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Social hacking at its finest. The benefits of a fake girlfriend go far beyond attracting a real girlfriend. Everyone looks differently at someone who is dating

by hooande 14y ago

Social hacking at its finest. The benefits of a fake girlfriend go far beyond attracting a real girlfriend. Everyone looks differently at someone who is dating a hot chick. This could be just as valuable in terms of general networking or self promoting. It makes me wonder what similar ideas are out there. For the majority of people, social capital is the most valuable kind of capital there is. Facebook itself is kind of a social hack, and there's a lot more value there. Plus, this is one of the best things to happen to nerdy high school kids. It's like the "I have a girlfriend but she's in canada" on the next level. If you find this business to be repugnant, who do we blame? These enterprising brazilians for starting the website? Or ourselves for being so influenced by relationship status and physical appearance? The human brain is based on simple rules and you can't blame someone for capitalizing on that.

tsotha 14y ago
>Everyone looks differently at someone who is dating a hot chick. How do you think they will look at you when the truth comes out? I expect the negatives will outweigh any transient positives by a considerable margin.
- flyinRyan 14y ago
  That assumes you ever get caught. Though I know of at least one public case where someone tried this and got busted, ruining his reputation, but the problem was he was doing all the content himself and doing it very badly. Presumably this place will write the content for you so you don't accidentally project yourself onto your fake girlfriend.
  - tsotha 14y ago
    What about the people who know you? People who never interact with you in the flesh don't care if you have a girlfriend, but the people you actually see on occasion will eventually expect to see her. You will get caught by friends and relatives. And you may laugh and explain what you're doing, but even as you explain people are going to think "What a loser!"
Kiro 14y ago
I think you're wrong. I'm dating a a really good-looking girl (11 out of 10) but this fact hasn't changed how people view me. I'm below average in the social hierarchy and treated that way so I would notice if anything changed.
- jessedhillon 14y ago
  Maybe you're not doing it right. A sloppy dresser will still look sloppy driving an exotic supercar. But a sharply dressed man will look so much more fly in that same car.
  - neumann_alfred 14y ago
    That still only impresses the kind of people who would be impressed by a sports car; the solution obviously is to hang out with more shallow people. Make 'em dumb fucking sexists for bonus points.
    - neumann_alfred 14y ago
      Who with a shred of intelligence, and the same apprecation of females as human beings and persons as they have for males, would think otherwise? Why should a "hot chick" or a "big earner" increase your "social status" with anyone but complete schmucks? I'm honestly curious.
      - lhnz 14y ago
        Correct but why make a principled stand on this? Those who wish to claw onto status will like you for this, and those that don't will like you for your underlying personality. The former are quite flawed but they're still people.
        neumann_alfred 14y ago
        The former are quite flawed but they're still people. Which is kind of the reason for making a principled stand: They are human, they aren't going to go away anytime soon, they want to be respected or even loved, and extreme shallowness makes it impossible for me to do that. If I didn't have at least a remaining iota of goodwill towards them, I'd exploit them instead of bitching at them.
mistercow 14y ago
>The human brain is based on simple rules and you can't blame someone for capitalizing on that. Yes I can. I don't really care about it in this particular case (although the whole concept just makes me sad), but I could give plenty of examples of exploiting human nature that are reprehensible and deserving of blame. That something is easy does not make it ethical.
- vecinu 14y ago
  To extrapolate this, people have taken advantage of other peoples' weaknesses. Gambling, drug addictions, suicidal thoughts...everyone has a weakness that can be exploited. I reiterate your statement; exploiting that vulnerability IS to blame and should not be applauded.
  - smokeyj 14y ago
    Can exploiting human nature be a positive thing? If looking healthy to attract the opposite sex can encourages people to work out, is that exploiting our "simple" sexual nature? To me, pretending to have a girlfriend seems as deceitful as dying your hair. Now, I've never done either so I can't say for certain. Furthermore, if your perception of someone changes because they're in a relationship, then maybe you should be exploited. You'll then realize you should valuate a person based on who they are, not their relationship status - and maybe you'll be better off. Or maybe I'm trying too hard to rationalize this behavior lol
    - VMG 14y ago
      > To me, pretending to have a girlfriend seems as deceitful as dying your hair. To most people, it isn't. If you going to "social hack", better know what to expect.
    - TeMPOraL 14y ago
      There's a concept called "lie". Dying your hair is cosmetics. Saying you're in relationship when you're not is a lie.
danenania 14y ago
"Social hacking at its finest. The benefits of a fake girlfriend go far beyond attracting a real girlfriend. Everyone looks differently at someone who is dating a hot chick. This could be just as valuable in terms of general networking or self promoting." Right, assuming your primary concern is convincing douchebags to like you, you'll be golden.
antihero 14y ago
Um, the person who's lying, obviously.
kahawe 14y ago
...up until the point when everyone keeps asking you when you will FINALLY bring that "hot chick" to the next party or meet-up.
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]
- vidarh 14y ago
  Then you have a very "public" (on Facebook) bust-up where she makes you seem even more attractive by complaining about the attention you supposedly get from some other hot girl, and "break up" so you can show up all "emotional and vulnerable" at the party....
  - kahawe 14y ago
    But this only delays the inevitable and you cannot stretch this game on forever either.
wamatt 14y ago
It's kind of depressing, that promoting phoniness and deception, is elevated to the top of HN as a cool 'hack'. Seriously? What ever happened to.. I don't know.. honor and integrity? While not all are guilty, it does appear somewhat hypocritical that a presumably similar group, would grumble about the ills of Wall St. execs, and yet simultaneously employ analogous reasoning, just splashed with a little erudite cologne. "Be creative, think outside the box", chanted COO Jeff Skilling whilst driving Enron to bold new heights. Results are all that matter right? 'Fuck the environment, or society or those pesky things of the past. What did you call them again? Morals? Oh how adorably cute and quaint.' What's it called when the effects of your actions are not easily measurable and are lost in a web of causality? Who cares... it's not like we're hurting anyone elses feelings directly. But I digress, and ranting somewhat, but please go ahead and rationalize it away (you'll feel better): (a) 'What nonsense, you're just over-extrapolating, those things are in no way connected.' (b) 'Ooh tell us how you really feel' (c) 'meh' (d) ...?
- bambax 14y ago
  When exactly was honor or integrity the norm? There have always been heroes, of course, but the reason there are heroes, and the reason we celebrate them, is because they're rare. Besides, social interactions need some amount of deception; makeup is deception (and fake breasts, and hair dye, etc.) Why pretending to have a girlfriend when you don't should be considered worse than makeup?
  - wamatt 14y ago
    >Besides, social interactions need some amount of deception; makeup is deception (and fake breasts, and hair dye, etc.) Sure, I can empathize with that, no-one is perfect, not our heroes and certainly not myself. Ashamedly at one point, I seriously contemplated buying Twitter followers, as a quick boost to perceived social status. I was already rationalizing 'Oh it's just marketing' before deciding against it. It appears to be a slippery slope though, from which making up major parts of our life story, does seems rather far removed, from a flashy tie, or a dash of makeup. Could we not turn our gaze from heroes, instead towards ideals, knowing full well that we will never fully be able live up to them, but with the daily challenge to see how far we get?
return0 14y ago
You don't really need to blame someone, but if your life capital depends on hacks like that, then it's a sad life. Tangentially, Michael Sandel's "What money can't buy" is a good book about the morals of markets: You could even bolster your online popularity by hiring some good-lookgin "friends" for your facebook page - for 99 cents per friend per month
recursive 14y ago
> If you find this business to be repugnant, who do we blame? People that use it.

