My Guilty Pleasure
I recently read an article written by a young female journalist writing for "Today" about how she found a life on Craigslist. In the article, she goes in depth about how she was able to find jobs, apartments, furniture and even eventually, a man. Her early success in finding these things led to a Craigslist-perusing obsession and she was constantly on the Website, voicing her opinions on the discussion boards and buying a bunch of crap she didn't need from whom ever was selling it.
What stood out to me in all of this was the "finding a boyfriend on Craigslist" part. Apparently, she began cruising the "Platonic" section of the Website looking for friends when she first moved to New York, and that's how she met her current beau. This intrigued me because I, like her, have pretty much found the big, important things, like a job and an apartment, on Craigslist.
So it got me thinking, can you really find a girlfriend/boyfriend on Craigslist?
The fact of the matter is, I would never have the guts to post an ad in the Platonic section or otherwise. I'm a firm believer in face to face meetings...hell, even the thought of a blind date makes me queezy.
But just out of curiosity, I started looking looking at these ads. At first when I looked at the Men Seeking Women section, I was horrified at some of the ads that I found. Some of them were incredibly derogatory. But the more I began to look at the ads in all the sections, I realized it was a lot like slowing down to look at a car crash: you know it's wrong, but you can't help but look. And for the most part, the people who have pictures accompanying the ads look pretty normal.
It says something to me about loneliness. Looking at some of the ads, I couldn't help but feel bad. Some of them just seemed like they wanted a friend to talk to (that could be me being naive). But these ads also say something about advertising yourself; whether your saying "I can make a great friend," "I can make a great boyfriend/girlfriend" or "I can make a great lover." And I might be a prude for saying this, but the fact that someone can advertise their search for a friend, etc. the same way they can advertise for a job or a piece of furniture is astounding to me.
Still, I will continue to look through the ads with that same mixture of horror and curiosity, all the while feeling guilty....
What stood out to me in all of this was the "finding a boyfriend on Craigslist" part. Apparently, she began cruising the "Platonic" section of the Website looking for friends when she first moved to New York, and that's how she met her current beau. This intrigued me because I, like her, have pretty much found the big, important things, like a job and an apartment, on Craigslist.
So it got me thinking, can you really find a girlfriend/boyfriend on Craigslist?
The fact of the matter is, I would never have the guts to post an ad in the Platonic section or otherwise. I'm a firm believer in face to face meetings...hell, even the thought of a blind date makes me queezy.
But just out of curiosity, I started looking looking at these ads. At first when I looked at the Men Seeking Women section, I was horrified at some of the ads that I found. Some of them were incredibly derogatory. But the more I began to look at the ads in all the sections, I realized it was a lot like slowing down to look at a car crash: you know it's wrong, but you can't help but look. And for the most part, the people who have pictures accompanying the ads look pretty normal.
It says something to me about loneliness. Looking at some of the ads, I couldn't help but feel bad. Some of them just seemed like they wanted a friend to talk to (that could be me being naive). But these ads also say something about advertising yourself; whether your saying "I can make a great friend," "I can make a great boyfriend/girlfriend" or "I can make a great lover." And I might be a prude for saying this, but the fact that someone can advertise their search for a friend, etc. the same way they can advertise for a job or a piece of furniture is astounding to me.
Still, I will continue to look through the ads with that same mixture of horror and curiosity, all the while feeling guilty....
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