As I was on my way to work this morning, I noticed an article in the Boston Metro that highlighted a service that is not only highly unorthodox, but also (in my humble opinion) highly immoral. It is so immoral, part of me doesn't want to post the website because I don't want anyone I know to go there. But I'm gonna do it anyway. I love a good, healthy debate.
Ashleymadison.com is a service to assist people in having a discreet affair. Their slogan is "Life is Short. Have an Affair". As the article states, the service has been described (negatively) as “a business built on the back of broken hearts, ruined marriages, and damaged families”. It's advertisements have even been banned from Toronto streetcars.
The founder, Noel Biderman, claims to have perfected infidelity. He claims that his website does not make people more likely to have an affair, just assists them in not getting caught after they've already made the decision to have one. To top it all of, this site claims to save marriages, by making infidelity safer and easier.
The logic here is tenuous at best – just as with anything else, the easier you make something for people, the more likely it is that people will go through with it. Yes, many people have already made the decision to take that step. What about those who haven't yet? A service like this is bound to make it look easier and more attractive to those that aren't sure whether it is worth the risk – an affair is much easier to rationalize if there is little to no risk involved.
Ashleymadison.com was started in 2002 and currently has over 6.4 million members in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Initial registration is free, but a full membership will cost $249 plus other fees to contact members. The website offers an “affair guarantee” that refunds the $249 if you haven't found a match within three months.
Wouldn't waiting three months to have an affair with a perfect stranger take pretty much all of the incentive out of it? I guess “spur of the moment” is out of the question.
So not only is this service immoral, but it also charges you $249 dollars to find a match within three months when you can go to any dating website (many of them free) and have a list of people within hours. I'm not seeing the upside here. Biderman promises that the site is “secure, password protected and prevents accidental disclosure”
It is pretty disturbing that 6.4 million people out there are using this service without their spouses knowing it. SPOUSES of the world, take note – be on the lookout for AshleyMadison.com. Check your spouses credit card bills, their internet history, and their wallet! Don't let this service go unpunished!
I know I sound like I'm going overboard here, but isn't this just so wrong? Is this a case of society finally accepting infidelity as an inevitable part of a relationship? Or is this a case of an egotistical company trying to take advantage of the freedom of today's consumer culture and prey on the insecurities of the modern adulterer (or adulteress)?
clearly the nyc metro isn't original at all since I read the same story yesterday
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