and someone stole it. Granted, it wasn't real stuff, and he shouldn't have broken down like that, but his work was real. He worked hard for the game. He wanted to win.

Comments

[cynnerth.livejournal.com]

I remember this story when it first came out at the end of last year. Shawn had a whole host of mental problems before he even started playing EverQuest.

Hard work for the sake of make-believe is hard work, but it's still pretend. Being able to make that distinction is the sign of a healthy mind.

[low-delta.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure that's it. I think it would be jumping to a conclusion, to say that he was upset because he confused himself with his character and thought *he* lost his treasure. I think he was probably upset because *he* worked hard on the game and *he* was taken advantage of. Like I said, it is just a game, but he's not the only one whose ever gotten upset over losing a game that he worked hard on.