Let thinkingfrog, defender of the meek, tell you a story.
My brother and his girlfriend Mona were walking down Broadway in Manhattan one night when she pointed and said, “Oh look at that cute couple–it’s their first date. I’m sure.” She ran up to them and asked how they had met.
The couple, taken aback, responded, “we met on match.com.”
Mona smiled and said, “Is it going well?”
The couple blushed and nodded.
“That’s my boyfriend,” Mona added. The couple asked Mona whether she had met him on match.com too. “Oh no ,” she replied quickly. “we met like real people.”
This is absurd, everyone. I mean, aren’t you tired of telling your friends you met your recent beau at a coffee shop?
“Yeah, I was reading a book and he just came up and we had the nicest conversation.”
Right. The coffee shop approach, thanks to earbuds, is all but dead. Facebook is iffy and can lead to quick alienation if you hit on the wrong person or ask someone you don’t know to join your pirate adventure. However, internet dating is a growing, vibrant activity. In fact, in 2009, almost 20 million people used some form of online dating.
Perhaps the stigma comes from the money it takes to open an account on the most “legitimate” sites–match.com, eharmony, etc. After all, what are you paying for? The ability to look at strangers’ pictures? Cough, cough, free. Send someone a person message? You can practically fall in the street on your way to Chucky Cheese and receive a new email address.
So, is paying for internet dating a milder form of prostitution? Well, not exactly. Plenty of guys pay to get into lady’s nights--the closest thing we have in American to the running of the bulls. Then where does the stigma lie?
I mean, the idea that the internet is home of the geeks outta be long dead, right? It’s 2009 people. This isn’t the age of Orange Julius and Pog. And even if you feel bad about paying to meet people, consider the cost of buying a girl one drink each Saturday for a month. Tip your barista and, there you go--$30 bucks for some online action. Still don’t want to pay? Crying at night that “I’ve joined environmental groups out the wazoo, knitting circles, and community Yoga–isn’t that enough?” Sure, so hit up okcupid, a free site with more quizzes than you can shake a loaded nacho at.
Feel free to share your own internet dating stories, and good luck.
Sincerely yours,
thinkingfrog, defender of the meek
