I recently blogged about a NYC
singles event that merges texting with live interaction. The premise is as
follows: if you think someone is cute, you can text their badge number to Cupid’s Lab. If – and only if – that
person likes you too and texts your badge number to Cupid’s
Lab, you both get texts indicating that the other party is attracted to you.
It’s a low-risk way of finding out if the person you’re into is into you, too.
That way, you’re less likely to fear rejection if you approach him or her – if
you haven’t already. (At least, that’s how I read it.)
Granted, Cupid’s Lab has a novel concept here, and
since texting at a bar or club is so common, the behavior required on the part
of users requires no hurdle (beyond wearing a badge, which doesn’t feel so
silly if everyone’s doing it.) But the whole exercise reminds me of high school
(back in the day, when we didn’t text).
Agatha likes Ben. Agatha asks her BFF Cathy to find
out if Ben likes her back. If Cathy asks Ben, “So what do you think about
Agatha?” then Ben will surmise that Agatha likes him. If Agatha finds this too
risky, she can ask Cathy to ask Ben’s buddy Dalton to ask Ben, “Hey, what do
you think of Agatha?” If Ben says, “She’s hot,” Dalton can tell Cathy, who then
tells Agatha. Agatha can then be more forward with Ben, or what have you.
The texting service just cuts out the BFFs and best
buds. Instead of having an IRL (In Real Life) social network (like one has in
high school), the service acts as single node to replace two other people. And
this node only sends out, “S/he likes you” if it gets a positive signal from
both. At one of these Cupid’s Lab parties, if you text someone’s badge number
and get nothing back, you haven’t “lost face,” because the other person doesn’t
know about it if they don’t text your badge number as well.
I’m not one to talk – I’ve never been terribly
confident approaching someone cold, and besides, I’m married – but this new use
of technology seems like a crutch. I mean, if you are attracted to someone at a
gathering, you just go up to them and start a conversation, right? If you’re
old enough to drink, you shouldn’t have to ask your BFF to find out if that guy
thinks you’re cute. You send a clear signal, or you make the first move.
There’s something about relying on an external source – especially when it
comes to the “mating game” – that seems juvenile.
Unless we’re talking about matchmaking. Cupid’s Lab
enables this, too. You can text the badge numbers of two people you think would
hit it off, and they both get a notification that someone thinks they’d make a
good match. In the real world, if you trust someone’s judgment and they match
you up with someone, you’re essentially using them as a social filter. Complex
algorithms used by some online dating sites serve the same function. Out of a
sea of people, they choose people whom they believe will be compatible with
you.
We don’t look for mates in a vacuum. Friends help make
our search easier, either by vetting a potential mate or introducing you to one
of their friends. In the age of text messages and social media, we can now cut
out our trusted associates and rely on technologies that serve basically the
same function.
But should we?
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий
Примечание. Отправлять комментарии могут только участники этого блога.