Growing trend towards paying for virtual affection

[Tennis]

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-st...-a7355101.html

A man has told how he spends up to £1,000 a year on mundane 'fake girlfriend' texts - and insists he feels a connection with the woman he's never spoken to.

Ben, a 28-year-old software worker, pays $100 (£81) each month for his favourite Snapchatter to send him photos, messages and emails.

He's one of growing number of people paying for the attention - and nothing more - of minor Snapchat glamour stars.


And while cam sites and raunchy picture exchanges are nothing new, the apparent rise in people paying for basic human attention is rather more unsettling.

Because rather than demanding nude pictures or racy messages, the deal is for Ben's virtual girlfriend to send him the more vanilla and mundane communications - the type that you settle into in a longer term relationship.

"In the morning I could get a Snapchat selfie with 'good morning baby' written on it, later in the day she might message me on Kik (a messaging app) about how her day at work has been. It's not crazy stuff," he told The Independent.

"If she's come down with strep (a throat condition) I'll know about it, if she's got a headache she tells me, and if she's out partying I get Snapchats that no-one else sees.

"There's never really any hot stuff ... for most of the time it's the sort of thing you'd find in any regular relationship."

It isn't a regular relationship, though. Ben, who does not wish to be fully identified, has never had a steady girlfriend ("too busy"), and says the arrangement makes "things feel normal".

It's not all one-way traffic though. Ben sends her messages, too, and as part of the deal they can have occasional text conversations during the day.

He says the closeness makes him feel happy, and he genuinely cares about the part-time model, who has more than 20,000 Twitter followers and a Snapchat following.

The virtual girlfriend business started booming in 2014 with the rise of online firms like Invisible Girlfriend and Dream Lover.

But since then canny women - often low-level models or adult performers with sizeable social media followings - have capitalised.

Ben - who The Independent made contact with via Reddit - said he does not pretend to anyone that he has a girlfriend, and that the messages are only ever seen by him.

"I don't think it's as strange as it first sounds," he added. "It's a connection."

And does he think he's his 'girlfriend's' only guy?

What do you make of this?

It doesn't surprise me at all and I expect this trend to continue in the future as more and more lonely individuals are willing to pay for companionship. Seems like a lucrative market for unscrupulous individuals.

Would you be interested in such a service or have you actually used a service like this already?

[Serpha]

I think font size could be smaller than that, so no one can actually read that.

[Deleted]

http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/...ake+girlfriend

Is it a slow day in shitpost-land?

[shrunken]

I think when you examine the rate at which people start posts on general offtopic forums just pining for some degree of human interaction in their lives, it's not such a leap to imagine that same kind of person eventually paying for the interaction.

It's a shame people like this are easily taken advantage of because they lack self-esteem and are often social cowards.

[Spectral]

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-st...-a7355101.html

What do you make of this?

I don't think it's a "growing trend", I think it's a thing to report on when some journo didn't have much else to do.

It's obviously pathetic though.

[I Push Buttons]

https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video...8OrvrlZhsf.mp4

Japan is way ahead of us in this department.

[Kardagh]

It's a service, and the guy is willingly parting with his money, who is coming to harm?

If it makes him happy, let the guy do it.

Now if only I could find an internet husbando.

[Santti]

Kind of sad, but I guess also understandable. It's only an illusion, but we all want to love and be loved.

Not really relevant, but I'm not sure if I really buy the "too busy" reasoning, though.

[Kraenen]

Some people just have issues socializing that won't be remedied by behavioral therapy, I guess this is a band-aid for their sanity.

[Kardagh]

Kind of sad, but I guess also understandable. It's only an illusion, but we all want to love and be loved.

Not really relevant, but I'm not sure if I really buy the "too busy" reasoning, though.

I don't think it really matters what his reasoning is, either turned off from real women, a hectic and busy work/lifestyle, anxiety issues or anything in the inbetween, yes it's a little sad but the guy is doing something to rectify his feeling of not having contact with people which can't be said for a significant number of people these days.

When you see modern society's expectations of people, I can totally understand why someone would do this over putting themselves into social firing range.

[Tennis]

Some people just have issues socializing that won't be remedied by behavioral therapy, I guess this is a band-aid for their sanity.

I wonder if this is considered part of the underground economy. The person providing such services should at least pay taxes.

[Zandalarian Paladin]

This is such a controversial topic.

It's really hard to say. A lot of places (read: countries) focus more and more on doing a 9 to 5 job, with a huge emphasis on overtime and making their workplace almost feel like a second home.

Once upon a time, the main focus was family. But that changed radically in the past few years. Today, we focus on the individuals and so, the question ought to be asked.

If someone decide to focus on his/her job, should he/she be allowed to have a love life, even if it is not with a real person?

Are emotional bonds limited to physical contacts, or can someone truly be satisfied with a virtual love life?

This question is too complex for me to give a definitive answer. I'm not particularly against, however. If implemented, I think there should be regulations and laws to make sure that it is not being used as an easy moneygrab.

[chazus]

A lot of places (read: countries) focus more and more on doing a 9 to 5 job, with a huge emphasis on overtime and making their workplace almost feel like a second home.

Actually, the trend right now is the opposite. Ten years ago, maybe. Companies were trying to make the office so comfortable that people would spend more time there, or need to spend less time at home, and get less stressed/tired at work.

However just about every major strategic management theory and implementation is moving towards separating home from work, and making people more efficient in the office, and keeping the office out of the home.

[Zandalarian Paladin]

That's really interesting, but one thing this makes me wonder is if these places are trying to make a distinction between people who are in a relationship and people who aren't.

The place where I used to work before leaving for my own company tended to have a lot of "family/work" commodities, yet offered very little to people who weren't in a relationship.

In some way, it's harder to get into a relationship than to get it validated by these monoliths. Perhaps that's where the virtual love comes in.

[Mistame]

Meh, forget "virtual" affection. Just give me a real doll. People that text/call are annoying.

[Tennis]

https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video...8OrvrlZhsf.mp4

Japan is way ahead of us in this department.

What's this item called? I could see it being really successful.

[Kithelle]

I don't know what's worse...this or the million or so losers who pay to sub to a channel on twitch of a girl in a bikini. Probably this because it's a lot more expensive and you get nothing out of it...

[NED funded]

https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video...8OrvrlZhsf.mp4

Japan is way ahead of us in this department.

Two nukes wasn't enough.

[the game]

Just get a fleshlight.

[Lady Dragonheart]

I saw a few videos of a new type of virtual girlfriend/wife system that texts you, calls you, wakes you up, can access your home electronics, and chat with you essentially all the time. It's interface has an interacting hologram which I thought was really neat. Something like that just hit me as really cute, if expensive looking.

- - - Updated - - -

https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video...8OrvrlZhsf.mp4

Japan is way ahead of us in this department.

That's what I saw. It's actually quite cute. I wouldn't mind something like that as a sort of chat companion for the house.