BOY meets girl. Girl leaves boy, five months later. It dawned on the guy that it was bye-bye love when a friend told him that the girl had updated her online profile in MySpace, reverting her status to “single” from “in a relationship”.
Weird, but it's a true account which was reported here recently.
Talk is cheap when technology is available at your fingertips, so some people prefer to bid adieu on websites or even proclaim divorce through SMS, ala Malaysian style.
But it is still a cruel way to end a relationship,” said high school student Darla De Vito, 15.
The teenager was relaxing in a Brooklyn park with her friend Kathie Freeman, also 15, when the subject was brought up to them.
Both girls have much to share about sites such as MySpace, Friendster and Facebook which provide a large social network for people out there.
“It's a great way to meet new friends. My mom allows me to get into it, but she did ask me to be careful,” Darla said.
Love and relationships never go out of style, even in fast-moving New York. The respectable The New York Times gets into the act every Sunday by featuring marriage announcements and pictures of the couples.
Example: “Lisa Sidman, daughter of Carol and David Sidman of New Jersey, was married last evening to Daniel Sanchez, the son of Beth and Nestor Sanchez of Illinois. Ms Sidman, 27, is keeping her name.” It would also contain details of where they work and how they met.
Same sex couples would have “affirmed their partnership” sort of line.
Another newspaper would feature announcements that would describe the wedding gown, the honeymoon destination and the number of bridesmaids.
On cyberspace, there is a site for New Yorkers who want to contact someone whom they spot on the street or the subway in what they called a “missed connection”. (You walk by my house four times a day and I always enjoy the view. Cute dog, too. Mind if I join you for the walk sometime?)
Other dating websites put up TV advertisements exhorting viewers to sign up with them.
One matchmaking site promised to give refunds if you do not find somebody special within six months.
“Where are all the single people in New York?” one TV commercial of a hook-up site asked. “Call the number on the screen now!”
Rachel A. Sussman, a New York-based marriage and family therapist, said: “These sites are popular because they are easy. They allow dating in the privacy of your own home.
“For people who are shy, or who don't have access to meeting a lot of new people, they are a great resource.”
A psychologist and author who had appeared on Oprah and numerous talk shows, Dr Diana Kirschner, believed that more people were turning to MySpace because it allowed them to gather a wealth of information about another person very quickly. (MySpace has about 100 million registered users).
“You can see photos, videos, read about their life and thoughts, and see who they attract as friends,” she said in an e-mail interview.
Online dating, according to this love expert, was a fabulous way to connect with other singles.
“It gives people an opportunity to meet many more possible partners than they could ever meet in their regular day-to-day lives,” she said.
Here, daily TV programmes dish out cures about cheating fiancés or ways to fix your social life.
One of the newest shows which made its debut last week was hosted by Greg Behrendt, previously a consultant for the Sex and the City series.
Remember the episode when the character Miranda wondered why a date did not go her way, and was told “he's just not that into you”?
Well, Behrendt is the man behind the now famous phrase which led to a bestselling book.
Love is a big business when the singles want to mingle.
(Sunday September 24, 2006)
