Poking around

I was pretending to do work the other day and like so many other times before, I decided to "take a break" and satisfy my budding Internet addiction by surfing for hotties on Facebook.

I'm one of the many students that uses this Web site to find that hottie from last night's party, scam last week's notes from someone in my class or just look for attractive like-minded students to lust after.

I hadn't updated my profile pretty much since I signed up for Facebook, so I was going through the different sections and came across the "personal info" section. One of the options under "interested in meeting for" is "whatever I can get," and for some reason, I couldn't believe my eyes when I read this.

As college students of the 21st century, are we really that desperate for human interaction that we'll take whatever we can get? Let's consider this declaration for a moment.

In checking off that option, I'm basically saying that I'm more than happy to get sloppily groped in the back of Molly's, five shots of Jose Cuervo or not.

Now I don't know about the rest of you, but I like to at least pretend that I've got standards. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a casual hook-up just as much as your average college student. What I don't like, however, is people advertising the fact that they really would have sex with anything having a pulse.

When you broadcast that kind of a message to other people, it shows a serious lack of self-respect. Sure you've had some problems dating in the past. Hell, when I go to Molly's, guys won't even talk to me until last call when desperation sets in. But that's no reason to just settle for whatever proposition comes your way.

Furthermore, how do you think that makes your potential paramour feel? Personally, I prefer feeling as though the other person appreciates my company, is physically attracted to me and, god forbid, might actually want to see me again sometime soon. If I were to hook up with someone who admittedly takes whatever they can get, I'd feel as if I were on the same level as any random girl they came across. And that's not a good feeling.

What's more is that those of you who actually check off this option instantly become less attractive. If you'll take whatever you can get, then you probably already have. And I'm not going to lie, someone who's been around the block about five times really isn't that attractive. On that same note, I usually don't find someone with little self-respect or confidence that attractive either.

What it comes down to is having the confidence to stand up and set some sort of criterion for the romantic rendezvous that you're so interested in having, because, as cheesy as it sounds, we're all special in our own ways. All you have to do is stick to your guns and find someone who's going to appreciate you for those qualities. And if you choose to continue taking whatever you can get -- and making note of that in your Facebook profile -- I don't ever want to hear you complain about getting "poked" eight times a day. Because we all know what it really means when you get poked, and that's obviously what you've been looking for in the first place.