Category: Dating and Relationships
Hi all!
Has anyone ever heard of this site called, "rent a friend?"
I didn't know where else to post this...
It's a web site that you go on and fill out a profile. You can also look at others. I think you have to pay like 20 dollars or something to contact them however not sure.
What're your thoughts on this? I'm sure I'm missing some info about the site so if anyone knows anything feel free to post it. Interestingly, I heard about this site on a tech site.
sounds like you'd have to be pretty desperate to want to rent a friend. lol
What the hell is rent a friend? That just sounds wrong.
Hmmm, a bit desperate that sort of Sites. I think I'll stick to my own friends in real life thank you very much.
oooo! Lets all rent a friend.
yeah does sound almost like prostatuting.
Along those same lines, my girlfriend who is also a single senior citizen wondered if we could get a guy in for the weekend just to hang out with for companionship, no making love. I told her she was nuts.
Maybe it's like an escort service? Or maybe it's for people who are new to an area and would like someone to show them around town, help introduce them to local culture, etc.? Just guessing.
I'm a great friend and I'm for rent... at a price you can afford. Just 20 dollars an hour. I'll come eat up your food, drink all your milk, sleep on your couch, blare the TV and generally do all the adorable things that only a true friend does. Hope to hear from you soon!
it does sound like an Escort type service to me. Not for me, personally, but there will always be people into that sort of thing. If you're not looking for sex, though, you can occasionally find this on something like Craigslist for free. At the very least, you can contact the person for free.
BTW, some people will provide casual sex for free. You just have to know where to look. anyway, point is, I don't see how a site like this could provide anything you couldn't find elsewhere for less, or for free.
On a side note, I, personally, don't like the slogan "Rent A Friend". Catchy, I'll admit, but there's something about the wording they chose that just really gets under my skin. Maybe the fact that the words rent and friend are found in the same phrase. I don't know. I know it's just a slogan, but yeah.
OK, here it is direct from their website:
RentAFriend.com is a website that allows you to rent local Friends from all over the world. You can rent a local Friend to hang out with, go to a movie or restaurant with, or someone to go with you to a party or event. Rent a friend to teach you a new skill or hobby, or to show you around an unfamiliar town.
In addition to the paragraph above that I copied from their website, I also noticed a mention of respite care. I know a lot of people dealing with elderly parents with Alzheimer's who have no other family members to give them a break, and this sounds like a possible service for them.
Some people live lifestyles that are so busy that there's no time to meet people or maintain friendships. Other people just have a hard time meting people. We're not all naturals at meeting people, believe it or not, so let's please not assume only the worst sort of human being would use such a service.
I looked at the site some more, and it is an accredited business and states specifically that it is not an escort service. Anyone who wants to know more should visit rentafriend.com and enter on the link that says "what is rent a friend?"
I was surprised at all the uses for such a business, and I think anyone who is thinking this is just for perverts or losers will be surprised.
I bet you anything, they named this service rent a friend for a reason, that reason being they knew people would make crazy assumptions and knew they could use it to their advantage.
interesting, but probably not a service I would use.
When I first read this title here it made me laugh because I am always teasing on here about text a ho.
I can see how a service like this can come in handy even for people that have friends. Say you want company, but you are in a different city over the weekend on business or personal reasons. You just don't want to hang alone. It might due.
I'll bet, however, even though they say they don't rent escorts it happens, or sex anyway.
The sight can claim no responsibility for this, because they have said so on the site, and do not maybe profit from it?
Interesting.
I also could see how this service could come in handy. Maybe they could have chosen their name better though. Rent a friend reminds me of the furniture place, Rent A Center. They shouldn't charge though.
I agree with you about having a charge simply to contact a person, but there's nothing wrong with charging a fee for the service the person actually hanging out with you is providing, regardless of reasoning.
I get how some people might find this useful, but the whole thing still rubs me the wrong way. from the concept to the title--I dont' know. I understand people have busy lives and I am personally one who has trouble meeting new people a lot of the time, but I'd still find it awkward to use this...
Yeah, I agree with writeaway on this..on one hand I'm not the greatest at meeting people. It would be nice to find someone to do stuff with such as going to amusement parks etc..
But, I'm just not sure about the site..I mean, if I remember correctly, I heard about it on ABC tech section. I've heard that business people use it while on the road, the eldorly..etc.
