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Reader Comments (75)

Posted: Dec 7th 2007 10:37AM heytherekiller said

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Maybe he should do something about his other fans apparent fondness for GTA

http://defamer.com/hollywood/audience-disasters/breaking-dr-phil-audience-bus-crash-nightmare-330503.php

Posted: Dec 7th 2007 5:27PM Larz said

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Bad taste, man.

Off-topic: SoW! Wooot!
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Posted: Dec 7th 2007 5:31PM heytherekiller said

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Sorry Larz,

forgot this isn't Kotaku
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Posted: Dec 7th 2007 10:40AM ThornedVenom said

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Of course that you're not concretely buying anything: it's still hard for people to grasp the worth of virtual things.

The question is, how much is that virtual thing worth to you?

Posted: Dec 7th 2007 12:12PM SoCoolCurt said

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exactly. thats why i dont buy virtual stuff like that (furniture, or new shirts, or horse armor) because i feel that should already be included in the game. now if its new missions or maps later on in the games life cycle, that's ok. anything else is a rip off and thus they hold no value for me.
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Posted: Dec 7th 2007 10:42AM hotpuck6 said

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OMG!
Dr. Phil for Prez 08!

Posted: Dec 7th 2007 10:46AM animagnum said

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The summary of the show is really sad. The girl seems quite content in the world of There, but her mother and Dr. Phil think she would be better off in "real" life, which from her description, doesn't sound all that great. I don't think it's a question of how addicted she is to There, but why she is unhappy when she's not in There.

Posted: Dec 7th 2007 11:24AM kinshadow said

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Probably because it is more difficult to engage in cross-species fury S&M tortue sex in real life.
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Posted: Dec 7th 2007 11:35AM Crono141 said

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There is not "Second Life"
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Posted: Dec 7th 2007 11:42AM kinshadow said

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I guess that explains why Second Life is more popular.
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Posted: Dec 7th 2007 2:10PM Korova Pamplona said

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I dont see how Dr. Phil penetrated anything about this girl's psychology or helped her and her family. All he said is:

"She buys pictures on your computer and fantasizes about relationships with a boy for hours a day. Mom you should shut this down!"

WHAT! Is she getting hurt? Is she doing something a normal 13 year old doesnt do?

Just because she is doing it over the internet doesnt make it wrong. I dont see why he recommends withdrawal.
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Posted: Dec 7th 2007 5:26PM Larz said

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"Probably because it is more difficult to engage in cross-species fury S&M tortue sex in real life."

This made absolutely no sense until I realized he meant 'furry'.
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Posted: Dec 7th 2007 10:47AM zsavior said

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LOL this must be the kind of stuff to make Freud spit blood in anger if he was alive and saw it. Nobody read that thing and saw this girls life? Jebus man the cry for help has to be any louder it would crack time and space and rip dimensions.

Posted: Dec 7th 2007 10:47AM (Unverified) said

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So is he arguing that you shouldn't pay for windows or software like adobe photoshop, because with those, all I get are pictures on my screen...

Posted: Dec 8th 2007 10:29AM (Unverified) said

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Stupid, obviously Photoshop is a skill based program, it isn't a game. It is something that you could potentially earn a lot of money using. Yes , you get a picture on a screen, but you also print it out and have it applied to a countless number of formats. Somebody at 13 should not be burying them selves into a virtual world. At that age you learn all of your social skills, how will this girl make it in the real world?

Probably one of the dumbest things I have read in a while. Good job at attempting to be clever.
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Posted: Dec 7th 2007 11:02AM Demon G Sides said

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You can get paid to play video games, so your just a trolling jerk when it comes down to it.
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Posted: Dec 7th 2007 11:19AM (Unverified) said

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I make a good living as a graphic designer using Photoshop.
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Posted: Dec 7th 2007 12:27PM Duke said

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Pretty poor argument. I think you are just mad because Dr. Phil got your girlfriend on tv like that.
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Posted: Dec 7th 2007 12:38PM (Unverified) said

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@Jay
lol? When I was 13 I did nothing but game online, and basically ignored my rl friends, unless they were gaming with me online. I feel the social skills I got from talking (more than 'OMFG HAX ZOMG NOOB HAX')and becoming friends with random people I didn't know in the online world helped me in rl especially in the work environment where working with random people (who sometimes say 'wtf! why did this happen zomg!') I don't know. Online gaming > going to a party and getting drunk/high for learning social skills. Me - 1 You - 0
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Posted: Dec 7th 2007 2:15PM Korova Pamplona said

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@Jay
The girl will grow up into a real world where most of her relationships and communications will be online.

