Game Addiction: Myth Or Reality?

In November of 2001, Shawn Woolley, a 21-year-old EverQuest played, shot himself in front of his computer while playing the popular MMORPG. In the days and weeks that followed the tragic suicide, it would become apparent that Woolley had forsaken virtually every aspect of his real life for the fantasy realm of EverQuest. This was something that people close to Shawn Woolley already knew; in fact Shawn's mother Elizabeth "Liz" Woolley had tried to get her son professional help. When she turned to doctors and mental health professionals and explained that her son was addicted to a PC game, her concerns and pleas fell on deaf ears. At the time, the idea of a clinical addiction to video games was scoffed at, and even today the idea isn't widely recognized. As a result, Liz Woolley started On-Line Gamers Anonymous to help bring attention to the issue and also provide support and references to treatment and counseling. But even today, the subject of game addiction isn't given much credence.

But for all the talk among gamers and media pundits about how "addictive" a particular game can be, is it so surprising that a number of hardcore gamers develop a psychological addiction to MMOs? I first wrote about On-Line Gamers Anonymous, or Olganon, last summer in a column that focused on the treatment of video game addictions. At the time, I took a very critical and skeptical point of view of these treatment facilities and help groups like Olganon. It wasn't that I outright dismissed the notion of some gamers having a compulsion to play far too many hours. However, I felt the responsibility was on the individual gamers and not the game designers or publishers. For the most part, I'm still reluctant to blame game developers for the problems that a small number of gamers have in being able to quit - or at least control their playing time with - an MMORPG like World or WarCraft. But after talking with many people over the last year who have been consumed with MMOs, including members of Olganon, I've come to feel that the issue isn't as black and white as I once believed it was.

Moreover, after writing my initial column on game addiction last summer, Woolley herself joined the discussion on our Forumz and responded to some of the criticisms of Olganon from both myself and the readers. She challenged me to learn more about On-Line Gamers Anonymous before critiquing the group, and I reached out to her for an interview. We finally spoke recently, and Woolley talked candidly, not only about Olganon, but also about the death of her son. Whether or not you agree with her views of game addiction and MMOs, Woolley has tried to take a terrible tragedy in her life and turn it into something positive by providing help for people that believe they are addicted to online games. Here's what Woolley had to say about her son's struggles with addiction, her own history of addiction and the world of MMORPGs:

Rob Wright: What is Online Gamers Anonymous and how did it begin?

Liz Woolley: Online Gamers Anonymous is a 12-step self-help group for people that have been affected by online games, whether it's the gamers themselves or someone who has a relationship with a gamer - a family member or loved one. I founded the group after my son died [Shawn Woolley]. He committed suicide in front of the computer with the game on. This was after he had become addicted to EverQuest. I myself have experience with AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) so I know what addiction is. And my career is in software programming and design, and I've been in the computer industry since the mid-1980s. So I know how software is created and I know that these new online games are designed differently. My son played video and computers games for 10 years before EverQuest and he never had a problem with any of those games. He went into the game like it was a full-blown addiction to drugs or alcohol. And when I tried to get him help, the professionals I talked with had never heard of this type of problem before and they just laughed at it. They said I should be glad he wasn't addicted to drugs or alcohol.

Elizabeth Woolley with a photo of her late son, Shawn.

Rob Wright: Did you son have any other addictions, compulsions or substance abuse problems?

Liz Woolley: No, not until he played the game. His behavior changed once he got into EverQuest. It changed his personality. He became socially withdrawn and didn't want to talk to his friends or family. It's like he didn't want to deal with the real world. Towards the end, he became so reclusive he couldn't talk to real people. He wanted to be on the computer all the time. A few months before he died, my other son got married. And Shawn left during the middle of the ceremony to play EverQuest. He didn't go to the reception. And that wasn't like him. He never would have done that before he started playing that game. I tried to get my son back and I just couldn't get him back. And I've talked with so many people now and have heard the same experiences about their child or boyfriend or spouse and how they changed after playing these [MMOs]. I just don't want this to happen to other people. So I made the decision to start this group so that other people would know they weren't alone with this problem, because there really wasn't anywhere to go for game addiction years ago.

Join our discussion on this topic