Oz Dating

The idea of sex with robots has often been used in science fiction. But it looks like it won't be long before it will be a reality.

This is the view of computer programming expert named David Levy Loebner, who has written a book called Love and Sex with Robots. He believes "the sex robot will happen fairly soon". He thinks it might save the adult entertainment industry, which has lost much of its revenue because of the internet making so much of its product completely free to access.

Not so long ago Jordon and Peter Andre were in the headlines because of their acrimonious breakup. Now Jordan has made headlines again with her claim that she was raped by a well known celebrity. Of course she's not naming him, which reveals that she's not seeking justice; she just she loves the attention.

I suspect that, like so many celebrities, she feels that she doesn't exist unless her name's appearing in the media. There's something really sad and pathological about this behaviour. No wonder so many relationships involving the famous are such disasters.

It's interesting how financial factors continue to have such an impact on relationships. For instance, lack of money means that women often stay in abusive relationships. And a recent study conducted by Relationships Australia found that a high proportion of young Australian women are deciding to put off motherhood because of the expense.

I posted earlier about how more and more seniors are finding love online. And here's another  interesting article about this.

What's really fascinating is the reaction of their adult children. Many of them are not at all happy about their parents looking online for love and discourage them from doing so.

They often argue that they are concerned for their parents' welfare in an environment that they know little about. But considering some of the extreme reactions mentioned in the story, I suspect there's something deeper going on; something more to do with culture.

The phenomenon reminds me of gender issues. That is, despite all the politically correct talk about how gender roles are much more relaxed nowadays, many men still feel threatened by women in the workplace, and a lot of women really don't like it when men adopt a domestic, home-making role.

A similar thing is happening here, but with age instead of gender. The world of online dating is still widely seen as a younger person's domain. When older people do it, many youngsters see it as a provocative, subversive act, almost an invasion of their turf. That's why they dislike it so much and demand that the wrongdoers "act their age".

It will be interesting to see whether the courts find that Sydney broadcaster Steve Price was guilty of defamation when he called Charmyne Palavi a "slut" on air.

It's also interesting that Palavi is often described as a "cougar". It seems slightly odd when an American colloquialism is used to describe an Australian woman. Still, it just shows how dominant the US is when it comes to popular culture generally.

There has long been competition and even animosity between the various cities and states of Australia. Melbournians, for instance, think that Sydneysiders are tacky and aggressive. Sydneysiders think of Melbournians as boring snobs! Then of course there's the intense sporting rivalry between Aussie states expressed in State of Origin football and rugby league matches.

Now physical attractiveness may become a criterion for rivalry, since some are claiming that Adelaide has the nation's most beautiful women.

Over the last few decades pro-sex feminists have made a real effort to convince people that women want sex just as much as men, and for the same reasons. But the authors of a just released book argue that this is not true, and that many of those old beliefs about women not liking sex, and only having it to manipulate men, are actually true.

If they're right, this is very depressing!

Considering all the public dramas they've gone through over the last few years, it's surprising that Shane Warne and ex-wife Simone Callahan have gotten back together. Not only that, they're moving into a  luxury house together in the swish Melbourne suburb of Sandringham.

The true romantic would say it illustrates just how enduring love can be. What's that famous Shakespeare quote? "The course of true love never did run smooth."

It would be nice if this were the main reason behind this latest, surprising development. But I'd say that Warne's substantial wealth and fame had a lot more to do with it. (Warne paid for the Sandringham house, worth over 3 million dollars.) I can't imagine many blokes of much lesser means being so completely forgiven for the kind of behaviour Warne has been guilty of in the past.

Here's another interesting sociological aspect of the online dating boom: Older women in particular are taking to it like ducks to water, having a lot of success with it. This makes sense, since online dating requires that members first make contact through e-mails or online chat. This is a more gentle mode of communication than that which occurs in, say, a pub or club. And these mature women are not competing for attention with a whole lot of sexy young babes milling around in low cut dresses, batting their eyelids at the men!

We keep reading about online dating scams in which people have their identities stolen, or are tricked into sending large sums of money to the scammer. But more traditional exploitation of lonely hearts still goes on. Take the case of this NSW dating agency, which has allegedly fleeced many thousands of dollars out of its clients and is being banned by the government.