Starflower
The Dating Ant and the Single Grasshopper
While re-reading the fable about the Ant and the Grasshopper the other day, it struck me that the fable could be applied to online dating and singles. Sounds ridiculous to apply the moral of an ancient Greek fable to modern online dating? Well, think about it:
The fable about the Ant and the Grasshopper begins at this time of year – while the weather is still beautiful and the summer is drawing to a close, the ant is busy stocking up supplies for the winter ahead. The grasshopper, however, is enjoying the weather and couldn’t be bothered thinking about the cold months ahead. As winter sets in, the ant is nice and cosy, with plenty of food to keep her going, while the grasshopper suffers cold and hunger because he didn’t prepare for the cold season.
This analogy is usually applied to hard work that pays off financially when times get tough, but applied to online dating, the lesson also rings true. Some singles don’t log on to their online dating profiles for months throughout the summer. Why should they? They are having a great time, going out with friends, engaging in outdoors activities, going on holidays and maybe even meeting new people. Come winter, they begin to worry about the shorter days and the long, lonely nights. As the social calendar becomes less full, they realise that they are still single and have no one to cuddle up to in the cold winter months. Suddenly online dating sites become extra-busy, as singles try to find a partner before Christmas or finally do something about last year’s New Year’s resolution not to be single anymore by this time next year.
Other singles, however, are active on online dating sites all through the summer – and with that extra dedication, they have much more of a chance of finding a partner before winter comes. Then, to return to our fable, when the grasshopper comes knocking on the ant’s door in December, asking if he could take the lovely guy the ant met on an online dating site to the office Christmas party, the ant can say:
“Keep your hands off my man! (It is best to prepare for days of necessity.)”
