Thursday, April 06, 2006
Meeting People Online: Creepy, Despite the Hype
Maybe it's all the recent press about politicians and homeland security officials being arrested for soliciting cops posed as teenagers. But communicating with strangers online continues to be a gray area, even though it has reached almost alarming levels of normalcy. If you don't know me and you're reading this blog, don't stop! Post a comment; I'll write you back! Interaction of that kind is fun. Engaging. Cerebral, even.
But I recently started a myspace page, for the purpose of pushing my books and steering traffic to my website. It's very clear from the content of my page that networking is my sole concern. Still, I get these crazy men writing stuff like, "I like slender girls like you. I live in Seattle. You should come visit me." When I don't respond, I get another email: "Oh, I see you're too good to tell people the truth about your feelings. Instead you ignore them. Why did you add me as a friend if you didn't want to get to know me?" Huh?
There's nothing wrong with forging contact with someone whose profile strikes you as interesting. But common sense would dictate that you at least pretend to have some interest in their lives. Slender girls? Come on.
But I recently started a myspace page, for the purpose of pushing my books and steering traffic to my website. It's very clear from the content of my page that networking is my sole concern. Still, I get these crazy men writing stuff like, "I like slender girls like you. I live in Seattle. You should come visit me." When I don't respond, I get another email: "Oh, I see you're too good to tell people the truth about your feelings. Instead you ignore them. Why did you add me as a friend if you didn't want to get to know me?" Huh?
There's nothing wrong with forging contact with someone whose profile strikes you as interesting. But common sense would dictate that you at least pretend to have some interest in their lives. Slender girls? Come on.
