Technologically Induced Ennui And Escort Solutions
Woah. Just woah. First this… from Want China Times apparently lonely gamers are beginning to pay for company:
“Chinese online gamers tired of playing games online by themselves can now pay between 20-100 yuan (US$3.20-$16) an hour for a female online “escort” to play with them.”
So apparently guys are starting to realize how to have their cake and eat it too. Because, you know, gaming is lonely business when comes right down to it. And instead of sitting alone in the local gaming internet cafe, why wouldn’t you pay a woman to join you and giggle a bit. Right? Oh my gosh.
This is wrong on about a billion levels. The article was clear to mention that nothing “untowards” was happening. A Yahoo news article discussing this trend went on to say, “This isn’t anything lurid or sexual; it’s an opportunity for China’s paid companion industry to expand into the wildly popular world of internet cafe game culture.” And I take issue both with the ‘nothing untowards’ or nothing lurid or sexual’ comments in both of these articles.
Not sexual? Hahahah.
It may not be physical, but its anything but plutonic. I’ll speak from my own experience of gaming in the arcades back in the days. I used to play Mortal Kombat for hours and hours. I got pretty good, and would continue without losing long stretches. And being surrounded by watchers is a high by itself. To add a female into that horde and you can just forget about any sort of rational thought in the mix for those that are playing. It was pretty primal actually. I’d try pretty hard to win at any given moment, but add estrogen into the mix and everyone playing would do anything to win.
I still remember distinctly the very first time I played Mortal Kombat in front of my wife to be. We were out on a date in Edinburgh when we stumbled upon a single standing arcade game in a restaurant. I slid in behind the right controls, and played against a local. Only problem? The upper left attack button was broken on my control, so basically 90% of my attack options were short circuited. I was playing with Sub-Zero and all my ice attack options went up in smoke. I put up a good fight regardless… but I lost. And wow, I flipped out. Fullon melt down tirade. My wife to this day hasn’t watched me play video games since. hehe. In my brain, a great finishing move equaled fantastic marriage material. Right? Hahah.
So to learn that somewhere in the world there are men who are playing video games and are now too lonely to play isn’t too surprising… and yet, completely shocking all the same. Hiring a woman (or two!) to watch as they play is actually the next logical conclusion of a myopic, self deluded, narcissistic generation. Video game players see video games as a way to de-stress and find some balance in life. A way to express control in an uncontrollable world. But at the end of the day, its quite a lonely exercise. Why not have the best of both worlds? Forced companionship and liberating, de-stressing play time, while a woman coos in your ear simultaneously? But what are these women getting for their “work”?
‘”It is common for an experienced female escort to make 3,000 yuan (US$485) a month,” one firm said. Top female “escorts” can make up to 8,000 yuan (US$1,300) per month, and the commissions paid to the firm are usually between 5% and 10%.’
In Daniel 12:4 it talks about the end of the world and how knowledge will exponentially increase. We definitely are the most knowledgeable generation in the history of the world. Soon Occulus Rift headsets will increase our knowledge exponentially yet again. We will use them to fold genomes and solve perplexing scientific riddles. We will also use them for virtual sex and video games of untold reality. And all the while we will become lonelier and lonelier, because none of this is what our hearts need.
The Demise of Guys is a new book by Philip Zimbardo that discusses specifically how men are less likely to complete college and discusses the average male’s fear of intimacy. He did a quick Ted Talk discussing his findings from his book.
The quote from Zimbardo that just rung my bell was, “The problem is [that men] now prefer [the] asynchronistic Internet world to the spontaneous interaction in social relationships.” From there he continues on to pinpoint the real causes in society today, “I think it’s excessive Internet use in general, excessive video gaming, excessive new access to pornography. The problem is these are arousal addictions. Drug addiction, you simply want more. Arousal addiction, you want different. Drugs, you want more of the same — different. So you need the novelty in order for the arousal to be sustained.”
Its funny how many see this news article that men are paying for female companionship while gaming and think it cute. Or funny. I think its just one more sign that the world is sadly slipping into oblivion.