This morning a reporter from a German newspaper called to ask my thoughts about Rent-A-Friend.
The website explains the concept. Basically, you can enter your zip code and search for someone nearby to spend time with you, doing anything you want to do---except you know what. You can try it out and see the friends available in your area, you don't need to register. If you decide to make the plunge, rates start at a base of $10 per hour and are negotiable.
Their elevator speech (cut and pasted from the site):
Rent a friend to teach you a new skill or hobby, or to show you around an unfamiliar town.
RentAFriend.com is strictly a platonic Friendship website. RentAFriend.com is NOT a dating website, and NOT an Escort agency. Services on RentAFriend.com are strictly for FRIENDSHIP purposes only.
The question I addressed with the reporter was whether it's really possible to rent a friend. Sure, our lives are complex and sometimes it's hard to find a friend whose schedule is in sync with yours. You may feel like taking a run or a jaunt to the mall and she's working under the pressure of a deadline-or she may want to get tickets for a concert next month and you can't plan in advance because you don't know where you'll be.
I've previously written about The Spontaneous Friend---the soulmate whom you can call at any time of day and ask almost anything---and described some of the qualities that characterize such a special friendship. They include:
INTIMACY
She feels as close to you emotionally as you do to her
ACCESSIBILITY
She is likely to be at a similar place in her life as you and share some of the same interests
FLEXIBILITY
She has a malleable schedule or one that seems to effortlessly mesh with yours.
Many of us simply don't have friends that meet these criteria: It's hard to find friends with whom we are intimate and who are accessible, flexible and available when we are.
The appeal of a rented friend is that you set the terms. She's there at your calling on your terms. But back to my question, is that paid companion really a "friend?" I don't think so. While we all crave the intimacy of warm spontaneous friendships, real ones can't be rented or bought. They're nurtured over time.
What do you think?
