Today, Ikki's Isle brings you an exclusively hosted entry regarding Bionicle, life, and all those big things -- brought to you by your friendly neighbourhood TILIUS!

This message was partially inspired by this topic. But being a 'Bioholic', as it is so innocently put, is in reality a major issue for some members, and you could be one of these members without realizing. Also, before I begin, I should point out that this is not a flaming of members or anything of the sort. It's intended to be helpful. I'm not saying that you should be this way. I'm just suggesting, if you match the specified criteria, that you may want to take into account some points raised. If you don't want to, then that is absolutely fine. If you're under 13, I'd say you can ignore all this.

Additionally, I really want people to properly think about the points I'm about to bring up. For your benefit, don't disregard information here and take it as simply being insulting. That is not the point here - the point here is to really think about where your life is, where it's going, how you are as a person, and how Bionicle affects this.

Of course, a small 'slice' of Bionicle is fine. But this is about it getting out of hand, as it has done for myself and at least one other member.

Thing is, Bionicle is something of an 'addiction'. It's obviously not as fatal as proper addictions, but it can in fact hinder your personality, social skills and general step into adulthood.

A sign of being addicted, is that you may have bought sets recently, and after constructing them being somewhat disappointed with your purchase. Fair enough. But then, you go out and you buy another set anyway. And again, are disappointed. It sounds stupid, but you may even feel somewhat depressed. Thing is, over the past however many years of collecting, it's second nature to buy sets. They've most likely been a massive part of your life for a few years. You may think 'Oh, I have every set so far, I can't just stop my collecting, even if I'm disappointed/depressed after buying sets.'. This is not a good attitude, and it is one that I myself have felt over the past few months.

You may also enjoy the MoCing side of Bionicle, and buy sets for pieces. But ask yourself, do you ever actually use these pieces? Have you actually used those Matoran pieces more than once? If the answer to this is no, then similarly, you are 'addicted' to Bionicle. And not in a 'Hehe I'm MAD about Bionicle!' way. In a 'I feel depressed and inferior to those around me. I have no money, and everytime I buy a set I feel down' way. Which is obviously not a good feeling, and it happens a surprising amount. It's a pretty painful feeling, but half of you can't stop yourself from buying sets - as I've said, they've been a big part of your life, and it's difficult to really move on, and become like those around you.

And by 'being like those around you', I don't mean being a stereotype. I don't mean that at all. You can be yourself, but there's 'being yourself' and there's being unlike everyone else in a bad way. You need to get the balance - you need to fit in to get your social skills up, and improve yourself generally (in areas of fitness, having a positive personality etc).

If you're spending most of your time on BZP or other Bionicle related forums (and I mean 3+ hours a day), it may be time to really think about what you're doing. The huge amount of people your age who share your interest may blur your vision of reality. 35000 is a large number of members for a forum, but not for the rest of the world - you're a minority, and if thats getting to you in the ways I've mentioned, then it may be time to change your ways.

If you're happy with how you are, balancing BZP and life and are perfectly happy, having lots of friends, are not overweight, are intelligent (though not in a pompous nerdy way) then there's no real problem. Keep going how you are. This is all just for those who have a feeling that they may have a problem, an addiction of sorts.

Another factor is the 'double life' aspect of the internet and real life. On BZP, you have a username, hiding who you are. I'm not saying change your name to you real name and such, that'd breach privacy (though that said, all this is advice to those who want it, not instruction). But make sure you are the same person online as you are in real life - preferably a positive and friendly person. I spent most of my time on BZP building up some false persona, trying to seem as some sort of 'hero' and trying (and admittently failing) to get respect from members. All this was ruining who I really was. I started to get somewhat wound up about pathetic things, such as people spamming or posting leaked set images...stupid stuff to get wound up about. This is a forum. It's not politics, it's a place to talk to people, it's not worth getting wound up about if a member is annoying you. Heck, it's not worth getting wound up about a set that has a very basic or repetitive build, or if the pieces are out of proportion to the older sets, or if the set quality has majorly gone down. At the end of the day, it's a toy. For children. Its the addictive side of you that's making you care - yeah, alright, it's a big part of your life, and for you its gone downhill. It doesn't matter, 'cause it's a toy. It's not the end of the world. You have to move on, either in the ways I've suggested, or simply moving on to similar things you do like (I suggest Lego Star Wars personally. =P That's another thing - you can still have a fondness of Lego, just don't go buying sets if they just sit there and don't get touched for months and are making you in any way unhappy). As a friend said, "You'll have as much fun with sets in your head as you would if you were to buy them".

I cannot stress enough that this is NOT an insult, or criticizm of every member. This is intended to be helpful for those who feel the desire to change their lives and move on. If you find it offensive, or just don't want to pay any attention to it, then that is absolutely fine. =)

So, what can you do to change your ways, should you desire? One helpful thing is to take any idolization of high-profile members, and instead apply it to someone you know in person, and see regularly, who is a popular and all-round positive person, and that obviously you like ('cause nobody wants to be something they don't like). In situations, such as when you're considering spending a massive amount of money on a set, think "What would they do?". If they'd probably spend it on DVDs or games, for instance, then perhaps go out and get one or more of them. You're less likely to feel depressed afterwards, as you're buying something that people your age 'normally' buy.

There are also other things you can do, which need little explanation, but you can always try to encorperate them into your life if you think it'd be benefitial to you:

- Excercise (choose something you enjoy and can do. If you can't think of anything, then try stuff out until you're happy.)

- Get a job (improves people skills, confidence, and of course gives you a bit of money at the same time)

- Join a club (anything that interests you. Book club, tennis club - doesn't matter, just get out there and meet people.

- Cut down your internet time (do the essentials, but there's no need to hang around for hours on BZP to see new posts. Just check back every 2-3 hours, until gradually you can go for longer without having a desire to check posts. It's not good for the soul - you're spending all your time inside, alone, when you could be out there with friends or doing something truely useful (like catching up with homework - it'll take the stress off))

- Probably the most important is to make an effort to throw yourself outside your comfort zone.

This last one can really boost confidence and popularity. Maybe become a sports captain at your school/club or something. I stood for the school council elections, which involved making a speech to the whole school. I was nervous on the day - my speech seemed short, the jokes that seemed funny to me at the time no longer seemed amusing. Then it came to be my turn, I stood up, and thought to myself 'Just CANE it.'. I was still shaking as I said my speech, but I managed to make it feel and sound improvised, and the jokes worked, and most agreed that my speech was the most entertaining. Then I won the overall election. I'd never done anything like that before, never even dreamed of it, and I'd come out on top.

THAT is the effect that getting over your Bionicle 'addiction' and generally improving yourself. I'd say it's worth it - I feel much happier now than I did when I spent all my nights online, talking and trying to impress people with my false persona. Looking back on my posts, I can see how awful I was to people, and how pathetic my attempts at attention and 'glory' were. It's much more satisfying to get proper respect from those who matter, those who you are around every day of your teenage life.

Again, this is certainly no insult to you all, I'm simply happy with the success I've had after quitting Bionicle, and want to help other people acheive the same. Yeah, I still glance at the Lego section as I pass through Woolworths, but I never properly considering buying a set. Most of that is behind me now, and, in my view, life is so much better because of it.

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Thought out and written by Old Guard Tilius, hosted by blog manager Cap'n Ikki. Please share and enjoy!

-Ikk