Fixing Single People

I love my DVR. I love that I can set a series recording and never miss a new episode of Scandal. I love that while watching a UK game, I can rewind and do my own version of an instant replay even if the SEC Network isn't going to show me the play again. I love that at the end of a close basketball game, I can pause the TV and watch in slow motion (which somehow makes me less of a nervous wreck). But I really love it because I can skip through commercials, because let me let you in on a little secret...



I



Hate



Commericals


Now, every now and then, there will be a funny commercial (the Taco Bell one where the guy kisses his girlfriend's dad on the cheek because he won't put down his tacos to shake his hand) or a sweet commercial (Peter coming home for Christmas) that I don't mind, but in general I am not a fan.



I have never taken an advertising class, but I have noticed that commercials are more than just selling us something, they are all about fixing us. A quick look at commercials will show you everything that's wrong with you, and what you need to buy to fix it. Lashes too short? Too much grey? Stomach too flabby? Hair too flat? You can get products to fix each of those problems.



And the latest catastrophe that's plaguing us? Singleness.



Are you still single? You need to be married! Join a dating website so you can find someone! Join NOW!



While that's not the exact script, it does seem to be the theory behind the commercials I continue to see from Match, eHarmony, OurTime, and even FarmersOnly. You are single, something is wrong, join this site to fix it. While I am not bashing online dating (I really do know people it has worked for), the multitude of commercials for dating sites really does convey the message that this is an epidemic... a problem that has to be fixed.



And while we are on the topic, does anyone think it's a coincidence that when someone has a friend, or a friend of a friend, or a boyfriend's sister's neighbor's dogwalker's college roommate that would be "perfect" for you, it's called what--fixing you up. FIXING.



Everyone wants to fix the singles.



But... not all of us feel like we need to be fixed. Not all of us think it's a Greek tragedy if we are coming home to an empty house. I'm not even talking about people who are anti-marriage. Whether single people want to be single or not, it's okay to be single. Whether you are okay with it or not, it is okay to be single. Just because my happily ever after doesn't look like everyone else's doesn't mean I'm not happy.



And trust me, happy or not, the last thing a single person in their 30s needs is someone else making them feel like there's something wrong with them. We've got plenty of commercials for that.