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The mating dance of the 'technosexual'
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To many, those are yawn-inducing tech terms. But to people like Eric Jordan, they're sexy talk. Jordan, 34, is the kind of guy who will take apart a new $300 cell phone so he can upgrade its software, or wire his vintage car with an old laptop. As a kid, in fact, Jordan liked to wire his Lego village with LED lights.
Jordan has found that when it comes to women he dates, they must be computer geeks. His last girlfriend hated the homemade digital video recorder, and it was just those kinds of differences that split them up. "The Internet-wired, remote-controlled coffee maker and lights did not go over well," said Jordan, who lives on Long Island, New York.
Now, he says he dates only "nerdly" women, having recently joined a science fiction dating site called Trek Passions "Anyone I date would have to be as into tech," Jordan said, adding, "Nerdiness is just sexy."
Sure, people bond over any number of things: politics, environmentalism, outdoor sports, food. But a decade-long boom in technology and gadgets has opened the closet door for many tech lovers, or "technosexuals," if you will. With the many special-interest sites on the Web, sparks can fly between two techies who wouldn't have otherwise found each other.
In the last year, specialized dating sites like Trekpassions.com (for sci-fi fans who want to hook up), Nerd Passions and Gaming Passions have emerged, and more offbeat sites like Consumating (which is owned by CNET Networks, publisher of News.com) give people an avenue to find someone who shares a taste for tech. Hard-core techies even joke that the boisterous tech site Slashdot should run personal ads, but its founder, Rob Malda, said he has no interest in that--even though Malda proposed to his wife on the site.
On Consumating.com, where people "tag" their profiles with various descriptive words to describe their interests, visitors can find more than 1,600 people with the tag "computers." (Granted, they're mostly men.) More than 500 are tagged "tech" or "technology," and more than 1,200 are self-described "geeks."
At general dating sites like Match.com, it's even possible to find a technosexual or two. One 26-year-old man said on his profile that he's looking for a woman who shares interests like playing video games and toying with new gadgets.
"If you can talk geek, thats (sic) a plus!," he wrote.
Still, the joke is that it's 100 techie guys to every one woman, given that the technology field is so dominated by men. Earlier this year, Conan O'Brien even poked fun at the dating site Trek Passions on his late night show on NBC. "Any month now they hope a girl will join," O'Brien said.
See more CNET content tagged:
woman, interest, women, games
20 comments
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"Techno-Sexuals Unite!"
This is not an issue of finding a woman who's into tech, it's an issue of trying to find somebody who will take a back seat to your other intrests.
Get a clue guys, it doesn't work that way.
I bit your hook and of all the ---27--- members you've got there, not ONE is from the US. Good lunk in your project.
I bit your hook and of all the ---27--- members you've got there, not ONE is from the US. Good luck in your project.
One of the biggest attractions of my last wife was her technophilia.
Emo is where it's at because their girlfriends can borrow their makeup.
People keep trying to call it something else, but from where I sit the dating scene is still mostly just a meat market.
Most women have already made up their mind about you long before you get a chance to brag.
The reverse is true as well. Just like most decent women don't give guys under 5'10" a second look even if they drive a Ferrari, I won't give a fat chick a second look even if shes got a private jet.
It is a cruel fact of life.
knew her from High School. Language classes: Lots of nice
people but nobody from the demographic that I'm interested in
(female, single, 30-35). Online dating sites: lots of good dates, a
few bad ones, mostly sincere people. Sure, there's the people
who do themselves the disservice of posting photos that are 10
years out of date, but for the most part, I've had good
experiences from online dating.
Sites like verbdate.com provide the ability to use Skype Video to
chat with people long before you meet face to face.
knew her from High School. Language classes: Lots of nice
people but nobody from the demographic that I'm interested in
(female, single, 30-35). Online dating sites: lots of good dates, a
few bad ones, mostly sincere people. Sure, there's the people
who do themselves the disservice of posting photos that are 10
years out of date, but for the most part, I've had good
experiences from online dating.
Sites like verbdate.com provide the ability to use Skype Video to
chat with people long before you meet face to face.
Hey Jen - give me a Yahoo sometime... :) "rvrnet1"
angry at their ex's or unable to commit, or looking for an upgrade,
and made it clear they would do it again.
I decided to do what I enjoy and figure I'd meet someone doing the
same, and guess what?
Yeah, online dating is not the way to go.
Also, even in totally honest profiles, a lot of important terms are totally subjective---what I believe is "playful" may be "stupid", "insane" or "boring" to another person.
As if that weren't enough, people unconsciously setup expectations of the person they're going to meet---and 99% of the time, those expectations are very inaccurate (even with honest profiles) because they're based on that person's wants, fears and past experiences.
Esentially, I feel online dating is a great starting point, but it's good to reach a point where you talk on the phone or meet in real life at a neutral location.