Shit Going On In The World, technology
Cupidtino, The Awful New Dating Website For Lovers Of Apple Products
Amy Rose Spiegel :: Wednesday, May 5th, 2010 3:00 pm
Do you base your entire personality on the fact that you own the same popular, expensive technology as most of the people around you? Well, luckily for you, there’s finally a dating website that can bring you together with singles just as bland as you are! Cupidtino, a dating website that will launch in June 2010, is a “beautiful new dating site created for fans of Apple products by fans of Apple products!” This raises a few interesting questions. What does this say about the extent to which Apple has invaded our culture? Could this website even work without quickly devolving into a gold-diggers’ paradise? How can a dating website even be “beautiful?” And last but not least, what?
Cupidtino would be awesome if it were a postmodern joke. It’s as though some satirist decided to skewer the way modern people meet, flirt, and date through the Internet by focusing on the technological aspect as much as the “romance.”
Unfortunately, I think that the founders are sincere in their belief that a common affinity for MacBooks is enough to build a relationship on. From the website: “Diehard Mac & Apple fans often have a lot in common - personalities, creative professions, a similar sense of style and aesthetics, taste, and of course a love for technology.” (For the record, the emphasis on “taste” is all theirs.)
Somehow, I don’t think that this logic works too well. Roughly 100% of my peers have either a MacBook, an iPod, or an iPhone and all that many of them have in common is their age group. I haven’t yet seen any of them making doe eyes at someone else just because they’re also sporting those ubiquitous white earbuds.
No matter how badly Apple tries to goad us into thinking that declaring “I’m a Mac” lends you a special air of individuality, technology is one of the most impersonal things you can purchase. Sure, you can customize an electronic device after you buy it, but how much can really be said about you by your “apps?” (By the way, can we please get rid of that term? When I hear it, I know I’m either being shown something boring on someone’s phone or I’m at TGI Friday’s for some reason, and either way, I ain’t happy.) If you think that the answer to that question is “well, probably a lot,” then I guess Cupidtino is perfect for your boring ass.
It makes me a little sick to my stomach that the whole premise of this dating website is based around the idea that what you buy dictates your personality and not vice versa. If you’re considering using Cupidtino, you deserve to be single. No one should have to suffer the debilitating lack of personality that you feebly try to mask by compulsively purchasing pricey minimalist technology. Just because the design of your mp3 player is cool, doesn’t mean you are! Get a hobby that isn’t based around consumerism and maybe you won’t have to rely on marginalized dating websites to find a companion.
WOW, First off, why such a hater? What is so wrong about having a website that connects willing participants to others who share their interests?
Who cares if it is a consumer product, it doesn’t matter, it is bringing people together.
If you LET any consumer product define you, thats on you, not the company.
Second, you need to do some research on Apple culture. You will find a legacy of people that truly love their computers, meet each other annually and form deep relationships. This is nothing new. You must love the culture, not the company.
You can argue that technology is one of the MOST personal things you can buy. Your smart phone knows every detail of your life, and everyone uses the technology in different ways. Its like saying paintbrushes are impersonal. They are, but what you create with it is intensely intimate.
Poor rant. -50DKP
Posted by: DirkDerpler May 5th, 2010 at 4:32 pm
Essentially, the purpose of a cell phone is to make calls and send the occasional text message. Smart phones are as far from paintbrushes as they are from being a rational platform on which to build a romantic relationship. It’s fine to have an interest in technology. What’s not fine is aligning your identity so completely with one brand that you’re seeking a partner on the lone criterion that they buy the same products that you do. Frankly, I think it’s a little insane that our culture is so eager to have our technology be/do everything for us that some people are now looking to view the simple fact of possessing it as attractive. Yuck.
Posted by: Amy Rose Spiegel May 5th, 2010 at 5:29 pm
Ah, Dirk, how completely you supported the author’s point! Guess what…your smart phone does NOT know every detail of your life. It’s a computer! It doesn’t know you at all! Your phone could fall into my hot little hands, and it wouldn’t recognize that its previous owner had taken that long walk off the proverbial short pier! If you want to be intimate with a technological hand held convenience item, I suggest you pass by Apple and head to Fredericks. Dirk’s idea is similar to the blonde chick who will only date the guy who drives a Porsche, and he only dates blonde chicks. I guess they just deserve each other.
Posted by: Mother of Invention May 5th, 2010 at 5:35 pm
My point is, who are you to judge anyone for meeting people in any way.
PS: wtf is fredericks
Posted by: DirkDerpler May 5th, 2010 at 5:56 pm
I’m not sure whats more pretentious: the tone of this article or the Apple fanboys it attempts to ridicule.
Posted by: CountZachula May 5th, 2010 at 6:33 pm
what is the matter with just meeting someone in person, looking across a room making eye contact, getting that “funny” feeling in your stomach…hoping that person will come over etc etc etc technology is wonderful but un fortunately alot of people have lost “person to person” skills such as talking,laughing, just getting to know each other the old fashion way.
sorry i ran on amy rose. I love your writing and your subject matter, keep it up girl.
Posted by: Peggy Hughes May 6th, 2010 at 2:05 pm