Are we running away or towards? And does it really matter?

I've become facinated with the WoW phenomenon. In case you have been stuck under a rock in the gaming world, that's "World of Warcraft", and it's apparently more addictive than cocaine. It's a MMORPG which is a 'massively multiplayer online role-playing game'. No joke. It's huger than huge. I've heard tales of it ruining people's lives, causing divorce, careers sufferning, and health problems all because of this addiction. It's certainly changing people's lives, and our society. For better or for worse. Here's how it works: You subscribe to the game, you don't buy it. You can choose which kind of gameplay you want, which society you belong to, and what class you will be. Right there, it's better than life. In life, you're born into these things, and changing your lot in life takes a huge effort. In WoW, you just pay a fee if you want to try something new. There is a whole world in there. Your character can gain knowledge, skills, talents, and become more developed. You go on quests. You can trade things. You can make money. And to get the more complicated gameplay, you can team up with a group, and everyone's class works together to achieve a goal. It's brilliant. It's progressive and it's rewarding. Unlike life a lot of the time. I can see why this has become such an international craze. China seems to be the most addicted, as a nation. I'm sure that says something about the quality of life in WoW, vs the quality of life in China. And people are making money for real, in the real world, by being good in the game, or at least playing it so much, that they can't help but get things that other people want. Desperately. Or so I've heard.

Then I read a quote from a comment on John August's site, who btw, has a post that had me in stitches, but was quite illuminating, as he's known to do. http://johnaugust.com/archives/2007/seven-things-warcraft "Seven things I learned from World of Warcraft. The quote was from Sean William Menzies and he said "We live in a society so rich that grown men can afford to stay boys much longer than they should."

Now I don't know about you, but all this kind of saddens me in a way. Should grown men not be allowed to stay boys if they can? I supposed if they have responsibilities that they're shirking, like children or dogs, then sure. But I was all for Peter Pan never growing up. He had a lovely life, flying around and fighting with pirates. Is society as we know it, stifling our playful side? The mundane must do's, the people pleasing and the struggle to carve out a niche for yourself, one that most people aren't satisfied with, can get a bit tedious after a while. Is this why so many people have become addicted to a world where you can actually be someone you want to be, and get someplace you want to go while having fun doing it? Are we that unsatisfied with our real lives? And if we are, then why do so few people do anything about changing it? Why can we put massive efforts into our avatar's lives, but not our own? It is because we don't have to actually get our asses off a chair in WoW? Is it because we don't actually have to really learn how to do things? It's certainly a quicker route to success. Have we really become the instant-satisfaction-pill-poppers that don't need the satisfaction of true knowledge, or true discovery, or real experiences? Are the rewards no longer sufficient for the effort required? Are we burned out on trying so damn hard and not getting anywhere? Have our expectations for what we think we should be getting out of life, exceeded what's realistic and available, and so we seek it in a place where there's an unlimited supply of potential success, even if it's just a game? Have our real lives become that unsatisfying?

BUT the need for escapism hasn't changed. People have always loved books, movies, and soap operas. We all escape from our lives in different ways. Perhaps writing is a way as well. I escape into worlds I've created, with people that I love, but aren't real. Is that so different? I don't think so.

So, what's changed? Technology. And this is just the beginning of what will become available. With the wild success of WoW, and technology racing into the future faster than we can keep up, what is around the corner to take us away from it all? Will our world become fragmented into two places? The real world, and the virtual world. Escapism will be taken to new highs. Which do you think will be a better place to live?