Are you totally addicted to video games? Maybe MTV can help. We're doing a new show on obsessive gaming habits and we're looking for you. Check out the below and then tell us your story. You could be on MTV!
TRUE LIFE: IaEU(tm)M ADDICTED TO VIDEOGAMES
Have video games totally taken over your life? Is your game play increasingly getting out of control? Have your friends or family confronted you about your gaming habit? How about your marriage or personal relationships aEU" are they being affected? Is it difficult to balance work and gaming time? Do you sometimes skip doing homework or household responsibilities to play? Have you played video games as a way of escaping your problems? Has your game playing habit become so encompassing that you may need to go to rehab to kick it? If you can identify with any of the above, MTV wants to hear from you.
If you appear to be between the ages of 17 and 29 please email us at truelifecasting@banditofilms.com and tell us ALL of the following: Your age, your city and state, why you feel youaEU(tm)re addicted to gaming, and how its affecting your life. Be sure to include a recent picture or two and a current phone number.
:: sighs :: This post really frustrates me. Is a reality TV show that exploits our weaknesses and humiliates us in front of the world really the answer we are searching for? Is this what we really need? Addiction is a very sensitive issue and the gaming addiction has caused pain for every single member here. Maybe I'm just being cynical, but MTV doesn't exactly sound like the best forum for exploring these problems. And certainly not in a sensitive way. We are trying to get help here, at OLGANON. Pardon me for saying this to you, MTV, but: You should be ashamed of yourself! These reality TV shows are as bad as the gaming itself. I'm not exactly sure what is happening in the world, when a private and comfortable haven for people with problems (like this forum) is infiltrated by a ratings hungry network looking to exploit our weaknesses. Olganon members ---> PLEASE consider this inquiry carefully. You came here to get help and move on. You're on the road to recovery. Don't get sidetracked by fame and fortune. That is, in itself, another addiction and will most likely derail your recovery. Good luck and Godspeed.
Our official position: On-Line Gamers Anonymous takes no position on the outside issues of the day. Including this issue. While we do not delete interview requests, this organization does not endorse any of them. As far as inside issues go, we take the Anonymous part of our name very seriously. While any person may choose to reveal his or her own identity and tell his or her story to any media person whatsoever, this organization does not endorse this activity, as it would be in violation of our traditions. Thank you very much. Bruce E. Wright President OLGA/OLG-Anon World Services, Inc.
Leveling in Real Life
Xandtar - I just wanted to thank you for your dedication and devotion to this site, and the whole topic of gaming. I imagine that your schedule is busy enough without all the work you do here, and I just wanted to publicly state my appreciation. I agree with the tradition on anonymity and its application here. I did my interview for NBC backlit and anonymously because of this tradition. I did not want to benefit in any way from the interview, nor did I want it to bolster my ego in any way. Personnally, I think the long form of the 12th tradition is one of the most beautiful paragraphs ever written by man: "And finally, we of Alcoholics Anonymous believe that the principle of anonymity has an immense spiritual significance. It reminds us that we are to place principles before personalities; that we are to actually practice a genuine humility. This to the end that our great blessings may never spoil us; that we shall forever live in thankful contemplation of Him who presides over us all"
I am the moderator for a chapter of PFLAG - Parents, Friends and Family of Lesbians and Gays. I get requests like this all the time, from the Maury Povich, Montel Williams, and other daytime "talk" shows, or different reality shows that are either in development or on the air currently. They are always looking for the "odd case" - transgender children of fundamentalist parents, or lesbian custody battles, or gay twin brothers.... Even though sometimes they will phrase it in terms of "we want to draw positive attention" to your cause, I consider all of these inquiries as simply attempts to exploit vulnerable people, that would have no positive impact whatsoever on the individuals involved. I just delete them without even considering passing them along to my (very large) mailing list. Jane in CT
From personal experience... know what you're getting yourself into before going on television. Have realistic expectations and don't compromise your values.
The happiness of a man in this life does not consist in the absence but in the mastery of his passions.
-Alfred Lord Tennyson
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Thanks for handling this for me, gents! I was in a hurry to get to work so just moved the post into the recycle bin and figured you'd be on it before I could ask for your help! ;)
:jawdrop: when I see a post like this.
The question is....will you be able/courageous/adult enough to sacrifice that which merely pleases you...for that which will truly fulfill you? That is the question of personal growth.
~~~Dem518
~~~wow-free since 8/22/09
I just watched their doc on two young women with shopping addictions, over at the MTV web site. Heartbreaking.
The happiness of a man in this life does not consist in the absence but in the mastery of his passions.
-Alfred Lord Tennyson
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I am in no way endorsing or not endorsing the involvement in this televsion show. However, I do have to comment that I've always felt that MTV had the mind and the pulse of young adults. If a television program brings the knowledge of the epidemic of gaming addiction to the masses...is it so bad? I understand that the network of course is run like any other business, and has to maintain profit margins, increase viewers, etc etc. a necessary evil in this capitalistic world...but their intent is not completely lost or does the message fall on deaf ears. I just hope that anything the producers create is done so with tact and doesn't make a joke of it as many reality based shows seem to do with other illnesses. Dignified Dude
I was thinking the same thing, dignified_dude. Let people know their is a place for help, if they want it. That is why when they wrote me, I suggested they post their request here. Maybe you could be on it??? Liz
Liz Woolley