The recent Tinder dating stunt story, where a woman duped hundreds of men into showing up for a fake date, is disturbing. It gives rise to one question, if something as personal as dating can be made into a stunt or a “project”, then does anything remain in the realm of intimacy in this digital age anymore?
The incident came to light when one such man shared a thread about this so-called date on social media and it went viral.
When several news agencies followed the story, it turned out to be a stunt for a “viral marketing agency”. According to New York Post, the key player in this swindle was a model and actress named Natasha Aponte, who invited unwitting men she met on Tinder to the venue for what they thought was a hot date.
There needs to be a line between using personal space for campaigns.
This is not the first time unsuspecting people have fallen prey to such viral trickery. However, this is probably the first time when something as personal as digital dating has been used for a public stunt
It may have been a hilarious scenario, had all these men not turned up for a much-anticipated date. What followed for them was beyond embarrassing. It was horrifying and scarring.
SOME TAKEAWAYS-
- A woman duped hundreds of men into showing up at Union Square in New York, for a bogus date.
- After a man narrated his ordeal on social media, the incident turned out to be a stunt for a "viral marketing agency".
- So many innocent men were humiliated for a mere stunt. It wouldn't come as a surprise if they develop trust issues in future.
Many people are finding these men’s ordeal quite funny. Some even think they deserve it for being over ambitious and attempting to date such an attractive woman. But would they have found it equally funny, had it been a man instead of this woman? It would have certainly outraged numerous people, had the victims of this caper been hundreds of women, who naively trusted a handsome strange man, and turned up at a public place for something as innocent as a date.
If anything, this incident is alarming of how viral stunts are now invading our personal space. Nothing is off-limits anymore it seems. Today it is a Tinder date, tomorrow it could be a covert encounter at a hotel room. Privacy is always a priority when it comes to dating and courtship.
One does not expect to be exposed or recorded by cameras without consent, when on a date. This is a matter of dignity, which each one of us deserves, irrespective of gender
It also creeps one out to think how far and wide this stunt went. It wasn’t just one man, or a dozen. It was like a communal duping of some hundred unsuspicious men. These are good men. Not predators, or molesters who must be unmasked and shamed publicly for indecent behaviour. This is a violation of their consent too, as none of these men signed up for this sketch or alleged project.
Such an ordeal can give trust issues to anyone. It could create an atmosphere of distrust. Online dating could suffer from a huge setback if people begin seeing every date or invitation for courtship as a set-up. Do we need that distrust? Especially at the foundation of a romance? Certainly not. Which is why we must unanimously condemn this stunt and discourage marketing companies or viral video producers from crossing this line into our personal space. Because if we fail to draw this line, we may end up paying the cost in form of trust in courtship.
Picture Credit: Newscrab
Also Read: Social Media Etiquettes Shouldn’t Be Taken Lightly
Yamini Pustake Bhalerao is a writer with the SheThePeople team, in the Opinions section. The views expressed are the author’s own.
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