This is the age of addiction.
Think about it. People are pointing to new addictions just about every day. The Internet, now, there’s a real life-stealer. Reality TV shows, wow, just can’t get enough of those dancing stars of yesteryear. Movies. Music. iPads. Videogames. Seems that everybody is up-ending their lives to mainline something or other.
And the obsession du jour? Twilight. Yep, the teen book series turned movie blockbuster saga is now being credited with breaking up marriages and generally ruining the lives of obsessive devotees who can’t seem to get enough of Bella and her two paranormal beaus.
Just as a quick example of the junkie-tastic behavior, a recent Los Angeles Times article told the tale of an obsessed fan mom. She joined over a thousand Twilight diehards who slept outside the Nokia Theater in downtown L.A. for days in hopes of catching a glimpse of one of the movies’ stars at a premier for the pic, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.
Now, if you’re thinking, “Well, that’s not so bad,” let me finish. The 39-year-old woman was interviewed by a reporter and she said: “This is the first time I’ve been this passionate about anything. I’ve read each of the books at least eight or nine times and I’ve watched each of the movies over 300 times apiece.”
The article goes on to discuss others—mainly women ranging in age from tweens to, well, let’s just say old enough to know better—who are consumed by this teen fantasy phenomenon. They’ve got non-stop (read and rereading) book clubs, online advice portals and websites where the impassioned can gather and feed each others’ habit. “It’s like a drug,” the L.A. Times article quoted one fan as saying. “I have to read it or I break down crying. It’s awful … I fear it’s unhealthy.”
Um, yeah, she may be right.
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