Beem Weeks's Blog - Posts Tagged "false-relationships"
Catfish
How is it that people, in this day and age, can be so gullible as to fall for a complete stranger on the internet? How is it these same gullible suckers will then send their hard-earned money to said stranger?
Stories abound of losers so lonely they'll believe in these internet phantoms promising love, marriage, shared wealth. Sane, sober people will scatch their heads and say, "How can somebody be so foolish?" And yet, stories continue to surface of still another sucker going down for the count.
The problem--as I see it-- is technology. Technology is wonderful inventions that make our time on Earth much easier than it might have been in generations past. With the internet, knowledge of virtually any subject known to man is within reach of our key-tapping fingertips.
As a published author, I rely on this technology to let the world know about my work. But there is a darker side that I see all too often. Technology takes us away from being social people. We no longer write letters to friends and family when a quick email will suffice. Phone calls? What's the need if a fast text message is at hand? And, for many, going out and actually meeting other living human beings face to face is no longer a viable option. They "friend" people online and consider these "relationships" to be equal to the old-fashioned friendships we once cultivated back before Facebook, MySpace, and all those other sites.
Don't misread my words. I'm not saying Facebook and such are bad. Friending people has it's benefits. But there are those sorts of individuals who no longer function in the real world. They search for love on the internet, hoping to find that special someone to share their life with--even if they never actually meet the person.
The Notre Dame football player's story has been all over the news lately. But long before this schmuck fell prey to foolish endeavors, similar stories have filled broadcast news, newspapers, the internet, and a documentary film called Catfish.
It's a shame that some members of the human race are so lacking common-sense genes that they'll easily part with life savings, dignity, reality. And every case that comes to light should stand as a warning to the next befuddled doofus. But it doesn't. "This one is different," the fool says.
I just watched a woman on TV being shown the truth about an online love, being presented with facts of the man's fraud, and still she maintained he's a legitimate fellow with good intentions--even after being relieved of the $150,000 savings she'll never see again. "It's okay. We're in love." Sucker!
I don't pity idiots like this. Stupidity is treatable. I'm living proof of this statement. I committed all sorts of logic-defying lunatic acts in my younger days, alienated loved ones, ruined relationships. But I got better. These people can get better too. Just pay attention to the horror stories in the news, realize there are criminals out there looking for a sucker; don't trust anybody you meet online--or in person, for that matter. Technology makes fraud so much easier than in generations past.
So, as I watch this woman claim her love for a person she's never met before--while sending her savings to said person overseas--I scratch my head once again, wondering, Will they ever learn?
Probably not.
As P.T. Barnum so brilliantly noted: "There's one born every minute."
Stories abound of losers so lonely they'll believe in these internet phantoms promising love, marriage, shared wealth. Sane, sober people will scatch their heads and say, "How can somebody be so foolish?" And yet, stories continue to surface of still another sucker going down for the count.
The problem--as I see it-- is technology. Technology is wonderful inventions that make our time on Earth much easier than it might have been in generations past. With the internet, knowledge of virtually any subject known to man is within reach of our key-tapping fingertips.
As a published author, I rely on this technology to let the world know about my work. But there is a darker side that I see all too often. Technology takes us away from being social people. We no longer write letters to friends and family when a quick email will suffice. Phone calls? What's the need if a fast text message is at hand? And, for many, going out and actually meeting other living human beings face to face is no longer a viable option. They "friend" people online and consider these "relationships" to be equal to the old-fashioned friendships we once cultivated back before Facebook, MySpace, and all those other sites.
Don't misread my words. I'm not saying Facebook and such are bad. Friending people has it's benefits. But there are those sorts of individuals who no longer function in the real world. They search for love on the internet, hoping to find that special someone to share their life with--even if they never actually meet the person.
The Notre Dame football player's story has been all over the news lately. But long before this schmuck fell prey to foolish endeavors, similar stories have filled broadcast news, newspapers, the internet, and a documentary film called Catfish.
It's a shame that some members of the human race are so lacking common-sense genes that they'll easily part with life savings, dignity, reality. And every case that comes to light should stand as a warning to the next befuddled doofus. But it doesn't. "This one is different," the fool says.
I just watched a woman on TV being shown the truth about an online love, being presented with facts of the man's fraud, and still she maintained he's a legitimate fellow with good intentions--even after being relieved of the $150,000 savings she'll never see again. "It's okay. We're in love." Sucker!
I don't pity idiots like this. Stupidity is treatable. I'm living proof of this statement. I committed all sorts of logic-defying lunatic acts in my younger days, alienated loved ones, ruined relationships. But I got better. These people can get better too. Just pay attention to the horror stories in the news, realize there are criminals out there looking for a sucker; don't trust anybody you meet online--or in person, for that matter. Technology makes fraud so much easier than in generations past.
So, as I watch this woman claim her love for a person she's never met before--while sending her savings to said person overseas--I scratch my head once again, wondering, Will they ever learn?
Probably not.
As P.T. Barnum so brilliantly noted: "There's one born every minute."
