A Choice Or An Addiction?- "A Puppet On Strings"

I can't believe how this world has become so dependent on technology. This documentary sucked me in completely. It consumed me as soon as I started watching it. I think the thing that shocked me the most about the video was that the one woman said that she sees playing World of Warcraft with someone and talking to them online as going out to dinner. In my opinion, that doesnt even come close to comparing. Virtuality is emotionless. There is no personal contact, no looking into someone's eyes. There is no physical contact. There's nothing intimate, or personal, or loving or caring or anything about virtuality. It is a world that does not exsist.  Then the same woman started talking about how she had fallen in love through the internet. I couldnt believe this. I am a huge romantic and the thought of falling in love with someone when you have never met, have never had so much as a kiss, or a touch, or a real face-to-face conversation with just blows my mind. It makes me feel like there would be no real substance or reality to the relationship. The statistics that were stated within the documentary were that one in three female gamers date someone they met in a virtual world. That baffeles me. Completely just consumes my thoughts. For me, it would never compare. I just can't imagine basing my relationship on a virtual world, or basically a character. A fictional character within a world that does not exsist. 
Another thing that I couldn't believe was that the one man said that most gamers see their jobs as dead-end jobs, where they are paper pushers and see them going nowhere, and within the virtual world they have power. I think this is absolutly rediculouse. If someone is not happy with their career or job, then they need to find one that will make them happy. Not turn to spending 12 hours a day online in a world that is not real. 
Another aspect that is completly astounding is the fact of time. I mean 8 hours at work, 4 hours sleeping, 11 hours gaming. That leaves 1 hour for free time, for things like eating, showering, hanging out with friends,family, etc. I just couldn't imagine spending that much time on a computer.  A quote from the video that rang in my ears was, "Three days later, I realized I hadn't slept."  How could someone become so involved in a game that they don't realize that they havn't slept for three days? With this question comes another topic: When does it stop becomming a choice and when does it start being an addiction? When does it start to tale over a life, and ruining a life? The one guy that was interviewed on the documnetary stated, "I knew I was sick from playing it, I knew I had to stop....I just wanna keep playing it, I'm not going to stop...fourteen to sixteen hours a day easily." Then he proceeded to say that he would urinate into a plastic soda bottle instead of getting up to go to the restroom. He said that he had a great relationship, and that crumbled down, and he lost his business, and they forclosed on his house.  This is an addiction. When one can't notice that their life is suffering and falling to peices around them, or they can see it, but continue to do what they are doing. Thats when it becomes an addiction.  That same guy said that he felt like a "Puppet on a string" when referring to how he felt when playing the game.
In my opinion, I would never be able to become so utterly wrapped up in somthing like this. To me my real life is just too important. This documentary made me ralize how bad it really is getting. Where a virtual world starts to repalce our reality. It makes me want to ask, "What is the world comming to?"

Introduction- This is Me!!!!

My name is Kirsten Elizabeth Bowers. I am a 20 year old junior Marketing major here at Shippensburg University. My hobbies include spending time with friends and family, facebook, music, fast cars, the beach, tanning, art, dancing, shopping, fashion, and so much more. My friends and my family are the most important things to me. Next comes my education. Then comes having fun and living life to the fullest. I am a very free spirited, down to earth, friendly, caring, organized, dedicated, fun loving, loud, outgoing, opinionated, spontaneous person. I live at home with my mom and my 17 year old sister, Lindsey. My family is my backbone, my rock. Without my mom, I would be nothing. She has made me everything I am and has pushed me to be my best at everything that I do. My dad does not live with us, but he is only about 5 minutes away and he supports me in everything that I do as well. I have 2 dogs, a Jack Russle Terrier named Zoe and a Chihuahua named Louie.  My favorite place in the world is the beach. I would love to live in California. My favorite movie is deffinitly Black Swan which has not come out on DVD yet, but it is the most amazing movie. I also love Avatar, and many other movies.  Watching movies is one of my faborite things to do.  I also love music. I am pretty much listening to music about 90% of the time. It is my escape from the world.  I love to read, although I find myself not reading as much now-a-days unless its for a class. I work at Red Robin, in Carlisle as a server. I love where I work and who I work with. I believe in peace, soulmates, love at first sight, God, spirits, and miracles.  I dont believe in war, animal testing, or hate. Overall I am a down to earth, fun-loving, easy going person. I will talk to anyone, anytime.