I have with me two gods, persuasion and compulsion.

One day at the Mansion, I found myself in the spa with several other avid Palace members. A curious thing happened whenever we mentioned the word “Palace” in our conversation. For example, when I typed, “What do you people think of Palace?” I was surprised to see what actually appeared on the screen: “What do you people think of this thing that is eating my life?” When I finally figured out that the Palace software itself made this seemingly silly substitution of words, my confusion turned to delight, then curiosity. Indeed, it was an insightful prank by the Palace creator who had built it into the program. It raised an important question, perhaps a worrisome question for many people: is Palace indeed eating my life?

Some people find themselves so captivated by their cyberspace lifestyles that they want to spend as much time there as possible, sometimes to the neglect of their real life. They might not be entirely sure why they find themselves so engrossed. They cannot accurately verbalize an explanation for their compulsion. The humorous substitution of words in the Palace spa suggests that it does feel like an unnamable thing – a compelling, hidden force. It is not the blog, social media, game, shopping, gambling, or whatever online activity that is eating one's life, but the indescribable, unconscious impulse it ignited.