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.

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Comments

Re: MTV’s True Life Looks at Videogame Addiction

Submitted by sharpshooterbabe on Sun, 01/31/2010 - 10:53.

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

Re: MTV’s True Life Looks at Videogame Addiction

Submitted by Skillz817 on Thu, 01/28/2010 - 20:05.

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

Submitted by thefremen on Wed, 01/27/2010 - 21:10.

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

Submitted by PumaFau on Wed, 01/27/2010 - 20:39.

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

Submitted by chadachada321 on Wed, 01/27/2010 - 20:23.

"...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

Submitted by hellfire7885 on Wed, 01/27/2010 - 16:10.

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

Submitted by Kincyr on Fri, 01/29/2010 - 22:09.

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

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

岩「…I can see why Hasselbeck's worried about fake guns killing fake people. afterall, she's a fake journalist on a fake news channel」

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