MTV’s True Life Looks at Videogame Addiction

MTV’s True Life Looks at Videogame Addiction

January 27, 2010

A new entry in MTV’s True Life television series takes a cursory look at the impact that playing too many games can have on relationships and life in general.

True Life: I’m Addicted to Video Games shadowed two fixated gamers: a white male college student named Barry and an African-American female college student named Charisse. Jezebel summed up the episode nicely, choosing to focus more on the plight of Charisse mostly because the site is for females, but also because Barry came across as attempting to “live up to every possible stereotype that exists about guys who game.”

Jezebel noted that Charisse “Though an obsessive player in her own right... showed quite a bit of range, devoting time to her five Sorority Life accounts, Farmville accounts, Guitar Hero, and Halo.” Additionally, “Charisse's boyfriend (Corey) is also African-American, a pairing that illuminated three different demographics not normally associated with gaming: a gaming couple, black gamers, and black girl gamers.”

The show caught Charisse and Corey in a rough patch in their relationship, but ended with the two accepting each other for who they are and trying to advance their relationship, with Charisse attempting to include Corey in her passion and play more games with him.

In a comment on the story, Charisse added that the heavily edited show didn’t show every aspect of her addiction. She said that her reliance on games caused her to “lose my job, neglect household chores, and lose financial aid.”

The episode is scheduled to air again tonight on MTV at 7PM ET.

Comments

Comment viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.
Re: MTV’s True Life Looks at Videogame Addiction

Giving that it's MTV, I won't put it past them to sacrifice facts for "reality" show drama.

Re: MTV’s True Life Looks at Videogame Addiction

true, esp. considering how their "Real Life" wasn't real in the least

岩「…Where do masochists go when they die?」

Re: MTV’s True Life Looks at Videogame Addiction

"...a white male college student named Barry..."

"...an African-American female college student named Charisse."

I don't understand why everyone does this. Either she's black and he's white, or she's African-American and he's European-American.

 

Sorry, that was totally unrelated. I never really trusted anything that I see on MTV, that station is pretty stupid/fake.

-Optimum est pati quod emendare non possis-It is best to endure what you cannot change-

Re: MTV’s True Life Looks at Videogame Addiction

MTV manages to make the most idiotic programming imaginable so really who gives a damn

 

Never underestimate the power of idiots in large amounts.

Re: MTV’s True Life Looks at Videogame Addiction

MTV should have changed their name to Young People TV in 2000, but I kind of like that show. Especially when it has a happy ending. 

Re: MTV’s True Life Looks at Videogame Addiction

If they're gonna pull this one out of their ass they should do one about the impact of watching mtv or "reality" tv in general.

Courage is not the absence of fear, but the strength to overcome it.

Re: MTV’s True Life Looks at Videogame Addiction

MTV is more for the upper class idiots that have no clue to wipe their a**. Especially the females that watch it that rely on their looks to get by in this world, rather than thinking w/their brains.

 

 

"It's better to be hated for who you are, then be loved for who you are not." - Montgomery Gentry

ECA IconA PUBLICATION OF THE ECA RSS IconSUBSCRIBE User LoginLOGIN / REGISTER

Crispy Gamer




       

GamePolitics ShoutBox

Posted 07/30/10 at 10:25am
ZippyDSMlee: No lan too but that will be hack in, with 2X maps its as big as SC,so....want more now ;P
Posted 07/30/10 at 10:19am
Rodrigo Ybáñez García: @Cheater: Thank you, I´ll try it later. It happened after I installed the new upgrade, btw
Posted 07/30/10 at 08:16am
E. Zachary Knight: Sep 21 is "Civilization V Day" in Maryland.
Posted 07/30/10 at 01:27am
Andrew Eisen: I got hired to sing bass for an a cappella group tomorrow night. I have nine songs to learn. Yikes.
Posted 07/29/10 at 10:53pm
E. Zachary Knight: Zippy, I thought SC2 was only 1/3 of a game? ;)
Posted 07/29/10 at 08:59pm
ZippyDSMlee: SC2 is god! BOW DOWN TO SC2!
Posted 07/29/10 at 07:50pm
Cheater87: Garcia that sounds like a A/V problem. Try turning the TV on and off or doing that with the AV changer. Thats how I fix mine.
Posted 07/29/10 at 06:50pm
Andrew Eisen: The urinals now have floor mats!
Posted 07/29/10 at 04:54pm
Rodrigo Ybáñez García: My PS3 is having some kind of failure. The sound is still there but the image is totally out...
Posted 07/29/10 at 03:39pm
ZippyDSMlee: SC2!!SC2!!!SC2!!!!!!
Posted 07/28/10 at 02:45pm
beemoh: Farmville creator Zynga closes one of its games, customers who paid for in-game content unimpressed (Link)
Posted 07/28/10 at 09:51am
Rodrigo Ybáñez García: Also... [AE: I fixed your link.]
Posted 07/28/10 at 09:49am
Rodrigo Ybáñez García: He blames the internet, but not his abusive mother.
Posted 07/28/10 at 09:48am
Rodrigo Ybáñez García: Akihabara murderer blames cyber bullying for rampage in 2008
Posted 07/27/10 at 02:49pm
E. Zachary Knight: Holy Awesome Game Trailers Batman. Superman heat visioning people in the face and Jedi using Hadouken. Awesome.
Posted 07/27/10 at 01:36pm
ZippyDSMlee: Ah I didnt see it down there :P
Posted 07/27/10 at 01:23pm
E. Zachary Knight: Zippy, you are late to the party.
Posted 07/27/10 at 12:15pm
ZippyDSMlee: Court: breaking DRM for a "fair use" is legal
Posted 07/25/10 at 01:51pm
ZippyDSMlee: Cheater87:I do not think they see the need for it its a shame its more needed than E10.....
Posted 07/24/10 at 08:19pm
Cheater87: Zippy I sent them an email about a 15 age category a year or so ago and they said they had no plans for one at the moment. I'll send another one and see if they respond back again.
Login or register to post shouts