Reality Check
The MySpace situation I wrote about yesterday reminded me of a site that used to be popular called “Am I Hot or Not?” (I just checked and it’s still around). People submit their photos and visitors rate them on a scale of 1 to 10. Most people seem to send in their best pictures as if their decision on whether or not to move to the Big Apple to pursue a career in modelling all hinges on the votes of a bunch of Internet dweebs.
The majority of posted scores do not accurately reflect their real world rating but rather seem to indicate their beer goggle rating (which is about 2-3 points higher). This leads me to believe that either a lot of people vote drunk or these people submit their photos then repeatedly give themselves 10′s in a pathetic attempt to convince other visitors, “I am beautiful!” The fact that the occasional photo remains online with a 4.5 rating means there are plenty of masochists who enjoy public humiliation- or just a lot of people who like to submit bad pictures of their friends without telling them.
When Hot or Not hit its popularity peak a few years back, I was co-hosting an Internet comedy program with comic Courtney Cronin. For a show segment, we decided to submit truly awful photos of ourselves to see who could get the worst rating. My submission was clearly not to be taken seriously- my hair was a rat’s nest and my mouth was agape with an expression of complete stupor. Needless to say, my 3.8 rating completely surprised me until I realized that the handful of visitors who got the joke probably rated me a 10 while those who considered this site to be some sort of sacred barometer of beauty gave me a 0.
I know, I know, some regular readers might wonder why I always have to screw with other people’s ideas of fun. Why do I lie on my MySpace profile then invite strangers to be my friends? Why do I submit a gag photo for Hot or Not? Why do I scream in a silent room full of people reading? (Ok, I haven’t mentioned that one here yet). I’m not trying to ruin the fun for others, just making my own fun. And at the same time, I’m giving others a nudge to remember what’s real and what’s not. Just because you earned a beer goggle 8.7 on Hot or Not, doesn’t mean you should drop your sweet, loyal boyfriend for the hot soap opera actor who lives in your building but never gives you a passing glance. And just because 200 people have accepted you as a “friend” on MySpace, doesn’t mean any of them will give you a lift to the airport. Well, they might if you’re a real world 10.