Online games are enriching and safe socializing environments. Much better than hanging out at the mall or in abandoned buildings drinking and smoking.

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Posted: Dec 7th 2007 2:20PM (Unverified) said

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wow tet.

going out ("irl") is always better than playing video games. even video game dorks like us can admit that. video game buddies are not the same as actual friends. and you are probably not better off for having played MMOs as a child.

at least you enjoy your professional life... it sounds very rewarding just like your virtual one.
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Posted: Dec 7th 2007 10:58PM Geist said

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But with Photoshop you get FILTER POWER!
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Posted: Dec 7th 2007 11:00AM (Unverified) said

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wow, Dr. Phil knows his shit.

Posted: Dec 7th 2007 11:03AM CaptainHairy said

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Can any of us really say that we own anything? Isn't it all virtual? Material possessions are fleeting, next to the eternal universe. Also, Dr. Phil sux lol.

Posted: Dec 7th 2007 11:05AM (Unverified) said

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There are no material possessions. There are no virtual possessions. There is no cake.
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Posted: Dec 7th 2007 11:13AM (Unverified) said

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i'm just a material girl living in a material world
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Posted: Dec 7th 2007 11:05AM (Unverified) said

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I think Dr. Phil should do an episode about people who are obsessed with Dr. Phil. Creepy.

Posted: Dec 7th 2007 11:11AM (Unverified) said

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IS Dr. Phil REALLY a Dr.?

Posted: Dec 7th 2007 12:29PM Duke said

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Yes, he's a psychologist, not an M.D.

Thats what my monthly newsletter on him says. (j/k) (...or am I?)
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Posted: Dec 7th 2007 12:44PM (Unverified) said

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He has a Ph.D. in psychology. I think that makes him a Dr.
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Posted: Dec 7th 2007 2:32PM Duke said

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Yes, it makes him a Dr. Note that an MD is a medical doctor, and a PhD is not. (My JD doesn't allow me to practice med either...damn it. :( )
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Posted: Dec 7th 2007 5:31PM (Unverified) said

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"My JD doesn't allow me to practice med either...damn it. :("

thank god.
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Posted: Dec 7th 2007 11:15AM (Unverified) said

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It's not an addiction but an escape. The first thing he should do is discover the temperament of the child/parents and then look at the way they socialize as a family. The MMO is an outward sign of something deeper.

Posted: Dec 7th 2007 12:09PM (Unverified) said

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An addiction is an escape.



"The problem is not with the game; the problem is the use of it,” Dr. Phil tells Lexie and Lezlie. “The game is very creative and it’s there for you to use or abuse. Are you abusing it?”"


I thought that was pretty reasonable from ol Philly.
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Posted: Dec 7th 2007 2:19PM (Unverified) said

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It may seem like a small difference but escapism is different than addiction.
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Posted: Dec 7th 2007 11:17AM easo said

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Dr. Phil is a moron. One of the first things you learn about psychology, is to not attack the person your trying to help. It pushes them away.
I often wonder if Dr. Phil is a philosophiae doctor or a doctor like Dr. Dre. Oh well, at least there's cake.

Posted: Dec 7th 2007 12:52PM (Unverified) said

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What do you expect to see on a television show? Real problems being solved? He wants to push buttons and cause conflict so he'll continue to have a check cut for him.

Anyone who legitimately wants some help would go see a real psychologist, not a faux psychobabble 'celeb'.
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Posted: Dec 7th 2007 11:20AM kinshadow said

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"You pay this money with a credit card, and then you get credit, and then you can use that to buy songs from iTunes," Dr. Phil observes. "The stuff that you're buying, you don't really have anything. You just have a song or something on your computer."

