Craving Attention

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Many of us crave attention, some more than others. Overall, that's ok.  We're social beings.  We want to feel special.  We want attention.  However, we hope that most of us know how to get attention in a positive manner.  Negative attention seeking is not so good.

I'm sure many of you have an inkling as to who or what I'm referring to.

Ayup, the 007 Pally or the Dread Roberts Piratadin.

If you are not sure what scandal has fueled my muse on this post, you can find all kinds of posts and talk about it.  Unfortunately, as I do not wish to provide anymore direct attention to the person(s) in question, I am not naming them nor am I linking to them.

As it were, the rest of this post could probably stand on its own without this issue having been brought to light.  I wasn't intending to post on it, but, sometimes your mind fills with things to say.

So here we are.

I will try to have a coherent flow to this post, but no guarantees.  Read at your own risk.

Positive Attention

As I started out saying, lots of us crave attention to varying degrees.  The amount of attention we desire can fluctuate based on moods.  And some people just seem to crave being the center of attention almost all the time.

I can't speak for anyone else, nor am I claiming to, but I like attention.

There I said it.  (Although it's not really a secret, I don't think.)

I play MMOs, I blog, I comment, I tweet, I text, I call people, I pester Sideshow, I visit family, and I socialize at work.  These things generally provide me with a way to seek and receive positive attention. These are also ways that potentially could be used to seek negative attention.  Negative attention often takes the form of fits, lies, tantrums, drama, manipulation, etc., but not necessarily so.

Anonymity

This can be a great way of feeding the need for attention.  You can decide how much or how little anonymity you want here in the interwebz. You can share zero personal information or you can share a lot (but still be careful when you do!).  In WoW and on our blog, I share some personal information while still maintaining a certain degree of anonymity.  I don't think there is a right or wrong amount, it's about how comfortable one feels.

Sure, I don't really post any personal photos here (although, those are my hands on the anniversary post!), but you'll see some in a few months (BlizzCon, baby, BlizzCon).  And oh my goodness, I'm going to let others meet me.  Yet, I will still be able to retain a certain amount of anonymity… and all without lying.

Lying vs. Anonymity

There is a big difference between the two. It's one thing for me to share my real name, the server I play on, my character's name, and the region I live in.  I give some information, but not everything.  But it is quite another to make up information to share about one's “personal life.”

For example, I can tell you I met Godsmack once and I could even exaggerate a little about how cool Sully thought I was (which he didn't because I froze up and was totally uncool… or maybe that made me look cool?)  But it would be quite another thing if I wrote about meeting them and then lied saying I went on their tour bus and am having his love child.

For some odd reason, this whole debacle reminded me of the fake girlfriend auctions on eBay. (Are they still on there? I have no clue.)  A few years ago (more years than I'd like to admit!) while I was in college, somehow or another my roommate and I discovered these auctions for fake girlfriends.

These auctions were aimed at guys who, for one reason or another, needed help getting their friends and/or family off their back about not having a girlfriend.  Winning would provide pictures of said girl, a set number of letters, a set number of phone calls, and a staged break up.  Presumably they were thinking of the stereotypical computer geek.  The whole premise cracked me up.  I mean, c'mon now.  If their family and friends already are on their case for “not getting out,” how likely are they to value an online relationship?  I could only see the outcome after the stage break up as making things worse for them rather than better.

Where was I going with this?

Oh yes, there was lying all around.

Lying about winning a fake girlfriend.  And you know that girl probably wasn't sending real pictures of herself.

It was kinda sad really.  Who really needed the attention? The guy bidding and buying the fake girlfriend's services, or the girl offering to be a fake girlfriend for money?

Get to the Moral Already

Anonymity is fine.

Lying and stealing someone else's photos, posts, and identity to fuel your craving for attention is NOT fine.

(And seriously, couldn't ya find a way to project the “I'm a smexy kitten” image without snagging from another blog repeatedly for years?  Find 1 super cute pic of yourself (or a friend or family member, maybe) and slap it up there and be done with it… if you absolutely feel that it needs to be done.)

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