No More Long Distance Relationships?

A slightly odd - and possibly not serious - article in Slate encourages people to forswear long-distance relationships and only date local men and women.

A robust Date Local movement wouldn’t just help the environment. Like other forms of economic localization, the decision to swear off Orbitz romance creates important spinoff benefits. For one, it makes people less anti-social. By spending all their free time out of town or staring at a webcam—that is, in their apartments or airline cabins, rather than in parks, bowling alleys, and pubs—long-distance lovers erode civic commitment and social support networks. They have fewer chances to meet new people. …

The case against long-distance relationships

I’m not too hungry to meet new people. And the very long-distance relationship that I once had was one of the best in my life.