There are many opportunities to be of service in Media Addicts Anonymous. We are a young and growing Twelve-Step fellowship, and we encourage you to be part of our mission, which is to help serve others in their recovery from media addiction. Being of service is a basic tenant of Twelve-Step recovery as outlined in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous. Simply put, working with others and carrying the message of recovery enables us to stay sober and be part of the solution.
 
Service can take many forms. Going to MAA meetings is a form of service. Your presence matters, as you are not only there for yourself but also for others who are seeking relief from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body. Typically, there are service opportunities at every MAA meeting. These include being a meeting moderator, tech host, timekeeper, or reader. You may also wish to become a member of an MAA group and attend business meetings to help your group stay strong. As MAA continues to grow, we also need individuals to start new MAA meetings. Please visit this page on our website for information on Starting a New MAA Meeting.
 
Many in MAA, who have participated in our Back-to-Basics Step Studies, take on service as a Back-to-Basics Group Sponsor after they have worked all Twelve Steps of Media Addicts Anonymous and graduated from three consecutive months in Back to Basics themselves. We have found that serving as a Group Sponsor is invaluable to maintaining one’s own media sobriety, while also helping others who are new to recovery from media addiction.
 
Presently, there are also service opportunities outside the meeting level as a General Service Representative (GSR) of an MAA group, on the General Service Board (GSB) of Media Addicts Anonymous, and on the Back-to-Basics Service Board (B2BSB). Below you will find descriptions for each of these service positions, as well as the requirements to take on such service. Anyone who meets the minimum requirements may seek to apply.
 
We thank you for your interest in our fellowship and are grateful that you took the time to visit this page.

MAA General Service Representatives (GSRs)
 

Who we are?

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We are recovering media addicts who have been elected by our home groups to serve as General Service Representatives (GSRs) of Media Addicts Anonymous (MAA). Our position is the critical link between MAA members and the MAA General Service Board (GSB) in that we represent the group conscience of the MAA Fellowship. As such, we are responsible for transmitting the needs and concerns of our groups to the GSB so that the ideas and opinions of individual members can be heard. 

 

What are our goals?

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At this point in history, we serve the MAA fellowship by regularly attending monthly GSR meetings where we meet to voice our groups’ current suggestions to members of the GSB. It is also our responsibility to bring information from the GSB back to our home groups and report it at our monthly meetings. To be effective in this position, we attend our home group regularly, practice the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of MAA, and stay media sober. We also attend our home group’s monthly business meetings where we listen for group conscience in all discussions and decisions. In addition, we participate in, and provide, service to MAA’s Annual Anniversary Event when we can. One day, we hope that MAA will be large enough to follow in the footsteps of Alcoholics Anonymous and hold an Annual Conference at which we can serve as delegates. 

 

How can you help?

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Not every home group has elected a GSR, which means the GSB is not hearing from all the constituents it serves. This impacts the MAA Fellowship as a whole because not all voices are being heard. Doing service helps to stay media sober and being a GSR helps MAA to flourish and grow.

 

Here are the qualifications required:

 

• Be abstinent from alcoholic (bottom-line) media for 90 days 

• Have an MAA sponsor and be working the 12 Steps with that sponsor

• Be an active member of a home group and attend the home group’s business meetings regularly

• Be elected by a home group

• Be committed to the GSR position for one year

• Be willing to serve on general service committees if needed

• Resign from the position if experiencing a relapse

 

If you meet these qualifications and are interested in becoming a General Service Representative, please attend your home group’s business meeting, tell them the importance of having a link between their group and the General Service Board, and ask them to elect you. Once you have been voted in, email GSR.GSBLiaison@gmail.com and ask to be invited to the next monthly GSR meeting.

 
MAA General Service Board (GSB) 
 

Who we are?

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We are a group of recovering media addicts committed to using group conscience to make responsible decisions that serve Media Addicts Anonymous (MAA).  Our hope is to grow MAA’s fellowship by attracting more people who are suffering from media addiction and who are searching for recovery through the Twelve Steps as adapted from Alcoholics Anonymous.  Through our website at www.mediaaddictsanonymous.org, we provide media addicts with information about MAA’s steps, traditions, symptoms, and tools and how to access MAA recovery meetings. We serve as custodians of MAA’s Seventh-Tradition funds and manage the business affairs of the organization.

