Did you know that Craigslist has a whole section called "Missed Connections" where you can read about people first meeting each other and trying to get back in touch? When I first stumbled upon this section of the site, I was confused that it even existed. I mean who would actually post on this site about meeting someone at the gym and feeling sad that they have no way of getting in touch. My next thought was about the poor people that will never see these posts. I mean, what are the odds that the person you are trying to contact is actually in that section of the site and wanting to meet you. If you do find yourself going through this page of the site, you will definitely be met with some weird, some creepy, and even some hilarious stories.
As I sat there scrolling through the stories of people missing each other and not being able to connect, I found that a decent amount of the people were married. I mean right in the post, they say something along the lines of one or both of the people being married but they wanted to give it a shot anyway. As a married woman, seeing all of these posts of people trying to cheat on their spouse made me uncomfortable and sad. What about the other people involved in these people's marriages? Have they cheated before and it is expected of them? Or is this their first shot at trying to get together with someone other than their spouse? Would these people jump at anyone who responds to their post? Or are they simply looking to cheat with the person who most likely will never see the post?
It seems so easy to fall into the temptation of hiding behind a computer screen and asking your married coworker to get in touch with you. In our society, it seems like the easy way out for most people and with the rise of social media, you can get in touch with anyone your heart desires. Where do we draw the line? Why is it deemed okay for people to break off engagements or get divorced because of cheating? By saying to someone that it is okay to "follow their heart" and cheat on their spouse, we as a society are essentially sweeping adultery under the rug. I do not think that people should be given an excuse to make this behavior acceptable. People have cheated on one another since the beginning of time and will continue to do so but that doesn't mean that we should suddenly be okay with it or even promote it as some noble behavior. We certainly should not be encouraging it with sections like "Missed Connections" on Craigslist.
We as a society need to recognize that we are warping the way the next generation is taught to see relationships and marriage. We need to pause and figure out what example we want to set for relationships in the future. Do we want cheating to be our relationship legacy or something vastly different? I would much rather be setting the example that my grandparents did for me by staying happily married for more than 50 years with no infidelity.
