It's official!

It's official!
David Stubbs Photography

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Feeling Lonely? Why Not Rent-A-Friend?

I get daily e-mails showing me the best deals in Chicago, because I'm determined to not pay full price for anything. As I was perusing one the other day, I noticed all the usual suspects like "50% of body waxing" (I hope they do upper lips!) 40% off food at some hole-in-the-wall restaurant, and then I saw one I wasn't expecting...
Rentafriend.com- Traveling and don't want to see the sights alone? Rent-a-friend with a 1-year membership for $33! (Normally $69.95)


Um, what?

Courtesy: Bitterwallet.com
So I googled this, and found out there really is a company called Rent a friend, where you do just that...you pay someone to go to dinner with you or a ball game- one lady even paid someone to come over and scrap book with her (I'm guessing she owns a lot of cats.) The website stresses it's not a dating or escort service, it's just a place to find friends.

MSNBC did a piece on this and interviewed a social neuroscience researcher who thought it might be a good idea, but says it wouldn't replace "meaningful face-to-face interactions." Duh. Don't you think people who are feeling lonely before and then decide to pay for a friend are really going to just feel more lonely? What happens if someone asks, "Oh, so how did you two meet?" That's awkward.

Moral of the story: I think this is great news for all us, because it's obvious we can make money inventing just about anything in this country! (Pet rock anyone? Reality TV? Bottled water? Snuggies?) 

No comments:

Post a Comment