The Personal Ad

We interrupt your cyber perusing to bring this special update. We enter the scene mid conversation - Lindsey and myself are talking about finding the "ideal" partner...

Lindsey: If only I could find a nice Americanized Indian boy, but one who could still cook yummy authentic Indian food.

Me: Why don't you just take out a personal ad?

Lindsey: ::pauses:: Because that is a quick road to sexual assault, Meg.

Me: good point.

Lindsey: and I don't want to date anyone who would take out a personal ad, and I don't want to date anyone who would date anyone who would have a personal ad.

Scene II:
the evolution of the personal ad.
Once upon a time, personal ads were limited to small blocks of text in the classified section of your daily newspaper. (Or was it just the Sunday paper?)

Anyway, the point is that Facebook and Myspace pages ARE a type of personal advertisement - and almost everyone has at least one. We add photos, cite our favorite movies and music and what we like to do. We allow others to "browse" us. This isn't always done to entice possible romantic relationships, but it is done to establish our presence, putting our best face forward in a way that we hope others will find attractive in some way or another.

Anonymity is still preserved in some forms such as the "Truth Box" on Myspace and the "Honesty Box" on Facebook, allowing us to say things we would never say to that person's face, or even to gauge a reaction for something we really wish we could say but think it is inappropriate or maybe we are just too scared.

Sure, the standard "personal ad" is a bit creepy. Some would even argue the same for matchmaking websites such as eHarmony and Match.com. But take a look at your personal networking sites. How much information is listed? Could some super creepy cyber stalker physically find you if they wanted to, based on your profile and links?

Exactly.

You just got BROWSE'D.


Thank you ladies and gentlemen, and goodnight!