Regression?

A few months ago I signed up for the internet, and started this blog. Then, something interesting happened. I received in my email an ad for something called "speed date". Curious, I took a look at it, then moved on and forgot about it. But that wasn't the end of it.

A day or so later a pop up appeared on my screen, featuring a picture of a lady, and an instant message box right next to her. On top of the pop up the message said something like "Mary from Dallas is online now! Say hello to her!"  Curious, I did exactly that. Within a few seconds the box gave me a message from "Mary", and she said hello right back at me! In the lower part of the box was a timer, counting down from five minutes. So Mary and I exchanged casual comments for five minutes, our time ran out, and she was gone. And I thought "so much for that."

But it wasn't over. In fact, it had just begun. Lady after lady popped up on my screen, and some of them initiated the conversation, while most didn't. I gave it another try, and sure enough, had another five minute conversation.

Meanwhile, I kept getting ads from "speed date", offering me unlimited access to online dates for a bargain basement monthly fee. It occured to me that since I was already being sent speed dates while paying nothing, I might as well save my money. I assumed speed date would simply vanish, since I hadn't signed up for it. But it didn't vanish. The ladies just kept coming, and coming, in such great numbers that I was hardly able to keep up with them. Every time the pop up box told me their first name, location, and age. Sometimes it included a picture of them, and a profile. Some of them had only the profile, and no pictures.

I started wondering why it didn't stop, and I also started to wonder why anyone would pay for the service, since it seemed to be available for free. Monthy payments apparantly gave the subscriber more than five minutes per date, but I didn't think I needed more time, since, after all, they were all people who lived a good distance from me, though most of them were within two or three hundred miles.

The dates still keep coming, from all kindsa folks, all ages, all locations. Usually I dont' respond to them, because, a litle bit of speed date goes a long way.

Having noticed that chat rooms are seemingly becoming extinct, I figured that businesses like speed date and facebook have replaced the chats. I remember how volatile and argumentative the old chat rooms were, and I suppose their replacement is a good thing. Maybe people just got tired of all the chat room intrigue, drama, and fighting, and opted out of group gatherings, in favor of one on one contact.

Facebook apparently provides a good balance, giving people access to many other people, but one at a time, instead of all being in the same box at the same time.

I wonder whether the citizenry will eventually tire of this, and return to neighborhood gatherings, at the coffee shop, at the community center, in real time, and real space.