by Jack Parkinson.
Online dating seems to be shedding its taboo status in recent years; people are completely shameless in their pursuit of happiness. Advertisements for Match.com and the like are saturating television screens across the country. Despite the boom in online dating, there must be some experiences that put people off it forever. And yes, there are, one of which happened to myself in the mid winter of 2006, at the tender age of 18.
MySpace had been a cultural phenomenon, the first social networking website to accumulate an astronomical number of members. I had just signed up, and within a few days I had been added by a delightful looking creature. She added me, as she “liked my pictures”. The only picture I had of her however was the small thumbnail that graced her profile screen, and a very elegant picture it was: brunette, shocking blue eyes and a voluptuous curvature of the lips; this picture alone was justification for talking to her.
Over the course of a year we chatted online and still this was the only picture that kept me going. Our conversation was healthy, and we very much enjoyed each other’s digital company. There does however come a time when this alone is not sufficient, and the next step needed to be taken.
She invited me to her house, a very forward invitation I know, but I accepted. Winter can be a very lonely time for a young single man; this effectively quashed any negative thoughts that arose from my conscience. I had never met this girl before in my life, or even heard her voice. Unluckily for me, my shameless desperation succeeded.