Welcome to Gaia! ::

What are you trying to do here, start a riot of opposing opinions here on the couch as well as over there? Good grief, girl - you sure do know how to pick 'em!

First off, I think you should add another non-polarized option or two in your poll. This is not a black and white issue!!

This is a difficult topic and yes I think it's reality TV gone too far, but I also believe there is power in knowledge and sometimes scare tactics are necessary. However, to put this kind of material before the average public may not be the wisest choice... I can see how some folks would be upset over this. *I* would not be happy finding this on the TV during primetime...

You have your opinion. But I honestly wouldn't expect many more on such a topic.

No not a riot!

I just thought it would be interesting to have a discussion about a topic a bit more serious than something site related. smile

Seeing other people's thoughts and opinions on things like this help you to shape them in your mind when you have only met them online.

I changed the poll so that it covers the whole topic of reality tv, rather than just this one show.

And if people don't comment, then I will be slightly disappointed. Its a topic that everyone is talking about and one most people can have an opinion on, without having to go and do some in depth research.

smile

i believe that we are all mature adults here...and i dont mind the topic myself....dont get me wrong..there are a few reality type shows that i like..and there are others that tend to get out of hand....way out of hand....so thanks for posting it cause i would like to know what other purkles think on the subject 3nodding

dont ever feel scared to post something...i mean..i enjoy new topics that will show all opinions of us....it lets us learn more about each other...we all must always remember that not everyone has the same beliefs and it is good to learn more about the people we hang with... 3nodding

As a person who spends ALOT of time at the computer with Reality TV playing in the back ground, I guess I can only say it would be hard to surprise me anymore.
Some of them *may* serve a benefit in some obscure way, but I will be the first to admit they are mostly (on some level) a source of pure entertainment whose value is up for debate.
That sounds like one I would watch at least in the beginning to size it up.

No I know I don't mind the note. smile

Well I watched the first episode last night. They had made a purpose built centre just outside the proper detox centre.

The people had arrived the day before and had been heavily sedated so that the first day wouldn't be as bad as it could have been.

We then saw their stories and they were quite shocking. There was one woman who was smoking heroine in the bathroom while her kids were standing outside needing to use the bathroom.

Then we saw the nurses search through the patients things, and they found some 'interesting' items.

After that it was more talk and then seeing the patients go through a couple of bad patches.

Having seen it, I think it could be used as a teaching tool in high schools. A way to show kids what they will have to go through if they start using drugs. And for those kids who are already using drugs who don't want to go through that then they can see how the people were living. Not a happy prospect.

It is great to see the posts on the thread for such a potentially volatile topic.

I tend to agree with some of the opinions previously stated: that this may have a role for specific groups of people (ie: kids/adults already on that path or headed that way - as a scare tactic or as a learning tool), but that for the general public, it is probably more than we (generalized "we") need to be exposed to. Precautions should also, IMHO, be taken to insulate certain groups (ie: young children) against happening upon such things while scrolling through the channels. This is not a TV topic I would view, but I also generally object to so-called "reality TV" on a variety of levels.

I would like to see this show and see how they portray drugs and drug life. Every form of media is partially bias with what they choose to show, including the news.

I think there is something to be learned from every aspect of reality, no matter how gruesome or harsh. And I understand that for the viewer, everybody is different and can handle different amounts of things. My parents never censored what Jenni and I saw as kids, but they talked about it with us. We plan to do the same with our kids.

And I remember in school, they would bring in actual drug addicts to talk to us about their experiences, and it really helped us learn why that may not be the smartest path to take. I can only see the same thing happening with a show like this, no matter what age sees it.. that they'll learn the BADS of drugs, which I'm guessing was the intention of those who produced it.

Oh, as a slight side, I remember in 3rd grade, a particular drug talk that really impacted me. The speaker showed on the chalkboard how a drug makes you feel better than normal (he drew a line and then made a kind of graph) but then when you came down from the high, you were LOWER than normal. Then the next time you took it, you went high, but not AS high, and when you came down, you were even LOWER. And on and on until you were just needing the drug to feel NORMAL again. The same normal you felt before ever TRYING it, and now at what expense? He showed that after a day, then a week, then a month, then a year, then five years, or whatever of this drug habit, how the money you sank into drugs would have afforded you a new tv, and then a car, and then eventually your own 747 jet plane. Whatever I learned as a kid stuck because I've never even wanted to TRY any drug.

(Jason's dad used to run a methadone clinic too, and I saw the people who went in and out of there...) neutral