...is love blind? REDUX

[alliancesjr]

Yesterday I mentioned the Two Strangers and a Wedding experiment being conducted by the radio station I listen to at work. I decided that it really is interesting to me, and that I'll be following this pretty religiously.

I just really like the concept.

Therefore, I will be following along with this social project in this journal. Entries dealing with the subject will be marked with the appropriate journal tags and cut text, so those who read this journal who have absolutely no interest in this experiment will not have to read it.

Since yesterday, they've added a streaming video of Eric and Kathy in the studio from yesterday's broadcast, outlining the specifics of this project in full.

You people have your Bachelors and American Idols and Who Wants To Marry A Millionaire. This is one that interests me. Don't judge me.

It is a very interesting question, though. You guys tell me what you think. Is love blind? Can two people fall in love over the phone or internet, maybe have their families and friends involved, and have a healthy marriage without ever seeing their prospective spouse until they are at the altar? Let me know your thoughts on the matter.


11 days.

Comments

[hunnybee929.livejournal.com]

I think it's a really interesting concept and social experiment. However, given our society and the roles we now have, I don't know how feasible it is to fall in love sight unseen. That isn't to say it can't happen. Falling in love with someone's personality is a very VERY important part of loving them, but there should be some physical. In percentages, I would say it's 95% mental and 5% physical. I actually started a story with a concept similar to this, but it's more unrealistic than what Eric and Kathy are doing.
I can also say that perhaps the people will fall in love and when they meet, if the physical attraction isn't there, that may ruin things and bring about a divorce pretty quickly. I'm not saying it's the most important thing, but I'm saying someone might feel that they fell in love with an image in their mind based on what they heard in the conversations and such with the other person so the physical appearance might not match up to the mental image created. It's like having a penpal, falling in love with their words and expecting this knight in shining armour only to find out that he's a knight in slightly tarnished armour and feeling gipped because the armour isn't perfect. Most of the time divorce comes from changing your mind. This ISN'T the person you want to spend the rest of your life with, or you CAN'T work out issues. Basically, divorce is like a coward's cop out in most cases because people rush into marriage too quickly without knowing someone. It can often be based on the physical which can leave a person with a rosy-colored image of the mental and blocking all imperfections. Then, after marriage, when the rose-colored glasses come off and all the imperfections are glaring in the light, not everyone likes what they see. Oops, I made a mistake, I need a divorce (or in Britney Spears' case, Oops, I did it again). So while I feel this could work out, I think people have to have pretty realistic ideas and intentions when going into this because if they allow the mind to create an image of the person that just isn't there, they might find themselves mightily disappointed. On the other hand, it would be great if they did work out and proved to people that most of them are morons when it comes to love and they should give folks a chance if they find the personalities mesh.
::climbs off soapbox::
This spiel has been brought to you by the letter C and the number 7.

[eternitian.livejournal.com]

It's a touch riskier than a face-to-face or even long-distance relationship, but theoretically, I think it can work. Having little short of done it myself.

[jcrow.livejournal.com]

Obviously, I agree. ^_^ The foundation of our relationship happened long before we'd exchanged photographs. I also agree with hunnybee929, though, in that if the physical isn't involved at ALL, there might be a major disappointment when they finally do get to the altar if there's no physical attraction. It's far from the primary thing in a relationship, but it does play some part.

[icysnowgirl.livejournal.com]

Falling in love over the internet or phone... Quite possible. If they are both honest and open with each other, they'll be seeing parts of the core of the person. The body and mind changes with experiences and age, but I feel there's a "core" of a person that we search for and want to be attracted to for a lasting love. In some ways, it might be easier to find that core without the distraction of the body. In some ways it might be harder, because so much communication is indirect.

As for a healthy marriage? I don't know. I'm still learning about what a healthy relationship is.