Pictures

Andrew Sullivan posted this picture this morning that is iconic of the changes in our culture away from the outdoors and Nature. This image is from a slideshow from an article in the New York Times Magazine (been archived by NYT now).



the caption reads:

NAME Lucas Shaw
BORN 1985
OCCUPATION Student
LOCATION Texas
AVATAR NAME Gaenank
AVATAR CREATED 2003
GAME PLAYED EverQuest
HOURS PER WEEK IN-GAME 55
CHARACTER TYPE Barbarian berserker

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.

Update: Some info on EverQuest and its addicting characteristics.

The game is renowned and berated (by some psychologists specializing in computer addiction) for its addictive qualities. Many refer to it half-jokingly as "NeverRest" and "EverCrack" (a reference to crack cocaine). EQ is very time-consuming for many people, and there have been some well-publicized suicides of EverQuest users, such as that of Shawn Woolley. Relationships broken because of obsessive playing resulted in the creation of an online support group called EverQuest Widows and sites like GamerWidow.com. An infamous rant titled "EQ: What You Really Get From An Online Game" appeared on Slashdot in 2002 , and brought this issue of EverQuest addiction to the forefront of many message boards across the Internet.