by hooande 14y ago

tsotha 14y ago

>Everyone looks differently at someone who is dating a hot chick. How do you think they will look at you when the truth comes out? I expect the negatives will outweigh any transient positives by a considerable margin.

flyinRyan 14y ago
That assumes you ever get caught. Though I know of at least one public case where someone tried this and got busted, ruining his reputation, but the problem was he was doing all the content himself and doing it very badly. Presumably this place will write the content for you so you don't accidentally project yourself onto your fake girlfriend.
- tsotha 14y ago
  What about the people who know you? People who never interact with you in the flesh don't care if you have a girlfriend, but the people you actually see on occasion will eventually expect to see her. You will get caught by friends and relatives. And you may laugh and explain what you're doing, but even as you explain people are going to think "What a loser!"

Kiro 14y ago

I think you're wrong. I'm dating a a really good-looking girl (11 out of 10) but this fact hasn't changed how people view me. I'm below average in the social hierarchy and treated that way so I would notice if anything changed.

jessedhillon 14y ago
Maybe you're not doing it right. A sloppy dresser will still look sloppy driving an exotic supercar. But a sharply dressed man will look so much more fly in that same car.
- neumann_alfred 14y ago
  That still only impresses the kind of people who would be impressed by a sports car; the solution obviously is to hang out with more shallow people. Make 'em dumb fucking sexists for bonus points.
  - neumann_alfred 14y ago
    Who with a shred of intelligence, and the same apprecation of females as human beings and persons as they have for males, would think otherwise? Why should a "hot chick" or a "big earner" increase your "social status" with anyone but complete schmucks? I'm honestly curious.
    - lhnz 14y ago
      Correct but why make a principled stand on this? Those who wish to claw onto status will like you for this, and those that don't will like you for your underlying personality. The former are quite flawed but they're still people.
      - neumann_alfred 14y ago
        The former are quite flawed but they're still people. Which is kind of the reason for making a principled stand: They are human, they aren't going to go away anytime soon, they want to be respected or even loved, and extreme shallowness makes it impossible for me to do that. If I didn't have at least a remaining iota of goodwill towards them, I'd exploit them instead of bitching at them.

