I was at a bar with one of my housemates when this couple sat on an
adjacent couch and started a conversation. We asked how they met, and
they said on the internet. My immediate response was in the form of
laughter. And then I realized they were serious.
“Oh. Very cool." It was a weak attempt to repair the situation and the couple left soon after, presumably quite offended.
My housemate leaned over. “I dare you to sign up for match.com," he said.
Again,
my immediate response was laughter, but as I lay awake in bed that
night, I started to wonder: is meeting someone on the internet really
that weird?
Think about the day and age in which we live.
Everything is done over the internet – reservations, job applications,
prescription refills, bargain shopping, car buying, high school
diplomas, and, obviously, talking. In a world that revolves around
computers, is it honestly surprising that people use them to meet each
other?
You’d think that after 9 versions of AOL we’d be
habituated to the idea of cyber-strangers. But when couples explain how
they met on the internet, they’re still receiving the same wrinkled
noses and high-pitched questions: seriously?
If the futuristic
idea of creating a child based on the chosen alleles of parents is
being debated, it seems only natural that choosing a mate would become
just as specific: click on the traits you want, and eharmony will do
the rest. The perfect man delivered right to your inbox.
People
go on blind dates all the time. Is this any different? I suppose it is
if you have a mutual friend who can vouch for the person’s normalness,
but friends are biased, especially old friends, which means there’s
still a chance the other person is nuts. And there’s always the chance
that you don’t mesh at all. At least eharmony is preventing that from
happening to some extent. At least he’ll be your ideal height. Or love
your taste in music.
And how is meeting someone via the web
different from asking out a stranger in a coffee shop? In both cases
you know nothing more than their physical appearance.
The
common reservation people seem to have is based on the stereotype that
the only people using the internet to find dates are those who are
consistently rejected in real life. But remember that the average
working person spends up to 8 hours on the internet per day. This makes
me think that perhaps it’s more of a natural progression rather than an
issue of rejection.
Perhaps match.com is the modern version of
sitting on a park bench and waiting for the perfect stranger to sit and
share a bag of birdseed or good conversation.
And these days,
what are our other options? Going to a club and hoping the next guy who
puts his crotch on your ass will want a meaningful relationship?
Suddenly, I’m not so sure.
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