A few years ago, the rise of the virtual world Second Life become a popular trend among many people. Not being familiar with the game, I quickly became confused as to what all the hype was about. All I knew was it was a game rather similar to Sims.

After doing some research I found that it is a virtual world that allows you to control your uniquely designed individual and live a "second life." Many people have become extremely involved in this game and have a hard time determining the difference between it and reality. They have a disconnect from the real world and are happy to be in control of their virtual world.

Newsweek found one young man who spends 16 hours a day gaming, sleeps by his computer and than does it all over again the next day.This is when gaming becomes extremely dangerous. I also learned that  within this world one has the ability to get money. According to BusinessWeek, a young lady in 2007 reached one million dollars just by playing the game. She developed her fortune in a period of two and a half years and only invested the initial $9.00 to play the game.

Since I am not much of a gamer it is hard for me to relate to the addiction that some people get playing these games, but I do see it becoming a problem and ruining people's lives. Those who are lacking certain experiences in the real world, are easily infatuated with one where they aren't. Their lives are consumed by this fantasy world and there usually isn't much that anyone can do to fix it.

As a women who wants to have a family someday, I find it very important to teach your kids at a young age the importance of enjoying life and having friends. They need to be taught to play outside and interact with the real world rather than create a fantasy one and take the easy way out.

Second Life is not for me, but I seems to work well for many individuals.