Graphic by Noemi Gonzalez.I was in my Business and Future of Journalism class last week when we were given a group project. The idea was pretty simple: We were supposed to invent something people needed. Ideas largely included apps (hello, 2014) with innovative and funny concepts. One of them in particular struck me as interesting. It was a dating website that matched you up with your dream significant other according to your taste in music. Country two-steppers and hipster snobs could now be provided with almost effortless means to snagging that perfect first date. Not a bad idea—admittedly better than my group’s sad attempt at some “get back at your ex-boyfriend” app that referenced Ryan Gosling. It left me wondering: Is that what we’ve come to as a people, and, would it work?
Facebook likes, hashtags, pins on Pinterest… these are things that define and simplify the complexity of human nature and the functioning mind. It’s true that when I’ve been interested in someone in the past, I’d immediately do the standard Facebook creep and scan breakdowns of liked interests. When I think about the romantic relationships I’ve tried and failed in the past five or so years, I have to laugh. For the most part, I’ve had slim to nothing in common with these men I’d established a connection to. In one case, the only trait I did share with someone was taste in music. It crashed before my eyes into a fiery, explosive, relationship fiasco.
Was I really wearing music blinds in front of my eyes the whole time? Music-themed, rose-tinted glasses? That seems like a bit of a stretch. However, this proposed dating website and my own experiences with love make me believe this: Interests matter, but they don’t define our ideal partners.
I’ve dated dudes who went to church every Sunday and listened to Disney music along with ones who were inclined toward guns and weightlifting. If neither of them were right for me, does that mean my soulmate will be some mirrored, male reflection of this existence I’ve established for myself? I have a hard time believing that. I think it takes more than a website to figure it all out. I think it even takes more than music.
Reach the blogger at inovak@asu.edu or on Twitter @IsabelleNovak.
