LIVING A DOUBLE LIFE: THE EFFECTS OF VIRTUAL WORLDS ON TEENAGERS AND ADULTS ALIKE

Abstract

This paper aims to analyze and discuss a concerning aspect regarding virtual worlds and their dangers, specifically. Many teenagers transcend themselves into artificial, phantasmagorical worlds. Set-ups such as vivid, evergreen maps containing different NPCs (non-player characters) that offer you missions for you to advance your progress and gain experience and gain more powerful items, potions, armor, or weapons to progress into the game are always present. Mobs (living entities within the game) are meant to be passive or aggressive and pose as potential victims (if they are weaker) or as real threats (if they are strong) to the real player that chooses to dive into the realm of the unknown. One of the biggest concerns that we will try to assess through extensive content analysis and data collected straight from different games is that there are quite a few people that become obsessed with their character and in-game life and start to show neglect towards themselves and inevitably towards their loved ones (parents, caretakers, children and even wives or husbands). It is similar with the hikkikomori phenomenon, commonly found in Japan. This double life is dangerous, because people slowly destroy their social lives, lose precious time which they could have done something more productive with and at the same time they become sedentary. Furthermore, there are many health risk factors that could potentially affect players, such as aiding obesity, vision problems, psychological problems, and even back problems. These on their own are unstoppable risks, due to how highly dependent on videogames some people become.