Hide and Seek.

Dating seems to bring out the immature child in us. Let me explain: I think this because dating, LBH, is pretty much an inane process, at least in the beginning when it's actually a "date" (once you've established a "relationship" and a rapport, I think the situation often moves from dating--in the definitive sense--to hanging out and spending time with someone you care about. You're still "dating" but it does not maintain the same stigma, if you will. If you won't, bear with me.). That first date, especially, can bring one back (though only theoretically) to childhood days. The first date is like a college interview (asking questions) slash first day of school (providing the "important" person with all your "important" information).

And here's the segue. So, since dating is already pretty childlike, there's no reason not to take full advantage, right? That's why I, until yesterday, chose to play a little game I like to call "Hide and Seek."

As I've mentioned before, Match provides a nifty little option that allows you to "hide." This means that you can scroll through the pages and pages of potential matches, look at their profiles, examine their pictures and remain, through it all, completely anonymous. They will never know you looked at them. This is great, because as I also said before, it allows you to be a stalker. Not that I am one. Anymore.

Now, while you can hide and seek simultaneously, we all know that's not how the game is played. In the real world of childhood games [created by some smart adult who was able to bamboozle children into believing hiding was fun], you hide and someone (hopefully) looks for you. But on Match, if you choose to hide, no one can find you. It's really like you've disappeared off the face of the Earth. So you have to make a decision: do I hide and look around without anyone noticing and, thus, take away the chance for others to find me (and to find True Love)? Or, do I suck it up and just search with no abandon?

I ask this only because I maybe sometimes but not always search hidden. Disclaimer: I do not, nor have I ever stalked someone's profile (due, in part, to the fact that I have almost a photographic memory, at least when it comes to inconsequential things such as this). However, sometimes I like to search hidden, and sometimes I like to hide myself (because I'm popular and cannot keep up with all the people looking at my profile. Geez.).

And, yesterday I ran into a problem. I searched while hidden for a bit and then went out for a night on the town. I came home and had no new views, which was interesting, as the Thursday night 8-12 timeslot seems, historically speaking, to be a popular online search time. I realized soon after that my profile had remained hidden. People could have been looking for me and not been able to find me! I panicked a bit, as I have been corresponding with a few lucky men. I worried that the witty emails they had in their inboxes would remain unanswered because they would go to look at my profile (I've noticed, the men have no problem showing up at the top of your viewed list repeatedly), not find me, and think I had fallen out of cyberspace. Two of them actually wrote back and asked where my profile had gone.

So, the question is: to hide or not to hide? Are there benefits to it? Detriments?

And, yes, I could have just asked the question and done away with all my magnificent prose. But it's not like I kept you from your work or anything.