Feeding an Attention Junkie Only Makes Their Behavior More Extreme

Feeding an Attention Junkie Only Makes Their Behavior More Extreme


There are those who have an unusual need for attention for whatever reason. Without being the focus of attention, they feel empty and alone; instead of learning how heal and fill themselves, they chose behavior that is either outrageous or anti-social as a way to gain attention. But without their enablers who point the fingers and give them the attention, the exhibitionists would have no one to satisfy their needs. Censorship isn’t the answer nor is protesting; both exhibitionist more reasons to become even more outrageous. If you really want to stop the offensive behavior, stop feeding into it.

When Elvis Presley first became popular, on TV they would only show him from the waist up, because his undulating hips were sexually exciting. When he starting coming out with movies, the preachers condemned them and forbad the congregation from seeing them, yet opening night the church members were first in line to buy a ticket. All the hoopla made it exciting and aroused their curiosity. If the preacher had kept his mouth shut or hadn’t made such a fuss, most of them wouldn’t have gone.

Fred Phelps is the pastor of Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka and his congregation has gained national attention for the bigoted and hateful protests of the soldiers’ funerals. However, most of the media is starving the attention vampires by not giving it them the attention they way. Most of the protests are ignored. In spite of their best efforts, their comments about Health Ledger’s death being retribution for the homosexual role that he played barely became a footnote.

About eight years ago, a porno shop moved into town. There were pickets and protest for weeks, trying to prevent from opening. The store couldn’t have bought such great advertising and promotion. The whole of Northern Michigan new where they were and what they sold. The evening news and the protestors did more to enlighten the area children about porno and S &M than the store. The laws suits were filed and lost. The store is still there. All the energy, money and time the protesters spend only helped the store. If they really wanted it to go away, they would stop patronizing it.

I have an active My Space page. I was contacted by someone who was looking to make a sexual connection; she had explicit pictures of herself on the site. Instead of throwing a harry canary, I just denied the connection and went on with my life. Simple. No fuss. No muss. If you don’t feed an attention junkie, they go away. But the bigger deal, the more you satisfy their desires. Just like a shark will hang around the beach where he can get a quick hot lunch, so will exhibitionist seek out people to enable and feed their need for attention. By giving them what they want, protestors and censors enable the behavior and encourage them to be more extreme. Ignore them and they go away.