Fixed

Posted: Dec 7th 2007 11:39AM LaughingTarget said

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Which can be burned to a CD and taken anywhere. What can you do with a virtual sofa?
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Posted: Dec 7th 2007 11:42AM Crono141 said

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have a virtual avatar have virtual sex on it.

Duh.

Then you could make virtual tapes of it and then sell them for virtual money.
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Posted: Dec 7th 2007 11:45AM (Unverified) said

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use it to sit on while chatting up a virtual date so you can have virtual sex later on duh!
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Posted: Dec 7th 2007 11:51AM kinshadow said

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I think that was an actual use case mentioned in the show transcript:

“I walked in and found her laying on her virtual bed kissing this boy,” Lezlie says, referring to Lexie's avatar, Brianna.

That sounds like money well spent.
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Posted: Dec 7th 2007 11:58AM (Unverified) said

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No, just...no.

Music in itself is a tangible thing that you take with you as well use in a variety of situations outside of it's digital home.

Drawing parallels between paying for a virtual Persian rug and an mp3 is stupid.
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Posted: Dec 7th 2007 12:08PM kinshadow said

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@d-pad

Your only saying that because the digital entity (music file) is percieved as portable. According to the DMCA and company TOSs, we don't have that right in many circumstances (countries, companies, etc.). iTunes was probably a bad example as they have started selling DRM-free songs, but this is not always the norm. What is the difference between be shackled to a device and listening to a song versus enjoying your virtual couch in a similarly constained setting?

If I were to remove the There "DRM" and make the object portable to Second Life (or WoW or whatever), would my virtual couch suddenly be "tangible"?
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Posted: Dec 7th 2007 2:30PM (Unverified) said

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kin-- music can be used outside of a virtual medium. a virtual couch can't. music can enhance life in a variety of mediums, not just through a computer. furthermore, music enhances these other mediums, and can potentially introduce you to new experiences, like concerts, similar music, meeting people with similar musical tastes--it can even inspire you to become an artist yourself.

a virtual couch isn't tactile the way music is. and it promotes a virtual addiction, which is generally lonely and wasteful, with short, fleeting moments of accomplishment. but hey, if some people want to live their lives online, that's not my problem. go ahead. just don't pretend that MMOs are in the same category as music when it comes to digital media OR real-life enrichment.
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Posted: Dec 7th 2007 2:57PM kinshadow said

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@ GRANTED

The virtual couch can be just as tangible and usable as music. If I take a witty picture / screenshot that has the couch in it, is that not as valuable? If I film a machinima film with the couch, is that not as valuable? If I distibute the works on the internet, do I not have as many as benefit as a concert?

Also, the value of any item is based on the individual consumer and the market. I would be much more likely to buy a $1 "couch" than a $1 Brittney Spears song.

The statement about addiction can be applied to any medium. Music can be just as much of an escape (look at MySpace, music forums, etc.) as a MMO and the people you socialize with are "real" in both cases.
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Posted: Dec 7th 2007 11:41AM Crono141 said

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Now to be fair, we're being a bit harsh on Dr. Phil. And its not like the family was roped into the show against their will. And for as happy-go-lucky that girl seemed, it wouldn't surprise me this was all staged.

But if it wasn't, a 13 year old girl shouldn't spend every waking moment in a virtual world. And if she's acting out at school, and neglecting her chores or RL friends, thats an indication that something else is wrong.

Posted: Dec 7th 2007 2:21PM Korova Pamplona said

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You are probably right. This is just "There" product placement, telling parents its ok for their kids to play There. And if they spend too much time, call the company and shut it off and if they get a boyfriend call him and talk to him and his mom. Just like in the 50's only with internet.

Wow, those advertizers are becoming really clever!
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Posted: Dec 7th 2007 2:29PM Crono141 said

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I meant staged as is "Hey lets make up this sob story so we can get on TV and make 500 bucks" staged, not the corporate "hey lets put this family up on TV so our product gets exposure" staged.
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Posted: Dec 7th 2007 11:41AM UnnDunn said

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