Addiction~

How can I start this out?  Is anyone here familiar with Mafia Wars on Facebook or any other game applications?  If so, pay heed to those that play.  What else do they have on their site save for posts to do with the game(s)?  It is not only this mindless game, but many mindless games.  I plea guilty for having played and I also plea guilty for getting too caught up in it.  When doing a scope of those that also played and at what level they were playing at, I had to wonder what else do they do?  Was this an all encompassing activity for them?  I would say that for me, my last days on it were almost all encompassed by the game.  Communication had almost stopped, but at least I had the lectures running in the background and I would read things of a non-mindless nature when waiting for energy.  Oh me oh my!  Why?  Addiction!

I can’t say that I was all engulfed as I did not really pay attention to things in there as to me it was a come what may situation.  Nonetheless, I was on it and not doing the things that I normally do to the fullest degree that I do them.  Hence the self suffered.  In addition, I saw the suffering of others.  How you may ask?  The view of it all.  The staggering numbers, the emission of only game related posts, and lack of thought.

One person was kind enough to tell me why they played.  He stated he played out of boredom and loneliness.  If that is why he is playing, I must question if the others have similar reasons.  Unfortunately, I can only use assumption at this point, but I would bet the farm, that my assumption is close to fact.  The knowledge came about because I was leaving the game as I saw it as problematic.  All the things that I had acquired in one application were given to those who played with me.  To this I felt like I was giving junk to junkies and helping to feed their habit.  It is rather sad.  Thankfully, I am off the three applications that I was on and have removed all but a few of those friends from my friends list.  First, I feel as though I was using them to gain something, second I feel as though they were using me to gain something.  Fair trade right?  Right.  However, none of it was real.  Perhaps, this knowledge is not worth much, but it is worth the lesson learned. ~ Maggie ~ October 8, 2009 @ 2:51 a.m. EST