Meet an Online Emotional Escort
Note to Self
English - February 06, 2018 05:00 - 26 minutes - 24 MB - ★★★★★ - 2.5K ratingsTechnology Education Self-Improvement new tech city wnyc radio york public npr technology business Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
When we get big news these days, we reach for our phones. We text our loved ones. Husband, wife, mom, best friend. Or, in some cases, our Invisible Girlfriend.
We all need someone to tell (or text) our stories to. Even if they’re paid to text back.
This week, we revisit a story from 2015 about a service called Invisible Girlfriend/Boyfriend, and how it’s helping lonely adults use their phones to feel understood. Even to feel loved.
Quentin, a man in his 30s with cerebral palsy, wonders if his Invisible Girlfriend is really right for him. Journalist Kashmir Hill became an Invisible Girlfriend, and was paid pennies per message as an emotional escort. And psychologist Sherry Turkle weighs the strengths and limitations of our text-based love affairs.
We all need someone to tell (or text) our stories to. Even if they’re paid to text back.
This week, Manoush meets an Invisible Girlfriend, earning pennies a message to create fake love. And an utterly wonderful man using the service for an entirely valid reason. We’re revisiting this 2015 episode to warm your heart pre-Valentine's Day.
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