Let's be honest: dating is hard.
Putting yourself out into the cold, cruel, unforgiving world in an effort to bare one's soul to another can be an incredibly frightening task. Everyone just wants someone else to talk to, but with dating comes rejection - sometimes, that fear of rejection can be incredibly hard to overcome. However, with determination and perseverance, anyone can find someone they truly belong with...all it takes is getting up and meeting people.
Or, in today's world, you can just fake it! Yes, in what may be the saddest move in the history of the modern world, a new fake dating service has emerged. It's not fake as in 'the company doesn't exist' - no, this is fake dating as in 'the person you're dating doesn't exist.' It's one of the strangest dating websites you'll ever come across. Here's the story behind it:
"Invisible Girlfriend and Invisible Boyfriend are the result of one man's frustration, and a little bit of desperation. Co-founder Matt Homann was newly divorced and tired of feeling pressured to jump into something new.
'Around Thanksgiving, my mom called me and asked if she should set an extra place for someone I'm bringing,' Matt recalls. 'In that moment I realized how great it would be to have an answer for her that didn't require me to actually be dating someone.'"
And so, Invisible Boyfriend and its sister site, Invisible Girlfriend, were born. Yes, the occasional instance of saying 'No, I'm not dating anyone right now' is so much of a burden for some people that they are willing to pay a subscription to receive phone calls and letters from someone who doesn't exist.
That's right: the app isn't just for bragging about your not-boyfriend or not-girlfriend, but actually works as a way to communicate with your fake significant other. It's actually rather in-depth: subscribers can choose a name, personality, age, race, hairstyle and photo for their new virtual companion - or, you can have the app build one for you! It's like having your very own George Glass!
After that, it's all about having fake texting conversations, fake phone calls and receiving fake handwritten letters, all in a bid to fool your family and friends into thinking you're not as lonely as they think. It's certainly sad and somewhat deceptive, but at least it's better than the 'girlfriend in Canada' excuse...
As of now, both Invisible Boyfriend and Invisible Girlfriend are in the beta stages, and signups are now open. If you're that desperate for attention or virtual companionship, head on over to the official site - just remember that, once the first 10 free text messages are up, it'll cost you $24.99 a month.
At that rate, maybe a dinner and a movie is the cheaper option after all...
