Some folks still can't live with the online world...
Thursday Feb 12, 2009
Yesterday my wife and I were watching Volt, a lifestyle/talkshow on Flemish national tv. One of the topics was about online dating, and the pros and cons behind finding a partner online. The setup of the discussion was fine: one person from a dating site, and 2 psychologists to talk about the phenomenon.
The introductory film talked about a 27-year old woman who had numerous bad experiences with online dating, and told the audience that she was fed up, and stopped using dating sites. Her testimony might have been valuable, but for the little fact at the end where she was actively promoting a series of after-work parties she was hosting, as an alternative to online dating. Mmm, quite an objective statement here, no?
The 2 psychologists then went on to warn about the dangers of online dating: people being rejected, too much focus on the exterior, too many people not having accurate profiles. One of them even raised his finger to warn about people using online dating to cheat! Oh no, the horror!
But hang on, wait a minute... Doesn't this happen in real life as well? Isn't this a fact of life in many bars, pubs, restaurants, clubs and in any place where people meet one another?
It frustrates me that some folks still are wanting to picture the online world as one bad place, where all these awful things can happen... Sure enough, there are dangers online, but that is not different from "real" life. In fact, to me, the online world and the real world are merging more and more, as I have many interactions online through Facebook and Twitter, amongst others.
To give credit to the producers, they also showed a couple that met online, moved in after a couple of months and is now married, and has 3 children. Just like my wife and me, except for the children.
Bottom line: stop portraying the online world as something alien, it is part of our lives and will be for the rest of them...
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Dear Sirs
May be you can help us to look for bus...