FA+
Shop
Let discuss the "The Six-Month Rule"
15 years ago
General
I fancy myself as a bit of a armchair sociologist. The fandom provides some FANTASTIC opportunities for some great trainwrecks of social interaction. One recent trend I`ve noticed has been what I call "the six-month rule".
This phenomenon, while not-exclusive to the fandom itself, is very prevalent due to its internet oriented nature. What is this rule exactly? Let me lay it down as such:
"Someone who moves a very long distance from a deeply established family or social circle will likely return to that family or social circle within 6 months"
or in English: "If you move your ass across country to be with the "love of your life", you`ll be back with mommy within 6 months"
The odds of this rule being more or less true to depend on a few factors....
Here are a few situations that make my theory MORE likely to occur (and increase the chance of a hilarious trainwreck when one has to move back in with daddy):
1. You meet the "love of your life" over the internet. You decide to move from one side of the country to the other to be with them... except that you moved in with their parents AND you have no job.
Dont laugh, at least three people on my watch list are doing this right now.... (3 months left, 1 month left, and 5 months left respectively. Good luck guys!).
Two people on my watch list have already fulfilled this exact circumstance and have already moved back in with their parents. CONGRATS!
One person proved me wrong and has hit something like a year. Good job! n.n
2. You live in the boonies (ie middle of nowhere, probably mid-west US), you meet a friend online that you get along with. BAM! You decide to move 2000 miles to be with them . It turns out your friend is a slob and lives with 16 other roommates.
Dont laugh again, I know at least 3 people in this situation currently. One is still living with them after a year (wow proved me wrong) again , the other already moved back , a third still has oh.... 2 months to go. (and he looks like he`ll stick it out)
Things that decrease the odds that you`ll NOT move back (also known as common sense):
1. YOU HAVE A FUCKING JOB. This is a big one. If you move across country, you better be damned sure you got employment waiting for you. Nothing says stupid like uprooting your life for 6 months of ramen-filled horror. Of course mommy/daddy will always take you back.
2. You dont treat the person you are moving in with like some sort of bullshit high-school relationship. Furries have this horrible habit of treating every relationship like its something out of my senior year. Dont get puppy love confused for the real thing. Take that shit seriously.
Please leave your flames below....
This phenomenon, while not-exclusive to the fandom itself, is very prevalent due to its internet oriented nature. What is this rule exactly? Let me lay it down as such:
"Someone who moves a very long distance from a deeply established family or social circle will likely return to that family or social circle within 6 months"
or in English: "If you move your ass across country to be with the "love of your life", you`ll be back with mommy within 6 months"
The odds of this rule being more or less true to depend on a few factors....
Here are a few situations that make my theory MORE likely to occur (and increase the chance of a hilarious trainwreck when one has to move back in with daddy):
1. You meet the "love of your life" over the internet. You decide to move from one side of the country to the other to be with them... except that you moved in with their parents AND you have no job.
Dont laugh, at least three people on my watch list are doing this right now.... (3 months left, 1 month left, and 5 months left respectively. Good luck guys!).
Two people on my watch list have already fulfilled this exact circumstance and have already moved back in with their parents. CONGRATS!
One person proved me wrong and has hit something like a year. Good job! n.n
2. You live in the boonies (ie middle of nowhere, probably mid-west US), you meet a friend online that you get along with. BAM! You decide to move 2000 miles to be with them . It turns out your friend is a slob and lives with 16 other roommates.
Dont laugh again, I know at least 3 people in this situation currently. One is still living with them after a year (wow proved me wrong) again , the other already moved back , a third still has oh.... 2 months to go. (and he looks like he`ll stick it out)
Things that decrease the odds that you`ll NOT move back (also known as common sense):
1. YOU HAVE A FUCKING JOB. This is a big one. If you move across country, you better be damned sure you got employment waiting for you. Nothing says stupid like uprooting your life for 6 months of ramen-filled horror. Of course mommy/daddy will always take you back.
2. You dont treat the person you are moving in with like some sort of bullshit high-school relationship. Furries have this horrible habit of treating every relationship like its something out of my senior year. Dont get puppy love confused for the real thing. Take that shit seriously.
Please leave your flames below....
BTW, sent you an eeeemail. :D
although Im sure your familar with at least one instance of this :D
i like it when the move-in occurs maybe a year into the "relationship"--
it's like.
come on, guys.
REALLY.
Though I don't count cause I moved to Cali because I wanted to leave Texas. It's been a rough road, but I'm stubborn and still here. :3
And I didn't move for relationship reasons. >.>
JOBBBBBBB so important
Delicious brain. Omnomnomnomnomnom
And another thing I have seen...the convention excuse
Meeting someone in person at a convention will definitely give MORE insight than just your online interactions...but even there...its not a COMPLETE picture. Conventions are a heightened social experience. Sometimes we say or do stuff differently than we do when we are back in our day to day facing life issues, from the most mundane to the complicated.
Oh, and using someone's social circle to gauge how nice of a person they are is another fallacy. All too often I have met people in person that have 300+ friends on thier list. They may exchange kind words online and seem to have a healthy amount of social skills. Then when I actually met them, they either had the personality of a flea or were a bag of insecurity, spite, and other unsavory personality traits. What they projected online (and in the case of furries) or that cool fursuit suddenly seems not so shiny and new.
Overall, some things just dont translate from the online to the offline.