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“I paid $25 for an Invisible Boyfriend, and I think I might be in love”

washingtonpost.com

111–120 of 265 posts

Re: “I paid $25 for an Invisible Boyfriend, and I think I might be in love”

#111
post #6

I found it so wrong... Sentiments are real, I don't think anybody should play with other person feeling... Of course the user signed up, and they think that this is what they want, but I honestly believe that nobody want to risk to fail in love for a nobody...

> "and they think that this is what they want, but I honestly believe that nobody want to risk to fail in love for a nobody..." Wow, that's a whole lot of bullshit right there. That kind of thinking is why we have religion and politics. Men thinking they know what is best for everyone else.

Sorry, as you can see that is just what I believe.

Of course I don't force anybody, it is just my opinion, I believe that I have the right to have an opinion...

Anyway, I would like to suggest you to use a language a little more cordial.

Re: “I paid $25 for an Invisible Boyfriend, and I think I might be in love”

#112

Invisible Girlfriend Monthly Subscription: $24.99/month 100 texts 10 voicemails 1 postcard ... I think 100 texts is a bit low for $24.99/month. The postcard option is very nice, so are the voice mails however. But how do the voice mails work? Will it be the same voice every time?

25 cents for a "culturally and emotionally attuned" response seems fairly reasonable to me. It comes out to something like 100 seconds per response just to match minimum US wage.

It's good for long messages. However, I could see someone go through the 100 SMS very quickly in a "conversation" where the imaginary person has to answer a bunch of short texts like "yes", "and you", etc.

I've tried the free trial, which is 10 SMS and went through them in half an hour or so (and that's because they don't reply very quickly). Haven't even got to the parts that I customized, I was still at "Hello there, how are you!", "Did you have a great day?" "Oh, and your?".

That's 4 SMS a day or so. At this point, I would simply use a chatbot, since they are fine with the basic conversations that I would manage to get to in 4 sms.

I guess you could have two 50 SMS conversations a month, but even then, good luck fooling someone into thinking this is your real lover.

The only plus I can see is that you can have someone tell you "Alright, if she is really your girlfriend, ask her something only your close friends know about you" and "she" would manage to answer.

Not very convinced about the service.

Re: “I paid $25 for an Invisible Boyfriend, and I think I might be in love”

#113
post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The concepts involved in the article are confusing attraction with love. Independently of how arbitrary attraction and love are, there's certainly a difference between them, depth being the divider. With this in mind, the "falling in love" the author is talking about, which may also apply to the crowds using such service, is the equivalent of a teenager "falling in love" with, say, Tom Cruise. Although of course, ser…

I don't even think it is attraction, just a person (like most) who craves additional acknowledgement and attention because it is a powerful feeling. I have seen people go out craving attention and not being satisfied until they have gotten a hit from someone. To me it is the same impulse that has people meticulously manage a facebook profile so they can get kudos from practical strangers.

People are different, maybe provide a little bit of attention to somebody that have never been loved can go a looong way in my humble opinion.

It is just extremely broad as argument.

I personally feel a lot of attraction to people just because the click well with my thoughts, but I know from experience that this is extremely dangerous and difficult to manage.

Re: “I paid $25 for an Invisible Boyfriend, and I think I might be in love”

#114
post #33
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Two people that have had surgery to look beautiful are going to marry, fall in love and start a family. And then be really surprised when their baby comes out fugly.

There is a great urban legend based on that premise that regularly catches out the media. http://www.snopes.com/media/notnews/uglybaby.asp

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2223718/Chinese-man-...

Chinese man sues his wife for being ugly, and the court AGREES... awarding him £75,000

- Jian Feng was confused after his wife gave birth to an 'incredibly ugly' baby

- He accused her of cheating and she admitted to spending £62,000 on plastic surgery

- He then claimed she got him to marry her under false pretenses

(26 October 2012)

Re: “I paid $25 for an Invisible Boyfriend, and I think I might be in love”

#115
post #6

I found it so wrong... Sentiments are real, I don't think anybody should play with other person feeling... Of course the user signed up, and they think that this is what they want, but I honestly believe that nobody want to risk to fail in love for a nobody...

The concepts involved in the article are confusing attraction with love. Independently of how arbitrary attraction and love are, there's certainly a difference between them, depth being the divider. With this in mind, the "falling in love" the author is talking about, which may also apply to the crowds using such service, is the equivalent of a teenager "falling in love" with, say, Tom Cruise. Although of course, ser…

Are you sure about that ? How ?

The author seems old enough to be able to distinguish love and attraction...

I believe that different people have different emotion, keep texting with somebody can be extremely powerful can go a loooong way...

Re: “I paid $25 for an Invisible Boyfriend, and I think I might be in love”

#116
post #59

Not surprised that it works, it looks like something fun to do on both sides. In fact, i believe people who love romance would sign up for a free service like this on both ends. (Since their niche is people who dont want to have the actual relationships, they could easily pair up their users with each other as pure conversation partners). The sad thing is the reason that this app exists. Has it become so taboo to be…

The really sad thing is that by using something (like this) to veil singleness, one cuts off any genuine interest from a genuine person. Few will initiate a date with someone texting their (unbenownst virtual) "significant other".

> one cuts off any genuine interest from a genuine person

Maybe that's the point. Maybe the users of this service are trying to focus on school or work, and are tired of friends and family trying to set them up with significant others.

Re: “I paid $25 for an Invisible Boyfriend, and I think I might be in love”

#117
post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The really sad thing is that by using something (like this) to veil singleness, one cuts off any genuine interest from a genuine person. Few will initiate a date with someone texting their (unbenownst virtual) "significant other".

She doesn't want the unattractive guys to hit on her, so she texts her fake significant other. The fantasy of an attractive guy being her boyfriend is better than a real boyfriend being just a regular guy.

Or maybe it's just a polite way of turning down a guy you're not interested in. Maybe having that instant out is more convenient than having to fight off advances for an hour.

Re: “I paid $25 for an Invisible Boyfriend, and I think I might be in love”

#119
post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The really sad thing is that by using something (like this) to veil singleness, one cuts off any genuine interest from a genuine person. Few will initiate a date with someone texting their (unbenownst virtual) "significant other".

Thats really not how dating works, at all. Competition spurs attraction, not the other way around.

The latter half is true, I think.

But I’d say there’s a significant chunk of folk* who will not hit on people they know are in a relationship. In the first month of your subscription this probably won’t have an effect, but by the sixth month...

----

* This is obviously very cultural - who and where you are can change this a lot in either direction I imagine.

Re: “I paid $25 for an Invisible Boyfriend, and I think I might be in love”

#120
post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's also sad that people are saddened by others not like them. The world would be a lot nicer if we accepted, instead of being saddened.

"Being sad" means exactly that, and does not imply having disdain, disrespect or not accepting someone. I'm just saying that whatever problems these persons have with their lives, I cannot see how this service can be of help in any way. If anything, the problem is with society and social pressure: by conforming to it, and not fight it, you'll end up exacerbating the cause of the problem.

Yes, it will absolutely help the individual while doing nothing to solve the problem (and arguably perpetuating it).

I had a teacher in high-school who was black, and in the first integrated class at a formerly all white school. He said his parents made him do it, he hated it, and he got less of an education than had he been at an all black school because of the controversy surrounding the situation.

Clearly, while it's a good thing in the long-run that the schools were integrated, there is a price to pay for those who take part in the transition.

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