The Rules of Modern Day Attraction

Want a recipe for loneliness and jealousy, but in a good way? Booze not doing the trick anymore? In my current role as Associate Producer for Motherboard.tv I spend a lot of time on the internet, and when I say a lot I mean it—you’d think my ass would be permanently adhered to this miserable office chair by now. As such, my eyes sometimes glance upon a certain website that most of us simply cannot live without.

Facebook and Internet culture in general have drastically and lastingly changed the way we know, date, friend, poke and relate to each other. By the way, poking someone means you want to have sex with them right?

When you meet someone, what’s the first thing you do? Come on, you know you start stalking them on the Internet. Scoping out profile pictures, relationship status and if they have any of the Facebook red flags, which I’m wont to say are universal, but am willing to consider are not. Ubiquitous or otherwise, a glossary of relative principles seems essential to say the least. I’ve provided my own list as a guideline.

• Less then 10 profile pictures.
• Pictures with babies. Nobody wants to date a baby momma/daddy at this age.
• General stupidity with special regard to bad grammar.
• More than 5 status updates per day.
• Pictures of your ex(es). Are they hot Liz Lemon lookalikes or are they scary, obese ogre trolls that smile bleakly from behind their 10th red cup of generic beer? Either way, deal breaker central.
• Number of friends: -50 = bad, +2000 = just plain weird. Who knows that many people?
• An overwhelming number of pictures featuring cats or other animals (excluding weasels) in them.
• Music: Nickelback/Creed/Staind = bad. DJ Marcus, any dubstep (excluding Cragga or Nightspitter) and the killer of all potential relationships, Dave Matthews Band = horrible .
• I hate same-facers. Need I say more?
• Photos that belong on softcore or hardcore porn sites as your profile picture.
• If the book section is left blank or says something like, "I don't read too good". Umm, thanks. Try again. Wait, on second thought, please don't.

• Professional photographs of yourself because you happen to be friends with Halston Bruce.
• Gummo, Pink Flamingoes, and/or Freaks in your favorite movies category.
• Your pictures and/or general content has something/anything to do with weasels.
• Music section includes Funk from the 60s and 70s and This American Life.
• Your interests include: "Masturbating Violently to Antiques Roadshow." This is an actual group.
• Links to your blog so I can stalk you more

If you’re saying to yourself: “Jeez Erin, kind of judgmental, don’t you think?” Well, you can shut your hypocritical mouth. We all do this. It’s part of our depressing quest to find a mate. Facebook provides a reasonable platform from which we should all be screening potential partners. Welcome to the future or whatever. Where studies can prove how annoying you are to everyone; how jealous you are and how to rig your profile to attract people.

How has facebook helped my social communication? Well it hasn't. Instead of calling or meeting face to face, we text or poke or some other such vapid form of “staying in touch.” I’ve wasted countless hours on this god forsaken website. But will I stop? Hell no.

One more thing: engagement photos. Jesus. I went to school at the University of Wisconsin and it looks like the goal for graduates is to get married as soon as humanly possible. These people were once smart, capable, and somewhat sane in my book. Now at 23 they’re throwing 40 large down the crapper and promising themselves to someone for eternity. Why? And don’t even get me started about the kissy pictures at sunset on a dock or whatever. Excuse me while I vomit all over my keyboard.