The Art of Seduction in the Cyber Age

     I remember when we were about 13 or 14, my best friend and I brilliantly came to the conclusion that it'd be a great idea to go down to the local drugstore, and take pictures of our penises in one of those little photo booths.  No, no, no... this is not the beginning of some scenario straight out of a gay porn.  We just thought that it'd be funny for each of us to take our own individual turns taking the pics, after writing something that we considered clever on our penises,and distributing them at school, although I can't recall to whom.  Knowing us, we probably would've slipped them into the lockers of some girls, or most likely posted them where they'd be most likely to be seen by the largest audience, and hence provide the most shock value for our buck.

     So, we were on our way to the drugstore, and when we were about 2 blocks away from it, I suddenly realized, that it would be best to show up well prepared.  And when I mean well prepared, I meant boner in hand.  Well, not "in hand" literally, because that kind of "in hand" was what I was looking to avoid.  What I meant was, we wanted to display our full potential, and it would've been calling way too much attention to ourselves, if we were sitting in the booth for a few minutes, waiting for inspiration.  So we sat down on the sidewalk curb, each of us alone in his own thoughts, and in our mind's eye, leafing through the pages of our own personal catalogue of fantasies.  For some reason, it took us much longer than you would think.  I mean, at age 13, my biggest problem lay in getting a boner to go away, not in getting it to show up.  In my reading class at school, I usually was still sitting in my desk a few minutes after the sounding of the bell that signaled the end of class.  My teacher would be frowning with her arms crossed, and I'd be saying "I'm just trying to finish this chapter.  Do you mind?!"  Without fail, during the last couple of minutes of class, I'd be distracted by the girl who sat 2 desks ahead of me.  She was plain looking, slightly built, and slightly abrasive.  But for some reason, that was all it took for me to "salute" her.  So I had to think of something totally unrelated or something repulsive to make my boner go away. 

     After a while, my friend and I both felt sufficiently prepared to walk the final 2 blocks to the drugstore.  But when we walked in, I realized something that we hadn't taken into consideration.  The curtain on the photo booth didn't go all the way to the floor, and in order for us to get our "junk" in the shot, we would've had to have stood on the little stool (the kind that you sit on, not drop in the toilet) with our pants down around our ankles.  Realizing that such a scene would've been hard for store employees or shoppers not to notice, we had to abandon our plan.

     Young people don't realize just how good they have it these days, with the variety of methods that technology had made available, that facilitates taking and distributing pictures of their naked parts.  I can't help but wonder, if in a few years, I'm going to find myself pointing out to my nephews just how good they have it.  Undoubtedly, this will replace the kind of stories that people used to tell, that went something like:  "When I was your age, I used to walk to school, 5 miles each way, barefoot in the snow!"

     These days, we have web cams, camera phones, and digital cameras, all the stuff that an exhibitionist needs to feel that every day is his or her birthday.  And its not just for exhibitionists.  For some, sending erotic pics is a legitimate from of flirting, something that can take a budding relationship to another level, or spice up a long term one.  A couple of months ago, I jokingly text to my ex-girlfriend from Jr. High, to send me some naked pics.  We're strictly platonic friends now, and have been for a long time now, without any flirtation involved.  Nonetheless, she replied, "You first."  After I confirmed that she wasn't kidding, I shrugged my shoulders and thought, "Why not?"  We exchanged both pictures and compliments, and I couldn't help but think how ironic it was, that it was years after we had stopped dating, and on a whim, that I would see parts of her that I could only dream of at age 13.  And I owe it all to the advancement of technology, which helped in making people feel less inhibited about how they feel about sex, and their bodies, while also increasing the access that people have to each other.  Then again, I'm sure that secretly, the increased ability to send and receive "junk pics" is a main reason that these technological advances came into being in the first place, right?

    Although that kind of communication can be nice on occasion, thankfully for me, it hasn't killed my ability to communicate in other ways, namely, verbally or through writing.  Unlike some of those people that I hear about on the Craigslist personal ads or dating websites, particularly the guys.  It seems that for some, emails containing conversation are out, and penis pics are in.  What the hell is wrong with these guys, to think that sending pics of their junk to strangers is a totally acceptable way to communicate?  Who taught them that stuff?  Is it that they just received  bad life skills advice from their Dad when they were growing up?

    "Son, if you ever find yourself in a position where you're at a loss for words... just whip out your penis." Is the teacher asking you a question that you don't know the answer to? ... Just whip out your penis.  If you're having dinner with your girlfriend's parents for the first time, and her Dad asks you what your plans for the future are... Just whip out your penis.  If you're on a job interview, and your potential employer asks you what you can bring to the job... Just whip out your penis.  When someone asks you what Uncle Pete gave you for Christmas, or when you try to volunteer with the Big Brother's program, and they ask you what would make you a good Big Brother...Yeah...You know the rest...