Is it just me or is there a sudden glut of online dating commercials running on our televisions these holidays?
As soon as the lights were snuffed out on Christmas Day, BAM, suddenly I can’t watch a program without a new and allegedly fabulous dating service being rammed down my throat.
Bizarrely, one of the ads doesn’t even feature people. Instead all I saw was an animated man and woman being all smiley and happy on my TV screen.
I was confused.
Aren’t we even pretending to date real people anymore? Or can the site build me the perfect animated man to service my every whim and desire?
And is this just another symptom of our rapidly diminishing ability to relate to and/or meet people without the buffer of technology?
I was so incredulous I forgot to write down the name of the dating service so, if you come across it, please let me know so we can share it with everyone.
In my search for the TV commercial online I came across some other sites that disturbed me just a tad.
Unfortunately, these ones included that derogatory term I detest…the ‘cougar’. Apparently there are all these cougars out there looking for cubs this season…and vice versa.
The mind reels!!!
But really, I suppose it’s no different from the sugar daddy sites, the hook up sites and the sugar momma sites that abound online. They are all advertising the promise of love (short and long-term).
And I guess we are all looking for that, in whatever form suits us.
At least going online means we can be more specific about what we do and don’t want. Although sometimes I wonder if we’re all getting a little too specific about our ‘love requirements’.
Online dating means we fill out a form (or ten) and a computer decides who matches best with whom. And I have to say, based on my previous online dating experience (see http://lucyandlife.com/?s=Eat+and+run&submit=Search), sometimes it all goes terribly wrong.
Does that mean we actually say we want one thing but we really want another? Or is the computer just completely clueless?
I have friends who swear by these dating sites and some of them have now married (or hooked-up) with their online matches. But I remain unconvinced.
And honestly, maybe it’s just the thought of filling out the profile paperwork that turns me off.
How do I make my interests sound interesting to a complete stranger? And what profile picture should I use? Do I want to seem mysterious, sexy or intelligent…or all three of these? Do I want a blonde man, a tall man, an average man or just any man?
Sigh. It’s all a little too exhausting for me to attempt today. Maybe I’ll try again in the New Year.
In the meantime, for all you singletons out there…good luck with your dating adventures in 2013…whatever method suits you.
And don’t forget to steal a kiss from that random stranger standing beside you when the clock strikes 12 tonight.
Happy New Year!!