jacob
by rantywoman
Jacob, as Atlantic writer Dan Slater frames him, is the embodiment of a new dating market where the allure of “online romance is threatening monogamy.” Whenever he meets another woman online, Jacob (not his real name) thinks: “This person could be exclusively for me, but so could the other two people I’m meeting this week.” Why have a real relationship, Slater asks, when there are so many attractive, successful partners waiting online?
I don’t know—maybe because we’re not all aimless and lazy thirtysomething straight dudes? Jacob may be meeting a buffet of sexy professionals and college students through his online dating profiles, but those women are meeting … Jacob. Slater doesn’t interview the paralegal, the lawyer, the naturopath, the pharmacist, the chef, or the twentysomething about their experiences dating online. They might speak to an alternate narrative of online dating: This Jacob could be exclusively for me, but so could the other two Jacobs I’m meeting this week—Oh, God. Why settle down when there are so many other unsuccessful, unattractive partners with whom you could make a horrific, lifelong mistake?
thebitterbabe 
I always find reading the comments sections below such articles are enough to make me never even entertain so much as the thought of trying online dating ever again. Best of the bunch was this: “I’ve known lots of women that go out on a fully-funded date with men that have no actual chance for sexual access. Is that theft?” – !!
I don’t have it in me to read the comments section… the first few can often stop me cold.
So true, comments sections tend to be a sobering perspective on the views that are held by some of the population. But if ever I feel sad at being alone, it reminds me that it not such a bad situation when compared to having to spend time with a person who thinks like the poster I quoted above.
Agreed.