Lost my best friend to online game Second life

fluffnutter

Child protection issues aside (if indeed there are any), every adult has the right to live their life as they wish (provided it's legal of course ). If that means spending all day in cyberspace pretending you're a 5 ft 10 blonde with great knockers because your 'real' life stinks then so be it. Sorry but it's up to her.

Mojisola

fluffnutter wrote: »

Child protection issues aside (if indeed there are any), every adult has the right to live their life as they wish (provided it's legal of course ). If that means spending all day in cyberspace pretending you're a 5 ft 10 blonde with great knockers because your 'real' life stinks then so be it. Sorry but it's up to her.

She's got a 14 year old at home with her. That's who I would be worried about.

UKTigerlily

claire16c wrote: »

I had no idea about these games so I'm curious, how do you earn real money on a pretend game?

They have an in world currency called Linden Dollars L$ which you can buy with a debit card & also you can cash them out for real £. Some make & sell clothes, some are escorts, some build houses etc there's probably as many in world jobs as in the real world. Google Anshe Chung, she is the first millionaire from a virtual game I believe. I really don't understand how it can be cashed out & how it all works but it can be

InsideInsurance

Lost a relationship of 7 years to Second Life when my now ex got addicted to it.

To start with it wasn't too bad, she'd play it a fair bit, buy the occasional few bits within the game. She then decided to try and make money from the game, initially by designing a few items but she was limited to applying skins to existing objects as her programming wasnt anywhere near good enough to make something herself. She was spending a bit on items to reskin but it was all from "her money" so her choice.

Things started going "wrong" when she got a job within the game looking after a brothel (really) and strip club. With most english speaking players being in the USA it meant she was "working" at night and so was playing to kill time to get to her "shift". Still the money was very small and just was ploughed back into the game.

What finally broke the camels back was when she started playing some online role play within the game involving clans and slaves. At that point she was playing it as close to 24/7 as she physically could and did nothing else other than that and going to work. She'd go a day without eating if her box of snacks had run out rather than log off and go out.

Tried everything to tear her away but it didn't work. Broke up with her and she pleaded for me to come back and so we agreed to go away for the weekend to talk. It was less than 2 hours after getting there that she said she was going outside for a cigarette and after she didnt come back shortly after I went looking and found her at the neighbouring internet cafe logged into the game.

Whilst I am no longer in contact with her I believe that she did go out and stay with some of the people that she met through the role play game.

It can be an addiction and like any addiction it can be for a host of reasons and have a host of effects. Ultimately these things often just die their own death or its something that they will always want to do. As long as it isnt having major real world impacts then it really is her choice and the more people try and push her from it then the more she may want to do it.

Hoopylass

UKTigerlily wrote: »

I've played Second Life for almost seven years & it's a big part of my life, however it can definitely be addictive & a dangerous place for some. It is entirely possible to earn a real life living from SL but not usual, most just earn small amounts. I think she needs it pointing out that it is having an effect on her first life as we call it.

Ive tried doing that ... she just moans and says I dont understand.

I just dont get why shes become so obsessed with it all.

Hoopylass

InsideInsurance wrote: »

Lost a relationship of 7 years to Second Life when my now ex got addicted to it.

To start with it wasn't too bad, she'd play it a fair bit, buy the occasional few bits within the game. She then decided to try and make money from the game, initially by designing a few items but she was limited to applying skins to existing objects as her programming wasnt anywhere near good enough to make something herself. She was spending a bit on items to reskin but it was all from "her money" so her choice.

Things started going "wrong" when she got a job within the game looking after a brothel (really) and strip club. With most english speaking players being in the USA it meant she was "working" at night and so was playing to kill time to get to her "shift". Still the money was very small and just was ploughed back into the game.

What finally broke the camels back was when she started playing some online role play within the game involving clans and slaves. At that point she was playing it as close to 24/7 as she physically could and did nothing else other than that and going to work. She'd go a day without eating if her box of snacks had run out rather than log off and go out.

Tried everything to tear her away but it didn't work. Broke up with her and she pleaded for me to come back and so we agreed to go away for the weekend to talk. It was less than 2 hours after getting there that she said she was going outside for a cigarette and after she didnt come back shortly after I went looking and found her at the neighbouring internet cafe logged into the game.

Whilst I am no longer in contact with her I believe that she did go out and stay with some of the people that she met through the role play game.

It can be an addiction and like any addiction it can be for a host of reasons and have a host of effects. Ultimately these things often just die their own death or its something that they will always want to do. As long as it isnt having major real world impacts then it really is her choice and the more people try and push her from it then the more she may want to do it.

Im so sorry to hear about your relationship

Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to reply, Ive made the decision to walk away from the friendship and just hope that one day she wakes up to reality

Hoopylass

To those who have expressed concern about my friend 14 yr old daughter. I have no concern about her wellbeing at the moment. She is fed, clothed and cared for. My friend sits up all night playing this game and will get her daughter up for school and then go back to bed. Naturally being a teenager most of the weekends she stays at her friends houses which suits my friend down to a T.

The issue with her chatting to the man online worked out in favour for my friend as she banned her daughter from the internet meaning my friend now has more time online.