In last week's issue of the Whyville Times, Kindgirl9 wrote an article called "To Date or Not to Date" (article id: 8645) . In the article, she conducted interviews about Whydating. At the end of the article she recommended Whyvillians to join the Anti-Whydating Campaign, which is a group of Whyvillians that preach the negativity of Whydating. Kindgirl9's article was solely concerned how Whyvillians feel about Whydating. But I wanted to expand on what she wrote, because the BBS was full of arguments approving of and opposing this growing issue on Whyville.
I'm sure most of you are wondering what Whydating is. Basically, it's dating online. But the word "why" is added to it, to specify it is dating on Whyville.
I hate Whydating because it is pathetic. In the "To Date or Not to Date" article BBS I even posted that Whydating was for emotionally unstable emos. I back that comment to this day. If you are happy about your life, then why are you Whydating? What fulfillment will an online boy/girlfriend give you? How do you expect to commit to your boy/girlfriend? I feel that one cannot depend upon anything online. For example when I am invited to something as simple as disco parties, I have to cancel because I know that I will not remember to come. If I cannot commit to something as minuscule as attending disco parties, how do young Whyvillians expect to uphold promises to an online relationship?
Firstly, most Whydaters are between the ages of 7-13. As you know, if you are under the age of 13, your parents must print a permission slip, fill it out and fax it to Whyville for you to be able to chat. However if the parents of Whydaters knew that their son/daughter was dating online, would they sign the Permission Slip? I highly doubt it.
Let's look at real life. The ages of kids involved in relationships are decreasing each year. With the influence of the media and celebrities, kids are getting impression that having a boy/girlfriend below preteen years is okay.
Several adult websites have discovered teen users. Age is an important requirement for joining dating websites. However, website staff do not check up on their users to make sure they are over 18. It is the same concept on Whyville -- City Workers do not investigate each user to make sure they are really the age they say. Therefore, many young children fake their ages.
I am a YHelper and numerous times, Whyvillians have complained that their parents will not permit them to join Whyville. Anger and frustration gets the better of them, so they fib and tell me they wrote the incorrect age when joining and that they are actually over 13 years old. An event like this happened just a few days ago:
Secondly, if kids are lying about their ages, what else might they be hiding? Well, many young Whyvillians prefer to disclose their real genders. I have friends who have accounts for both genders, mainly because they enjoy collecting rare face parts for boys and girls and like dressing up both genders.
Often I see Whyvillians asking each other about their sexuality. I am not against gays, lesbians or bisexuals. But I feel that kids should not be exposed to sexual preferences at such a young age. Parents do not educate children about sexuality when they are between 7-13 years old! However kids are learning these new terms and exploring their sexuality online, which is idiotic because if you are drawn to males online (and you are a male) you might not be gay, because you have not experienced this attraction to males in real life. There are several religious against homosexuals and it is also disturbing for them to see children declaring themselves as gays, lesbians, or bisexuals. Many Whyvillians who are against homosexuals, immensely tease Whyvillians who are. So to avoid negative comments, kids make accounts to attract the gender they like. For example if I was a lesbian and was teased, I might as well create a new account and say that I am a male. If I attract females, I can easily lie to them and tell them that I really am a boy.
Thirdly, Whydating has gone too far. I joined Whyville in 2003 when there weren't any Whydaters. Now it seems as if in every chat room, Whyvillians are flirting with each other. Flirting seems meager compared to the other activities Whydaters are partaking in.
In real life, couples profess their love for one another by eloping. They are binding their lives together, forever. However 'forever' is a disillusioned concept on Whyville. Many Whyvillians are again, imitating real life by getting married in fake marriage ceremonies. Generally someone takes on the role of the priest and says "Person A/B do you take Person B/A as your lawful wedded husband/wife? Type 'I do' " Then BAM! You are officially married and expected to spend your Whyville lives together.
If the married couple enjoys children and desires to become parents, they have children. This is exactly what Whyvillians do. It is not a rare sight to see Whyvillians dressed up as babies. And whom do these babies belong to? To the many married couples on Whyville, of course! However Whyvillians are also promiscuous and have whybabies out of wedlock. This was a shamed concept in real life, but has now become common in the real world and the virtual world.
How are they creating these whybabies? Whybabies are immature Whyvillians dressed as babies. If couples wish to have a whybaby, one way of getting them is through 'adopting' in which they ask a whybaby to be theirs. Or . . . they have cybersex. Yes, cybersex. Some readers are most likely frowning in disgust at this comment but I assure that you it is completely true. Whyvillians have cybersex. They type out sexual thoughts to each other and scream in pain until the invisible baby 'comes out' of the virtual uterus of the female. Think of it as an improvised play -- they want to have a baby so they act out the sexual and birthing processes. They do not care if they get 911 reported, because they will eventually regain the privileges they lost. Punishments are seemingly only temporary.
Having familial lifestyles of Whyville is not unheard of or impossible. Whyville has paved the perfect life for virtual families. The family can live in a house through one of the parents owning a land plot, and the other members renting space in the home. The group can own and drive cars because Whyville has scions. The family can also have steady incomes as long as the parents have salaries, and most Whyvillians do. They can eat through WhyEat, purchase clothes for their children, provide weekly allowances and educate the kids by the parents typing out the basics such as ABCs.
Fourthly, kids are extremely gullible, easily influenced, and immature. Whyville is alluring online predators and I thank god that no Whyvillian has been kidnapped yet. They see Whydating as a fun activity to do when they are bored, nonetheless they have no sense of what 'fun' really is. Others admit they Whydate because they want to be like their virtual friends.
Several comments in the BBS stated that Whydating was an excellent way of developing deep and meaningful connections with other Whyvillians. You do NOT need to whydate someone to have a good friendship with them. Are kids searching for acceptance through Whydating? Are they neglected by their peers in real life?
Kids are malleable and can be convinced into trusting someone. They can be led to give out their personal information, such as their emails or even their address. I do not need to tell you the dangers of committing these mistakes.
Parents are completely oblivious of their kids' crimes. A recent survey showed that 65% of parents check online history and explore the websites their children go on. From the front page of Whyville, parents easily get the impression that Whyville is a kids website. Only within the website are the ongoing issues that they frown upon. However no parent has the time to create accounts on the websites their kids visit, so their mental notes about Whyville are positive. Also, children know how to delete online histories and can do so on a regular basis, to avoid their parents' suspicion. Furthermore, many children these days have their own computers/laptops which parents neglect to check.
I am aware of the fact that many whydaters are careful, but I do not care. Whydating is fake and there are no emotional attachments involved. The feelings that you think you have for your girl/boyfriend are FAKE and MEANINGLESS. Though I dislike dating on Whyville, I approve of dating websites because I know that REAL dating websites have success stories. Many of you are probably thinking, if I am in favor of online dating, why do I discourage it on Whyville? It's because Whyville was NOT meant to be a dating website. Whyville is strictly an educational website for kids and teens. If Whyville is solely for education, why is Whydating allowed? City Workers permit this act of stupidity because they feel that as long as you follow chat rules, it's fine with them. However it is not okay with me and the level-headed thinkers of Whyville. Sure, we can always vaporize Whydaters, but that is not a genuine solution.
holiday50
Author's Note: I asked the newbie's permission (newbie in screenshot!) to be used in this article.
Sources:
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=ecbe19da-2ef7-4a3f-9cc3-e79ed7c26d10
http://dating.lovetoknow.com/Teen_Online_Dating
