BBC Falsely Portrayed Games 'Addict'
Joe Staley did not drop out of uni due to 'gaming addiction.'
Remember that Panorama show where games were seen as addictive tools of destruction? Well, it doesn't look like the legion of players on the internet were the only ones dissatisfied with the show's production. One of the show's guests has spoken out too.
Trent Pyro was the teenager friend of 'addict' Joe Staley, who appeared to support the BBC's message that his mate was spiralling down into junkie land. In an opinion piece published on This Is My Joystick, he wrote that this was far from the case and that he was a victim of heavy editing on the Beeb's part.
"They came, they filmed, they asked lots of questions, made Joe play some Modern Warfare 2, made us both play Rock Band for a bit and then left. They were amicable guys, if a little pushy, but that was to be expected from media types with a tight time-scale," Trent wrote.
"They also asked me questions about [Joe]... what I said did not support or even entertain their exaggerated view of games addiction and its causes. I was actually trying to inject some sanity into proceedings, all of which was cut.
"While I do not think I was misrepresented, my comments were used well within context, it was obvious to me that much of what I had said was tactically cut as it did not support the theme of the piece."
Trent argued that his friend's 'dropping out' of university was in fact a conscious choice Joe made after feeling that he no longer wanted to do the course. "He became disinterested and disenfranchised with his course and therefore had no drive to go. In his boredom, he began to play his Xbox more. So, his disinterest in university was a reason for his increase in gaming, not the other way around."
Click here to read the rest of the opinion piece, including a delicious picking apart of the different messages made in the documentary programme.
Trent Pyro was the teenager friend of 'addict' Joe Staley, who appeared to support the BBC's message that his mate was spiralling down into junkie land. In an opinion piece published on This Is My Joystick, he wrote that this was far from the case and that he was a victim of heavy editing on the Beeb's part.
"They came, they filmed, they asked lots of questions, made Joe play some Modern Warfare 2, made us both play Rock Band for a bit and then left. They were amicable guys, if a little pushy, but that was to be expected from media types with a tight time-scale," Trent wrote.
"They also asked me questions about [Joe]... what I said did not support or even entertain their exaggerated view of games addiction and its causes. I was actually trying to inject some sanity into proceedings, all of which was cut.
"While I do not think I was misrepresented, my comments were used well within context, it was obvious to me that much of what I had said was tactically cut as it did not support the theme of the piece."
Trent argued that his friend's 'dropping out' of university was in fact a conscious choice Joe made after feeling that he no longer wanted to do the course. "He became disinterested and disenfranchised with his course and therefore had no drive to go. In his boredom, he began to play his Xbox more. So, his disinterest in university was a reason for his increase in gaming, not the other way around."
Click here to read the rest of the opinion piece, including a delicious picking apart of the different messages made in the documentary programme.
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Comments
gingineer 15 Dec 2010 17:47
1/2
Fair point about dropping out of uni. i know a few people who had a compulsion to play far to many games and dropped out of uni, it is unclear what came first: playing the games or failing at the course and hence they played games as they were bored!
I know far more people who failed uni from drinking, girls and drugs.
I know far more people who failed uni from drinking, girls and drugs.
ghoti 16 Dec 2010 12:03
2/2
Shame he had to do his growing up in pulic, but it's a lesson to be learned - journalists will often choose the story first and then put together the facts to fit.