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Consider a recent Bruce Willis movie called Surrogates which is set in a futuristic world where humans live in isolation and interact in all that they do through surrogate robots. The main character a cop, (Willis) is forced to leave his home for the first time in years.
Virtual Relationships are those where people connect online but never move the relationship into the real world. They communicate online with no face to face interaction.
Some virtual couples shop together, pick out dogs, go to doctor appointments, even go on virtual vacations or buy homes. It’s like a relationship Monopoly game, or virtual game of Life. The difference is many spend real dollars on these unreal dreams.
Some couples even get married online complete with showers and wedding parties, have and name children. As strange as these sounds, this is true in this crazy mixed up world we live in. For any number of reasons, people settle for relationships without an element of human interaction. They pursue the least possible relationship effort at a minimal cost personally, emotionally and financially.
One user said of her virtual online relationships, “If someone is getting on your nerves or too clingy, just go offline. It’s like having a remote and you push all the buttons. You can turn them off when you want to, like a dream come true without all the hassles of a real relationship. No messy tears, no pleading or begging, just click off and never hear from them again.”
Sounds so utilitarian, hard and callous, but not really that unusual for today’s cultural mindset. Use me, abuse me and then put me out into the cyberspace pasture. Like lyrics to a bad country song or perhaps a bumper sticker? If you get tired of someone, simply look for a ‘new and improved’ version out there somewhere online.
It can happen to anyone. Has it happened to you? What are the game rules? Or are there any rules? Singles, share your comments below as we unpack the implications of Virtual Relationships together.
Click these links or more on online dating, and emotional entanglement. Please know these blogs are not endorsements of any kind. Want to share some of your insights? You can also email me below.
mark@markskalberg.com
