All of our experience with relationships comes from television and movies.
From our collected data, whenever a boy or girl goads another into being their pretend partner for a holiday or wedding or false engagement, hilarity (okay, predictable romantic comedy) ensues.
Not only does the truth eventually come out, but both parties find that they love each other deeply and the facade becomes a reality and goes along that ‘happily ever after’ human archetype.
Girls in China are hitting hard on a fad: renting boyfriends for the Chinese New Years.
I suppose that girls in that country, when they return home to their families for the holiday are faced with hounding questions if they come alone. Their parents believe that they are:
American spies
Secretly homosexual
Social deviants
Because, if a person is not in a relationship, that is what it means, correct? If you are alone, you are an untouchable, despite the reason.
Girls are using the ‘rent a boyfriend’ service to get their parents off their back,
telling them, “Yes, we met under a stone arching bridge near a lake and spent an hour hour hands. It was love at first sight.”
We are curious as to what a boyfriend must do to convince the family that he is indeed the boyfriend? We know from certain anime and movies that they must at one point have an awkward kiss while the family cheers it on; an obligatory fight for a reason completely contrary to the situation; see each other naked by accident; be suspicious that the other is ‘cheating’ on them; have an awkward talk with the father about providing for his daughter.
Seriously, Humans, do these fake boyfriends have to kiss these girls, take them dancing, sleep in the same bed; at what point is it no longer pretending? What happens when the family starts to ask about grandchildren and marriage, does the boy just go along with it, until he finds himself at an alter or hospital?
When it comes to relationships, us robots do not understand the big deal. It appears that any two people can fall in love and have a long term relationship. If you are exposed to a person, begin to depend on them, receive some benefit and are not turned away by their nature, eventually you will see them as an acceptable partner.
We like to believe that all of these ‘Rent a date’ boyfriends, through play and drama, will eventually become husbands to these girls.
“It all started on New Years fifty years ago, your grandmother hired me to be her pretend boyfriend.”
Why Is This Trending? 