SALON

Wednesday, Jan 5, 2011 9:35 PM UTC

The surprisingly traditional Groupon marriage proposal

Today's high-tech romantic overtures aren't the break in custom that they might at first seem

By

Topics: Coupling,

The surprisingly traditional Groupon marriage proposalA screenshot from Greg's Groupon proposal

Forget the custom airplane banner, the JumboTron at the game and the ring in a glass of bubbly — that is so last decade. Today, the world got its first Groupon marriage proposal, or “Grouposal,” as the popular deal-making site is calling it. A Cincinnati man by the name of Greg offered to marry his girlfriend, Dana, for the low price of $1. Well, marriage has historically been a financial transaction! But the text of his commercial offer adds a dash of traditional tenderness: “I have told you many times that I was the luckiest man ever,” he writes. “I want the amazing times to continue by spending the rest of my life with you — the sweetest, most beautiful, and smartest woman in the entire world.”

This is just the latest in a string of high-tech marriage proposals. People have proposed via Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Foursquare, Google Street View and iPhone apps (yes, there’s an app for that). Of course, much to the jewelry industry’s delight, most folks are still going the usual route and dropping to one knee (figuratively or otherwise) in real life, but techy proposals are becoming increasingly visible. At first it seems a shocking break in custom, perhaps a sign that our idea of romance is fundamentally changing. As one woman wrote incredulously in response to her beau’s online proposal, “Facebook? Really!” (She also said “yes.”) But our romantic culture has long been built around public displays of affection — from the dramatic proposal to the flashy ring to the monumental ceremony. It’s just that nowadays “public” means “online.” In a sense, these virtual proposals are actually very traditional.

What isn’t so traditional is that other people have become involved in the proposal process in a way that they weren’t before. Sure, if you propose to your girlfriend in the middle of the ice skating rink — as I witnessed one nervous feller do last winter — complete strangers will become vicariously involved. It will cause hoots, hollers and tears (and, sadly, the inevitable fight between disparately committed lovers). These Webby proposals invite all sorts of uninhibited commentary, though. Not only does a YouTube proposal garner scores of comments from random viewers hiding behind handles, but it inspires yet more chatter when it’s posted on Facebook and Twitter, and so on and so forth. You get remarks about the “hideous ring,” wagers on whether the divorce will be tweeted and little gems like this one: “If you propose using technology, there’s about an 80% chance the woman will cheat on you within the first year of marriage.” Oh, people.

That’s the thing about the public space of the Internet: The reach is infinitely larger (case in point: Hi, Greg and Dana!) and the response is unpredictable. The good news is that sometimes virtual bystanders can surprise you with their sweetness. So far, the “Grouposal” has been met with warm congratulations and plenty of unsolicited but well-meaning relationship advice. More important, though, Dana, a major Groupon fan (a Groupon-ie?), has officially clicked the “buy” button. Now the happy couple can walk the aisle on Second Life and livestream their honeymoon — or whatever other new ways people are following tradition these days.

Tracy Clark-Flory

Tracy Clark-Flory is a staff writer at Salon. Follow @tracyclarkflory on Twitter and Facebook. More Tracy Clark-Flory.

Next Article

Related Stories

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

The week in 10 pics

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • Lisa Montgomery embraces her nephew Thursday after a tornado tore apart her home in Cleburne, Texas. The twister killed six people and destroyed entire swaths of the North Texas town.
    Credit: AP/LM Otero

  • Jack McMahon, the defense attorney for abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, speaks outside the Criminal Justice Center in Philadelphia Tuesday. His client was convicted of killing three babies in his clinic, and will serve multiple life sentences.
    Credit: AP/Matt Rourke

  • A photo taken Monday captures Vice President Joe Biden's response to a Milwaukee second-grader's innovative proposal to end America's epidemic of gun violence. This guy!
    Credit: AP/Jenny Aicher

  • Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., flanked by a grouper-eyed Michele Bachmann, addresses the IRS' admission that it targeted Tea Party groups in advance of the 2012 election. In an op-ed for CNN Thursday, the Kentucky senator slammed the president for his faux outrage.
    Credit: AP/Molly Riley

  • Ousted IRS chief Steven Miller is sworn in on Capitol Hill Friday. Miller testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on the extra scrutiny the agency gave conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status.
    Credit: AP/J. Scott Applewhite

  • Attorney General Eric Holder pauses as he testifies on Capitol Hill before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday. Holder is under fire, among other things, for the Justice Department's gathering of phone records at the Associated Press.
    Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster

  • O.J. Simpson sits during an evidentiary hearing at Clark County District Court in Las Vegas, Nev., Thursday. Simpson, who is currently serving a nine-to-33-year sentence in state prison for armed robbery and kidnapping, is using a writ of habeas corpus to seek a new trial.
    Credit: AP/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Jeff Scheid

  • Major Tom to ground control: On Sunday astronaut Chris Hadfield recorded the first music video from space, a cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity."
    Credit: AP/NASA/Chris Hadfield

  • When it rains it pours. President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference Thursday with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, inexplicably inspiring an #umbrellagate Twitter meme.
    Credit: AP/Jacquelyn Martin

  • A smoke plume rises high above a road block at the intersection of County A and Ross Road east of Solon Springs, Wis., Tuesday. No injuries were reported, but the the wildfire caused evacuations across northwestern Wisconsin.
    Credit: AP/The Duluth News-Tribune/Clint Austin

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

Comments

 9 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

vote
Journalists file suit against Manning's trial secrecy: Plaintiffs including Glenn Greenwald and Julian Assange demand press, public access to trial and documents
151 points152 points | comment
vote
Kaitlyn Hunt refuses plea offer, will go to court over high school relationship - The 18-year-old rejected a deal that would have labeled her a sex offender and placed her under house arrest
131 points132 points | 91 comments
vote
Report: Nearly a quarter of Americans struggle to afford food
126 points127 points | 12 comments
vote
Kaitlyn Hunt refuses plea offer, will go to court over high school relationship - The 18-year-old rejected a deal that would have labeled her a sex offender and placed her under house arrest
115 points116 points | 32 comments
vote
Ted Cruz against the world - How the Junior Senator is igniting the GOP civil war
77 points78 points | 19 comments

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: Chekhov's story mirrors Russia's own

Recommendations