An alternative to dinner dates

There are a number of problems with dating, and everyone has their different, particular bugbears which keep them awake on the night before a big rendezvous, or indeed after a disaster of epic proportions. My particular one of these is the sheer expense of a date gone wrong. Before you even get to see what you’re up against the chances are you’ve already shelled out for petrol, a taxi or even bus fare as well as your first drink of the night (which could quickly turn out to be the first of many).

If you manage to get that far and you haven’t been put off yet, the next outgoing is usually dinner which, due to my inherent Canadian politeness, can never be avoided and must always be sat through, during which time even more drinks will materialise. It’s $100 before you even decided if you like the person, and once you do decide that you like them it gets even more expensive! The best things in life are free, or at least that what my old ma told me, so if logic dictates then dating must be one of the worst things that life has to offer.

Wouldn’t it be better if we could do a trial run online before committing to the full deluxe package? These days everything is done on the Internet and 90% of that is done for free, so why should dating be any different? Online services are the leading growth sector in Canadian industry after all. I know what you’re thinking; online chat already exists, and it’s the biggest phenomenon in the world right now…and you’d be right, except I’m not talking about the part where you meet and exchange smileys and look at each other’s pictures. I’m talking about VIRTUAL REALITY.

Do you remember in the 1990s when everyone was predicting that virtual reality would be the biggest thing in the world within fifteen years and we would all be walking around wearing cumbersome headsets and swimming with sharks in space? Well it never quite unfolded like that – or at least it hasn’t so far – but online role playing games like Second Life allow people to live out fantasy existences in their spare time. It’s a simple proposal; a basic virtual restaurant/movie theatre/bar where you can do a free trial run online before investing. Of course, it would have to be free.