Shawn Shinneman can’t help but feel a little sad over the virtual girlfriends available for hire to pump up your Social Media self-esteem.
For the price you might spend on lunch, you can now afford to get yourself a girlfriend.
I suppose there are street corners where that’s always been true.
But this is different. These are $5 virtual girlfriends through a website called GirlfriendHire.com, which allows you to pick through a vast supply of female avatars (lord knows what’s really on the other side of the screen) who promise a range of services aimed at pumping the ol’ self esteem.
Some are simple — big breasted blonde girls who want to be your Facebook girlfriend, and write lovey-dovey posts on your wall (Gizmodo tried it out). Others are delusional of what’s out there on the internet already: “I will bikini pic. Nuff said for $5 … Im blond and tan. So yea.”
And then there are some who just make me sad: “I will make you feel loved for $5. I will keep you company by communicating with you via Facebook/MSN…”
I can’t tell if, as a consumer, making a purchase like that would be better or worse than hitting the street corner. In a way, isn’t it just a 21st century version of the same thing?
Image of Grunge for rent rubber stamp, vector illustration courtesy of Shutterstock