I'd be worried that something bad could happen to someone but with that said anything can happen regardless of how you meet someone.
When I hired my caregiver for once monthly, I went through about 3 references before I would let her help me. Guess I am too paranoid, but ziegler just had an article about this very thing: Being blind and letting folks come in and help. My girlfriend just got a caregiver through a nurse she knows, who uses the caregiver for other patients and everybody loves Lilly, the caregiver. Getting references seems to be the name of the game.Rent a friend certainly has gotten reaction hasn't it? They should change their name.
I'll admit it's the name that gets to me more than the actual idea of it. it really reminds me a lot of elementary school days where teachers would reward students for accompanying me to a certain school event, and they would be generous towards me for the purposes of obtaining their reward from the teacher. Now, I know that A. this service doesn't always have to involve someone who would be a complete assehole if not for the money. and B. Even if they were, you are asking for a paid service. But like any job that requires you to work with people, I would hope the people getting hired are at least decent, all pay cheques aside. Fake generosity has never appealed to me, personally.
I would hope that if they allow someone to be a "rented friend," then they would at least do some kind of check to make sure they're not a murderer or rapist. This would be what worried me about it. And for the charging, I can see now why they would charge for their services.
Oh my gosh Ocean! That's horrible I can't believe someone (teachers!) would do that!
B, I think it's a good idea that people do some kind of checking on this..and the name's annoying!
When I was in middle school I had a similar thing happen to me. The teacher would get people to help me go to lunch and go to different classes. People would volunteer just to get out of class earlier. It really annoyed me.
Renting a friend sounds verry strange to me indeed. It's kind of sad when you think about it.
Well, i can see the reasoning behind it..just dunno if i'd actually pay for that kinda thing. (for reasons, see above lol..) but I understand what you mean.
Wow haven't any of you ever used services such as CraigsList for anything? My 3 blind siblings and I use it all the time. Sure we have met some rather strange people, as strange people are everywhere. But overall we've found some good helpers and opportunities that way. My youngest brother is now on the road fulltime, with a band he found on craigslist.
I'm sure such services aren't for everybody, if you're fearful around people in general. But if you don't mind putting yourself out there and taking a bit of a risk and seeking some new opportunities, then I don't see much to worry about in a service like this. I think people are just afraid of it because its new. Kind of like online dating used to seem so weird and scary, and now its almost as normal as regular dating. Three of the happiest married couples I know are people who met online...
I think soon services such as RentAFriend will be quite commonplace and useful. I can see several possibilities that would be very helpful to me and my school, but alas, I'm in a rather isolated area with no friends around to rent. lol. So I'm kind of envious of those of you who could take advantage of such things but don't choose to.
Kim
Perhaps having this under the dating and relationships topic is misleading and giviing some of you the wrong idea. I've looked at the site and read quite a bit of the information, and it is not a dating site.
Ah Lady, that is my fault..I'm sorry..
and Kim, I do understand what you mean. I have used craigslist before for stuff.
I agree. It sounds ridiculous.
to those claiming this service is ridiculous, you must not use Craigslist, then, as it's quite similar. funny how a name can make people go haywire.
I checked it out. I agree with libra. I think the fact that it is under dating and relationships is what is making people go haywire. It's not really a dating service, and people aren't trying to get a long lasting realtionship with a friend. It may come from this, but it's not the meaning of the site. It's not ridiculous if you really think about it. It could be very useful for some people. I'll bet alot of you are posting based on the name, and I'll admit. The name alone does sound kind of bad, but you all should check it out before bashing it.
First impressions count. So, the fact that the name being off-putting to some of us may not be fair, but it is what it is.
Hmm, so could someone start a sparring partner website called "Rent-A-Fiend?" Great for people training into Extreme Fighting.
Lol, go for it Leo.
Oh... now it makes sense. Pretty smart how an American organisation run their business these days.
lol Alex!
I don't think she put it under this topic subject to say it was for dating, but just to get opinions on what was thought about such a service. I would call it relating, and as I said before it probably turns in to dating some time.
Lmao Leo! Love it...
I don't use Craigslist LOL.
Nor do I. It is a shady survice and I can't believe how trusting and open people are sometimes. Ironically, the one's who claim to be the most guarded seem to be the most open.
I think it can go both ways