Love is pretty neat. Kissing can be fun. A little bit of hanky-panky is alright every now and then. But what about digital love? For $25 per month you can buy a fake boyfriend or girlfriend.
Invisiblegirlfriend.com is a new website that offers a service that could only be described as a symptom of the digital age. Your faux significant other will text you, send you pictures and is convincing enough to get your grandma off your back when she asks if you’re still single for the 10th Thanksgiving dinner in a row.
This service seems like it was the inspiration for the operating system that Joaquin Phoenix fell in love with in Spike Jonze’s movie, “Her.” Although, I have a hard time believing that anybody actually would fall in love with their fake boy/girlfriend.
Whenever he/she (it?) sends a text, you’ll know that that text isn’t from somebody you actually care about. It is from some person, or possibly a team of people, whose job it is to send out all messages. Who knows what other person is getting the exact same message that you received?
If that fake relationship isn’t enough, and you’re looking for something a little more physical, then fear not. According to an article posted on extremetech.com, “Robotic sex partners will become commonplace by 2025.” Pair a sex-bot with a fake girlfriend, and we’re on our way to create a population of people who will never leave their house.
There are already mechanical, lifelike, sex machines; however, as of right now, they are more of a novelty than anything else. They’re mainly rented for bachelor/bachelorette parties and debauched fraternity events. You can buy one as well, although they look like a crash test dummy with a wig on and cost up to $11,000.
We can see this trend of artificial intimacy already happening in Japan, where young professionals are prioritizing their careers and other interests over finding love and having a family. To stave off the loneliness that many Japanese suffer, there are places where men can go and pay to cuddle with a girl for a set amount of time. There are also “ladies’ bars” where women can go to be pampered and served by attractive males.
Because of this trend in Japan, the population is suffering. According to NPR, the number of births in Japan fell to a new low by the end of 2014, so the average age of the Japanese people is slowly growing higher. If this trend does not change, Japan is at risk of eventually fading into nothingness.
Hopefully, we can learn from the social problems of Japan and avoid the potentially culture destroying effects of artificial intimacy.
