Quitting Second Life

It started what I thought was an open-ended game, but became so much more. Unlike other multiple player online games, SL had no goal. The virtual world was simply a "sandbox" of all of its visitor's creations. You can make your own little world there, complete with friends, occupations, stores, parks, beaches, etc. It is an escapist's stream come true.
I started logging into SL back in 2006, and decided to quit this past April. It was probably one of my best decisions I made this year.
I think of SL as Facebook on steroids. You socialize in a virtual world using avatars similar to those found on Sims. Most of its members decide to use highly idealized versions of themselves. Women avatars are mostly big-breasted and skinny, and the men are muscular. Virtual stores sold the latest fashions and furnishings for fantastic sky houses, castles, or mansions.
As time went on, I made many friends and acquaintances. I also became a virtual DJ and even opened up my own club. Life was good, or at least second life was good...
Gradually, I spent more and more of my spare time in this virtual world with my virtual friends. I would log in before work, after work, after dinner, and weekends. I justified this by telling myself that I was getting away from the stresses of the work week.
There was no single reason that caused me to quit SL. Perhaps more of a tipping point. I knew for awhile that quitting was inevitable, so I decided that I would cut myself off during my spring vacation. I really had an awesome time, and when I returned to my normal schedule, I just never logged back in.
I reflected on SL, and found that it demanded too much of my free time. The tipping point I mentioned earlier was that I was rearranging my RL (real life) schedule in favor of SL. This was especially true when I was DJing.
Quitting SL was harder than giving up caffeine, but like that drug, I am better off without it. People who have never tried SL won't realize how addictive it can be.
I consider myself very lucky also. Some of my former virtual friends are in much worse shape than I ever was. One individual seemed to have given up on any social life outside of this virtual world. When this person's SL "marriage" fell apart, he was devastated. Another former online SL friend admitted that he loved his virtual partner more than his actual partner. It's very sad to see people actively seek something in this virtual world that is obviously missing from their lives, only to find out that SL is stocked with jerks who hide behind a beautiful avatar, or their own social problems are within themselves.
I'm not saying that Second Life is a bad venue. Like everything else, it must be used in moderation. If you are spending more than an hour a day on it, neglecting your responsibilities, family, friends or partner, or increasing the time you spend on it, chances are you should probably quit. There is no substitution for real life.