 

What are our goals?

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We are dedicated to serving the members of Media Addicts Anonymous and providing them with a program that can help them recover from media addiction.  We do this by meeting monthly to discuss how to best support the formation of new MAA meetings, interact with the General Service Representatives in service to their home groups, create recovery literature specific to media addiction, design and revise webpage content, manage Zoom accounts, provide public information and professional outreach, develop federal and state documentation as legally required, review the expenditures of MAA funds, oversee the Back-to-Basics Intergroup, and plan the annual anniversary celebration. 

 

How can you help?

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We are still looking for people willing to serve as Board members.  When the Board is full, we will have 12 sober media-addicted members, 1 sober media-addicted chairperson, and 3 non-media-addicted members from the business community for a total of 16 Trustees.  If you are interested in supporting these efforts, we would be pleased to have you join our team.

 

Here are the qualifications required:

 

• Be abstinent from your alcoholic (bottom-line) media for at least six months 

• Have an MAA sponsor and be an active member of an MAA group  

• Have defined your media abstinence with an MAA sponsor

• Have completed all 12 Steps with an MAA sponsor  

• Maintain ongoing abstinence while serving on the General Service Board (i.e., if in relapse, resign from General Service Board) 

• Commit to serving on the General Service Board for a two-year term

• Regularly attend monthly meetings (currently the second Sunday at 1 pm ET on Zoom) and notify the Board if unable to attend 

• Volunteer to accept a service position within the General Service Board, if one is available, and prepare written reports on that service prior to the monthly meeting 

• Enjoy working with others and being a team member

  

As part of the application process, you will be required to complete a General Service Board application and submit it with a letter of recommendation.  If you are interested in serving, please send your request to join to GSBNominations@gmail.com.

Back-to-Basics Service Board (B2BSB)
 

Who we are?

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We are ordinary recovering media addicts who have completed the 12 Steps through active participation in 3 months of a closed Back-to-Basics Step Study.  Then, to keep our sobriety, we have volunteered to serve by sponsoring newcomers and acting as Group Sponsors for other Back-to-Basics Step Studies for at least 3 months.  This doesn’t mean that we have “arrived”—it just means that we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are media addicts and are just one click away from our active addiction if we don’t continue working the 12 Steps and carrying the message of recovery to those who still suffer.  We know, as leaders, that we need to be even more diligent and seek more support than the people we serve, and we are committed to doing that.

 

What are our goals?

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We are dedicated to ensuring that closed Back-to-Basics Step Studies exist for anyone interested in getting media sober.  This means ensuring that a full description of the program along with a user-friendly application form is available on the website for anyone interested in joining.  Further, we see that application forms are processed and responded to in a timely way, that Back-to-Basics Step Studies have the necessary Group Sponsors for each session with Mentors to support and encourage them, that a well-developed manual is diligently updated and regular orientation workshops are provided to train new Group Sponsors, that Zoom accounts are created and managed so groups can meet regularly, that the scripts that describe how to work the 12 Steps for both open and closed Back-to-Basics meetings are well written and edited, that the homework assignments are clearly identified and accessible on the website, and that the Saturday 2:00 pm ET meeting is coordinated and recorded so that anyone can go to that meeting on the phone, or listen on the website, to hear how people recover from media addiction.

 

How can you help?

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As the saying goes, “It takes a village,” so if you are interested in supporting these efforts, we would be pleased to have you join our team.

 

Here are the qualifications required:

 

• Have participated in a closed Back-to-Basics group for 3 months

• Been a Group Sponsor of a closed Back-to-Basics group for 3 months

• Be media sober and be willing to resign if you lose your sobriety

• Have an MAA Sponsor and be an active member of an MAA group

• Be available to attend a weekly meeting on Fridays at 12:00 pm ET

• Commit to serving on the Back-to-Basics Service Board for two years

• Volunteer to accept a service position on the Back-to-Basics Service Board if available

• Enjoy working with others and being a member of a team

 

If interested in serving on the B2B Service Board, please send your request to join to B2BServiceBoard@gmail.com.