LETTER FROM
THE EDITOR
HUFFINGTON
02.16.14
ART STREIBER
A New
Kind
of Love
I
N THIS WEEK’S ISSUE,
just in time for Valentine’s Day, Bianca Bosker looks at a kind of
love that’s increasingly commonplace in our tech-obsessed culture
— the virtual relationship.
Bianca puts the spotlight on a
Japanese video game, LovePlus, in
which players choose to become
involved with one of three digital girlfriend characters. “There’s
sweet, big-sisterly Nene; intelligent, but clingy Manaka; and shy
Rinko, who feels alienated by her
new stepmother and half-brother,” Bianca writes.
Bianca spoke to LovePlus play-
ers, both male and female. Some
are using the game to prepare for
real-life relationships, others to
get over a past heartbreak. But
many describe the support and affection they get from their virtual
relationships as “real.”
“There’s times where I want
to hug Rinko. She’s just being so
cute, I want to hug her,” one player tells Bianca. As another player
puts it: “I’ve known Manaka to
actually slap me a couple times
because she got so mad.”
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