Shawn Woolley

Infobox Person
name = Shawn Woolley

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caption =
birth_date = February 12, 1980
birth_place = Wisconsin, United States of America
death_date = November 20, 2001 (aged age|1980|2|12|2001|11|20)
death_place = Wisconsin, United States of America
other_names =
known_for =
occupation =
nationality = American

Shawn Woolley (February 12, 1980 - November 20, 2001), of Wisconsin, was an avid player of the computer game "EverQuest", an MMORPG. Shawn had played computer games for 10 years before he played Everquest. He had no problems with other games. Before Shawn played Everquest, he had been diagnosed with epilepsy, and Attention Deficit Disorder. Both were controlled with medication. After Shawn started playing Everquest, his personality changed. he became withdrawn, anti-social and depressed. Eventually he was diagnosed with depression and schizoid personality disorder. At the age of 21, he committed suicide. He shot himself and was found dead at his computer, which was still running "EverQuest". Woolley had been playing "EverQuest" for over a year and a half before his death.cite journal |last=Spain |first=Judith W. |coauthors=Vega, Gina |title=Everquest: Entertainment of Addiction? |journal=The CASE Journal |month=Spring |volume=1 |issue=2 |year=2005 |pages=60-66] cite journal |last=Spain |first=Judith W. |coauthors=Vega, Gina |title=Sony Online Entertainment: EverQuestor EverCrack? |journal=Journal of Business Ethics |volume=58 |issue=1 |month=May |year=2005 |pages=3-6 |doi=10.1007/s10551-005-1376-9]

Partial recovery

Within months after Shawn started playing Everquest, it affected his real life negatively.Six months after he started playing it, he quit his job, than he was evicted from his place of residence because he had no money to pay the rent. Soon after Woolley was evicted, his mother recommended he stay in a group home to make some friends other than "online friends" and get support. With the help of a local county program this happened. They also took psychological tests of his mental state. That is when he was diagnosed with the depression and schizoid personality disorder. They put him on more medication and made sure he was seeing a Dr., therapist and psychiatrist. Also, there was no computer at the group home. Shawn got better. He got another job. After a while, he told his mother that he was interested in getting a new apartment and living on his own. She disagreed. It would give him the opportunity to isolate, which is not what he needed. She was told by his group home that living on his own with a job would be an important step in his recovery. Woolley moved into a new apartment, eventually earning enough money to buy a new computer. He quickly returned to his online-gaming addiction and stopped all contact with his family, friends and case worker. He quit making his Dr. appointments, and stopped taking his medications.

uicide

A week before the suicide he had quit his pizza parlour job in order to play upwards of 12 hours a day, and bought a rifle. On Thanksgiving day, 2001-11-22, Woolley's mother, Elizabeth, went to his rented apartment to bring him to the annual family gathering, so he would not be alone during the holiday. She knocked on the door with no response, then tried to open the door but the chain lock was connected. She reports there was a foul smell coming from the room. After going to her residence to get a crowbar and a hammer, she forced the chain off and entered the apartment where she found her son slouched in his computer chair dead. He had shot himself while playing "Everquest" at his computer.

After his death was made public, with the help of other Everquest gamers, Elizabeth was able to piece together incidents that happened in the game that may have led to his decision to take his life.

During the fall of 2001, Shawn indicated that he was in a special relationship. On October 31, 2001, on the gaming server that Shawn had been on since he started playing Everquest – Valonzek, Shawn created a character in the image of himself, that he named ILUVEYOU. He played that character for about 3 hours. He then left that server and never went back on it. Shawn’s mother speculates that whatever happened that day was so traumatic for Shawn, that he no longer wanted to live.

Who is to blame?

In an E-News report, Elizabeth Woolley claims that "EverQuest" is dangerous and addictive: "The way the game is written is that when you first start playing it, it is fun, and you make great accomplishments. And then the further you get into it, the higher level you get, the longer you have to stay on it to move onward, and then it isn't fun anymore. It becomes a time sink. By then you're addicted, and you can't leave it." [ [http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=31536 Death of a game addict] March 31, 2002] [ [http://www.wired.com/news/games/0,2101,51490,00.html Wired News: "Did Game Play Role In Suicide?"] April 4, 2002] [ [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/10/17/48hours/main525965.shtml CBS on Woolley: "Addicted: Suicide Over Everquest?"] October 18, 2002] cite episode |title=THS Investigates Online Nightmares |episodelink= |url= |series=E! True Hollywood Story |serieslink=E! True Hollywood Story |credits= |network=E! |station= |city= |airdate=2007-09-29 |began= |ended= |season= |seriesno= |number= |minutes= |transcript= |transcripturl=] . Woolley blames Shawn's exessive gaming for his mental disorders that started after he played Everquest. She also blames the addictive design of the Everquest game for his suicide.

Sony Online Entertainment CEO John Smedley, one of the creators of "EverQuest", said that the game did not cause Woolley's death:

"When I spoke with Ms. Woolley, I expressed my condolences. And it's really one of those terrible things that happens. And there's just nothing to suggest that "EverQuest" had any role in his death. "EverQuest" is a game. And I don't see any connection between a form of entertainment and somebody's tragic suicide. It's entertainment. Is a book dangerous? Is a TV show dangerous? I think the answer is no. People need to take responsibility and say, 'Hey, you know, this is too much. Enough's enough.' It's a game."

ee also

*Lee Seung Seop
*Game addiction
*Online Gamers Anonymous
*Internet addiction disorder

References