SL has a huge potential for addiction. I found that many of us have deep seated issues with various things and it's so easy to avoid them and be someone else in the virtual world. Many people say they are not addicted, but when I see the amount of time and money they spend on their second lives, I wonder how honest they are with themselves.. and I wont go into the sexual side of SL except to say it really feeds the hedonism and immorality that is so carelessly available in a virtual Life. "But I'm not really doing those things! It's just make believe, right?"
I got sucked into the role play world which was wonderful for awhile, but one day I saw someone who had utterly lost the capacity to see the line between SL and RL. I became the focus of their hatred and was subsequently and anonymously sabotaged. It was a sad situation and really woke me up to the negative psychological impact of cyber space and the fact that people felt protected in their bad behaviour by anonymity.
SL can be very creative and imaginative too. It has the potential to be educational as well as an art platform. But in my own experience if I can't take the art and imagination out of the virtual world I find it a bit meaningless.
I come into SL like a tourist from time to time to enjoy the arts SL has to offer but I am not looking to buy a house or parcel or commit to anything that will be time consuming. Been there done that!!