Celebrities and those crazy Internet people

When I got to the Y today, my iPod decided to break and the elliptical I was on didn't have a tv, so I found myself reading a copy of Marie Claire that had been left in the machine's cupholder. There was an article that interviewed Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Aniston, and Ginnifer Goodwin, who were promoting He's Just Not That Into You. The section that really grabbed my attention was their discussion of online dating:

MC [Marie Claire]: You all have, um, colorful dating pasts. If you weren't celebrities, how would you choose to meet men?
DB: Drunk in a bar. No, wait — kidding!
JA: I'd have to be dragged out to places. Well, like I am now.
MC: No Match.com? No Facebook?
JA: No, no, no. The Internet freaks me out.
GG: I think it's the devil. We're pack animals! We're supposed to be connecting face-to-face.
JA: The Internet warps reality. If you're an Internet person, real life will fall short of what you have been privy to online — sexually, emotionally. It's so unreal and gives you this sense of order where there isn't any. You can't drag and paste life!
MC: You don't feel you can get to know someone online?
DB: You think people tell the truth about themselves? Every guy is 6'4" with a huge schlong. That's why people love it so much. Internet does not equal sodium pentothal. [Holds up an old Polaroid camera that she carries with her everywhere] This is not for the person who surfs the Web. I love this thing. I want to meet someone who's into all the old-school stuff. I remember when I first started dating, the big thing was RadioShack answering machines. It was such a huge deal to run home and check your messages. And when you could actually check from another phone? That was, like, the craziest thing ever!

And it goes on from there. I mean, obviously Jennifer Aniston checking out Match or eHarmony for a date. It is interesting, though, how their celebrity colors their view of the entire Internet. It's a shame, really, though it's an understandable one. Goodwin admits that she has googled herself and that it led to tears. Which is kind of weird; I don't think I've ever read anything negative about her...but then, I've also never done a search for her. And it must be weird to be a celebrity and to see all this discussion of your life out there.

But at the same time, it's sad that they don't realize that people on the Internet aren't inherently bizarre freaks. It's annoying, too, but mostly I think it's sad. Again, I understand why they think so; both Drew Barrymore and Jennifer Aniston got really popular before the Internet became used in such a widespread way. I would hope that, like, Miley Cyrus or the Jonas Brothers don't have a similar attitude.

Though it does make me wonder what these people do with their time. If they find the Internet so scary...what do they do with their time? Work out, I guess. Watch tv? Obviously they can't watch certain channels. Read, maybe? Play video games? I have no idea.