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Second Skin

Posted on February 01, 2010 by Documentary Log in lifestyle, society
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Second Skin takes an intimate, disturbing look at three sets of computer gamers whose lives have been transformed by the emerging genre of computer games called Massively Multiplayer Online games (MMOs). World of Warcraft, Second Life, and Everquest allow millions of users to simultaneously interact in virtual spaces. Second Skin introduces us to couples who have fallen in love without ever meeting, disabled players whose lives have been given new purpose, those struggling with addiction, Chinese gold-farming sweatshop workers, wealthy entrepreneurs and legendary guild leaders--all living within a world that doesn't quite exist. Second Skin focuses on a couple who met in a virtual world, an addict whose life was ruined by MMOs, and a group of MMO gamers who spend most of their lives inside virtual worlds.

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Rating: 4.1/5 (14 votes cast)

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posted on March 02, 2010, 07:13:40 AM
comment #4037
bea kiddo
This is a reply to comment #3625

I'm the same as Jason, I don't play MMMORPGs because 1. I think I would get addicted and 2. I did try WoW and there was just lots of mean people, like calling me "noob" and insulting me and calling me dumb, it hurt my feelings. I only play offline games an hour a day.

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posted on February 15, 2010, 07:44:21 PM
comment #3779
Cat

LOLOL SUICIDAL ADDICTS ARE FUNNEH, if anyone is stupid enough to lose their minds within a videogame that is just pixels and words, they deserve to die... i'm a pretty avid gamer and i wouldn't go as far as to kill myself over pixels..

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posted on February 10, 2010, 05:13:41 PM
comment #3705
Zachary

Runescape took years of my life... glad I'm out....

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posted on February 10, 2010, 08:16:07 AM
comment #3700
Jason
This is a reply to comment #3677

I second what Tommy said. Most people don't seem to realize that the qualification for being overweight and obese isn't that high. A visual comparison:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/Obesity-waist_circumference.PNG

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posted on February 08, 2010, 05:19:52 PM
comment #3677
Tommy
This is a reply to comment #3661

you should watch it again...theres no stereotype here, im a physical therapist and at least 80% of the people playing the game in this doc, notice how i say PLAYING not farming or doing other stuff like developing or journalismwriting about it, are either morbidly obese or close, so your comment is completely ignorant, however Ann's comment is less than emphatic as well and should've been better formulated.

if i misspelled something, i'm sorry, i'm Norwegian.

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posted on February 07, 2010, 03:11:42 PM
comment #3661
Josh
This is a reply to comment #3647

Your comment appears to be a shallow stereotypical generalization. At least half (if not the majority of people) in this documentary are not overweight. I would also to venture to say most of them at least have "some" interpersonal interaction at work.

You seem to be "band-wagoning" with a bunch of shallow information.

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posted on February 07, 2010, 03:03:04 AM
comment #3657
BF2

I use to have a mild obsession with battle field 2. I played that game all day and couldn't stop... fortunately the game changed and i stopped liking it.

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posted on February 06, 2010, 01:08:05 PM
comment #3647
Ann

looks like a bunch of sad overweight guys who could use a girlfriend and some REAL in person social interaction...just sayin'

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posted on February 05, 2010, 11:08:39 AM
comment #3628
Tipsy

I was really frustrated by that mother who ran the gamer addiction house. I honestly don't think that people who are emotionally charged towards addiction should be put in a position over those with addictions. It's far too easy for them to ignore the needs of the individual people, and project what they think needs to be done instead.

In this case, it seems like all she could think about was her son, and how he was in the situation, and suddenly "every gamer" she had met all acted that way. I can only assume that the reason she wanted to run that halfway house is so that she could feel like she saved someone, in order to mentally redeem herself for not being able to save her son.
Which is just a poor idea, if you ask me.

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posted on February 04, 2010, 11:15:35 PM
comment #3625
Jason

I've made a point of never playing any MMORPGS because I know that I would get sucked in. I limit myself to offline games and even then I can play obsessively until I beat it. But I know that once I beat it I can go back to living my life. Thankfully I'm also picky in what I like to play so there aren't many games that I want to buy anyway.

I wish all the best for those struggling with this addiction, and I hope that more and better counseling services become available for those who need it.

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posted on February 04, 2010, 03:35:20 AM
comment #3619
Allen

Moderation is the answer for obsessive people like us.
Not that I obey this rule completely but I keep it in a little part of my brain, and sometimes it just really help.
Another comment is that Woman who is on the Gamers Anonymous,
She really fire a bad bullet,
I kinda have respect for her to have establish this group to help people, but now I have mixed feelings but whatever there is no action completely unselfish for a human being.

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posted on February 03, 2010, 11:05:30 AM
comment #3608
DK McGreeb

like with anything online gaming is what you make of it, anything can be dangerous if you let yourself get hooked to it, it's not physically addictive and is therefore ultimately a choice to continue playing whether people can accept that or not. theres no point demonising these games (ive never played any of them but have friends who play warcraft, i make jokes with them about it but thats as far as it goes) as much as there is no point in demonising the players.
of course the games are designed for profit and to get people hooked, WHAT PRODUCT ISNT?
some people just need to take a somewhat painstaking reality check and reassess their priorities in life, if it turns out this is genuinely what they want then they are fine, just like the people who love that call of duty game or counter-strike.
reality is reality, games are games, lets not be stupid and think merging the two is possible, let alone feasable.

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posted on February 03, 2010, 10:46:34 AM
comment #3607
Andrew

I currently play Lineage II (korean MMO) and I must say that what they present in this doc is the lifestyle of hardcore players. Gamers, who want to be the best, who want to own the game, ergo spending a LOT of time logged in, having their priorities inside their virtual world. I can't provide any numbers, but I don't think that this is the stereotype for an average MMO gamer. After observing the members of my guild at least.
All activities are a subject to addictions. Shopping, drinking, eating, watching TV, whatever, and there's the games too. Although I don't drink alcohol, I'm gonna use it in an analgoy: as long as you know how much is enough, you can't get into trouble. There are many people who drink alcohol (hell, like 95% of all people do) and if it doesn't start to interfere with their lives, it's OK. The same with MMOs.
To sum up my point: stuff doesn't make people addicted to it. It's the people that make themselves addicted to stuff.

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posted on February 02, 2010, 10:31:19 PM
comment #3602
Mo

i went thru a similar game addiction..wasnt that bad, i havent lost my job or something..but ya its a real danger...Im cured...Screw games online dudes !

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posted on February 02, 2010, 08:56:25 PM
comment #3598
Blitz

I've tried to watch this doc before but it was too much of a painful, sad reminder of how I lived my life.

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posted on February 02, 2010, 02:24:33 AM
comment #3584
spacebunny

Nerd luv.


Lookin' good Dan. I really hope the guy doesn't relapse.

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