A Poetic Life :: Life Is Art

The world of online gaming is an ever growing one with the increasing popularity of such online games as World of Warcraft, Starcraft, Doom, Wolfenstein and EverQuest. Evening video games such as Manhunt and Legend of Mir 3 with their online capabilities are all the rage. There in lies the question. Has the rage gone too far? There’s a misconception that only children are the ones obsessed with the likes of these games, but as you will see from stories around the world many adults have opted for a life in the fictional world of online gaming. Since life does not allow us to forward unaware as you will see the price for such a decision can be very severe. I’m Akil Johnson bringing you this special report on “Online Gaming Addiction”, and I ask you what will be the prescription? The following are actual news stories from places around the world all of which have been linked to online gaming addiction. “Life is a video game. Everyone has to die sometime.”- Devin Moore (An 18 year old who shot and killed three police officers)

28-year-old South Korean man dies after bingeing on Starcraft for over 50 hours. Lee Seung Seop got hooked on Starcraft and started to incessantly play the popular multiplayer game after work. Lee gradually became addicted to online games and his gaming sessions lasted until dawn. Lee eventually lost his job, broke up with his girlfriend, and forgot to bath, eat, or sleep. Lee collapsed after playing Starcraft for over four days straight at an internet cafe and was rushed to nearby Taegu Fatima Hospital where he was pronounced dead a few hours later.

21-year-old Wisconsin man mysteriously kills himself after playing Everquest. Shawn Woolley became addicted to the popular MMORPG, to the point were he could not distinguish the game from reality. Woolley lost his job, and was evicted from his apartment due to his gaming lifestyle. His mother found him relentlessly crying in front of his computer one day. It turns out Woolley was attacked in game by an online friend and had lost all his money and skills he had built up over the past few months. Woolley was submitted into an addiction program, treated for severe depression, and released on his own recognizance. Woolley was later found dead in front of his monitor on Thanksgiving Day, with a self inflicted gunshot wound to his head. Everquest was still on his screen.

Four-month-old South Korean infant dies after being neglected by World of Warcraft playing parents. 29-year-old man, identified only as Yu, and his wife left their infant daughter home alone while they played WOW at a local internet cafe. They returned home five hours later to find their daughter lying on her stomach, dead from suffocation. The tragedy could have been avoided if the couple had only contacted Yu's parents, who lived upstairs, to baby sit.

Warren Leblanc a 17-year-old British boy pled guilty for the beating and stabbing death of his 14-year-old friend. He repeatedly battered his friend Stefan Pakeerah with a claw hammer, and eventually stabbed him to death with a knife. It's reported by friends and family members that Leblanc was obsessed with the videogame Manhunt, which awards points for violent murders. Leblanc faces a life sentence in the United Kingdom for his crimes.

18-year-old Alabama teen shot and killed three police officers as they booked him for possession of stolen property. Devin Moore was arrested for possession of a stolen car and was awaiting booking when he grabbed a police officer's sidearm and shot and killed three officers. Moore fled the scene in a police cruiser and was apprehended several hours later. During the trial, the teen's legal defense claimed that Moore was severally influenced by the videogame Grand Theft Auto III, and that he could not distinguish reality from the game. Moore told Investigators after his arrest, "Life is a video game; everybody has to die sometime."

Two Columbine teens shoot and kill 12 fellow students and a teacher, and wound 24 others in one of the most notorious and brutal school shootings to take place in the history of the United States. The teens were hardcore fans of Doom and Wolfenstein and maintained a dedicated America Online site that hosted Doom levels they created for friends. Before the massacre, the teens recorded a videotaped message that stated they looked forward to using their shotguns just like in the game Doom. Both teens committed suicide after their massacre was completed.

Although all of these stories are linked to video games, they are all also linked to something much deeper missing in the lives of these very troubled individuals. I submit that it is a serious disconnection from their humanity. These individuals are products of our society, and they represent in part what we have become. There’s apart of our society’s heart that is numb, and because life does not allow us to go forward unaware. The fruits of our unawareness will soon be ripe for all of us to share. This is not just your neighbor’s problem for we all bear some responsibility. When we increase our awareness we can then bridge the gap in our community. Online gaming addiction what will the prescription be? I conclude that there can be no substitute for what is lacking in the heart of our community. - Akil Johnson

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