mistercow 14y ago

>The human brain is based on simple rules and you can't blame someone for capitalizing on that. Yes I can. I don't really care about it in this particular case (although the whole concept just makes me sad), but I could give plenty of examples of exploiting human nature that are reprehensible and deserving of blame. That something is easy does not make it ethical.

vecinu 14y ago
To extrapolate this, people have taken advantage of other peoples' weaknesses. Gambling, drug addictions, suicidal thoughts...everyone has a weakness that can be exploited. I reiterate your statement; exploiting that vulnerability IS to blame and should not be applauded.
- smokeyj 14y ago
  Can exploiting human nature be a positive thing? If looking healthy to attract the opposite sex can encourages people to work out, is that exploiting our "simple" sexual nature? To me, pretending to have a girlfriend seems as deceitful as dying your hair. Now, I've never done either so I can't say for certain. Furthermore, if your perception of someone changes because they're in a relationship, then maybe you should be exploited. You'll then realize you should valuate a person based on who they are, not their relationship status - and maybe you'll be better off. Or maybe I'm trying too hard to rationalize this behavior lol
  - VMG 14y ago
    > To me, pretending to have a girlfriend seems as deceitful as dying your hair. To most people, it isn't. If you going to "social hack", better know what to expect.
  - TeMPOraL 14y ago
    There's a concept called "lie". Dying your hair is cosmetics. Saying you're in relationship when you're not is a lie.

danenania 14y ago

"Social hacking at its finest. The benefits of a fake girlfriend go far beyond attracting a real girlfriend. Everyone looks differently at someone who is dating a hot chick. This could be just as valuable in terms of general networking or self promoting." Right, assuming your primary concern is convincing douchebags to like you, you'll be golden.

antihero 14y ago

Um, the person who's lying, obviously.

kahawe 14y ago

...up until the point when everyone keeps asking you when you will FINALLY bring that "hot chick" to the next party or meet-up.

deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
vidarh 14y ago
Then you have a very "public" (on Facebook) bust-up where she makes you seem even more attractive by complaining about the attention you supposedly get from some other hot girl, and "break up" so you can show up all "emotional and vulnerable" at the party....
- kahawe 14y ago
  But this only delays the inevitable and you cannot stretch this game on forever either.

wamatt 14y ago

It's kind of depressing, that promoting phoniness and deception, is elevated to the top of HN as a cool 'hack'. Seriously? What ever happened to.. I don't know.. honor and integrity? While not all are guilty, it does appear somewhat hypocritical that a presumably similar group, would grumble about the ills of Wall St. execs, and yet simultaneously employ analogous reasoning, just splashed with a little erudite cologne. "Be creative, think outside the box", chanted COO Jeff Skilling whilst driving Enron to bold new heights. Results are all that matter right? 'Fuck the environment, or society or those pesky things of the past. What did you call them again? Morals? Oh how adorably cute and quaint.' What's it called when the effects of your actions are not easily measurable and are lost in a web of causality? Who cares... it's not like we're hurting anyone elses feelings directly. But I digress, and ranting somewhat, but please go ahead and rationalize it away (you'll feel better): (a) 'What nonsense, you're just over-extrapolating, those things are in no way connected.' (b) 'Ooh tell us how you really feel' (c) 'meh' (d) ...?

bambax 14y ago
When exactly was honor or integrity the norm? There have always been heroes, of course, but the reason there are heroes, and the reason we celebrate them, is because they're rare. Besides, social interactions need some amount of deception; makeup is deception (and fake breasts, and hair dye, etc.) Why pretending to have a girlfriend when you don't should be considered worse than makeup?
- wamatt 14y ago
  >Besides, social interactions need some amount of deception; makeup is deception (and fake breasts, and hair dye, etc.) Sure, I can empathize with that, no-one is perfect, not our heroes and certainly not myself. Ashamedly at one point, I seriously contemplated buying Twitter followers, as a quick boost to perceived social status. I was already rationalizing 'Oh it's just marketing' before deciding against it. It appears to be a slippery slope though, from which making up major parts of our life story, does seems rather far removed, from a flashy tie, or a dash of makeup. Could we not turn our gaze from heroes, instead towards ideals, knowing full well that we will never fully be able live up to them, but with the daily challenge to see how far we get?

return0 14y ago

You don't really need to blame someone, but if your life capital depends on hacks like that, then it's a sad life. Tangentially, Michael Sandel's "What money can't buy" is a good book about the morals of markets: You could even bolster your online popularity by hiring some good-lookgin "friends" for your facebook page - for 99 cents per friend per month

recursive 14y ago

> If you find this business to be repugnant, who do we blame? People that use it.