Talk Dirty to Me

Late night commercials and informercials are my favorite. They're hilarious, ridiculous, and horribly produced/constructed. One that I have trouble with, though, is the phone sex commercial for LiveLinks. There's a line in the spot that says something to the effect of "It's a proven fact: talking is more stimulating than typing."

I guess the phone sex industry, like almost every other business, has been negatively affected by this internet thing, or whatever the kids are calling it these days. But instead of focusing solely on the positive aspects of the service it provides, LiveLinks decides to setup a compare and contrast between itself and its main competitor--the internet. Stu-pid. Have you ever searched for anything on the internet? It doesn't matter what you type, something sick, twisted, sexual, or a combination of the three will come up in the results. No amount of talking can compare to that.

Also, the "Typing vs. Talking" argument the commercial poses makes me wonder if LiveLinks is comparing cyber sex to phone sex. Isn't cyber sex an antiquated practice? I don't know. Maybe it isn't. I've heard things about kids today having the sexting on their phones, so it stands to reason that it can still happen online. LiveLinks should really present some stats. How many people still use chat rooms? Which areas of the brain are triggered by talking/hearing as opposed to typing/reading? Does it depend on the person? I know I've read some pretty stimulating literature (in chat rooms, too). And even if LiveLinks was able to prove that talking is more stimulating than typing, its forgetting one key factor: the other people in the chat room with whom you're communicating can't hear you cry when it's over.