Maxell
11-29-2004, 03:57 AM
I'm not sure how to go about this...Its kind of silly, but not if your in his shoes...
My friends are part of an online group of people that play games, but for the past 3 or 4 years they have all kept in close contact and become very good friends, they have problems just like real friends, a few have even "dated".....One person in particullar had gotten into the habit of giving people "family" titles....uncle...aunt...brother
Now I'm not sure why he does this, and it does strike people as odd. I know its not a healthy thing for him to do. The problems come when people have to leave...obviously they all have real lives and can't live on a computer forever.....he is under 18, so he doestn' have a job..just school, no sports or anything. Anyway he gets into depressions very often, and is in a bad mood, I think its because of these friendships breaking up, and unlike realfriendships, you can end something online, by turning it off, or "blocking" them....
Its a very fragile system hes put up in his mind, and its far from full proof. The only reason I can think that he is diong this is hes formulating the kind of family he wish he had in real life. He lives with his mom, who doesn't pay him much attention, and the rest of his family is distant. The person he calls his "mom", has a daughter, who he likes alot, and she grew close to him when she was "inbetween relationships", but he has taken it to an extreme and is very upset that she has gotten a boyfriend in reallife, and neglected him....he keeps talking about coming to visit these people, even though he knows thats really not possible.
I count him as a good friend, and I dont' know how to tell him that what he is doing is unhealthy, he would never listen to me If I told him to get some help, I have tried to get him to build his family realationships, and get a girlfriend....I came here because I want to help him, and need other's advice, even if its just to say its not something that can be fixed this way.....
I want to be a good friend, but I dont' know if I should take a tough love approach about it...
I apologize for my lack of spelling and structure, its 4am typing this after all
My friends are part of an online group of people that play games, but for the past 3 or 4 years they have all kept in close contact and become very good friends, they have problems just like real friends, a few have even "dated".....One person in particullar had gotten into the habit of giving people "family" titles....uncle...aunt...brother
Now I'm not sure why he does this, and it does strike people as odd. I know its not a healthy thing for him to do. The problems come when people have to leave...obviously they all have real lives and can't live on a computer forever.....he is under 18, so he doestn' have a job..just school, no sports or anything. Anyway he gets into depressions very often, and is in a bad mood, I think its because of these friendships breaking up, and unlike realfriendships, you can end something online, by turning it off, or "blocking" them....
Its a very fragile system hes put up in his mind, and its far from full proof. The only reason I can think that he is diong this is hes formulating the kind of family he wish he had in real life. He lives with his mom, who doesn't pay him much attention, and the rest of his family is distant. The person he calls his "mom", has a daughter, who he likes alot, and she grew close to him when she was "inbetween relationships", but he has taken it to an extreme and is very upset that she has gotten a boyfriend in reallife, and neglected him....he keeps talking about coming to visit these people, even though he knows thats really not possible.
I count him as a good friend, and I dont' know how to tell him that what he is doing is unhealthy, he would never listen to me If I told him to get some help, I have tried to get him to build his family realationships, and get a girlfriend....I came here because I want to help him, and need other's advice, even if its just to say its not something that can be fixed this way.....
I want to be a good friend, but I dont' know if I should take a tough love approach about it...
I apologize for my lack of spelling and structure, its 4am typing this after all