"Life is short. Have an affair."
“Have you ever found yourself on a really bad blind date? Now imagine that date lasting the rest of your life. Isn’t it time for AshleyMadison.com?” That’s the dialogue from a commercial for Ashley Madison a dating website, much like Eharmony or match.com, but dedicated to facilitating extramarital affairs. A website for cheating (or is it kindred?) hearts to link up for some no-strings-attached affairs sounds like a seedy, morally vacuous service, right? Believe me, I’m sure there are PTC moms and parishioners everywhere that are at odds with the service, but perhaps we should all take a deeper look.
When asked if Ashley Madison promotes adultery, Noel Biderman, the founder and CEO of the company responds with a solid “No”. He explains his position: “Ashley Madison does not encourage anyone to stray … Providing a service like ours does not make someone more likely to stray any more than increasing the availability of glassware contributes to alcoholism.”
Biderman’s position brings us back to the good old-fashioned debate of providing condoms in school; is it better to promote safe sex because teenage sex is inevitable, or is it better to promote abstinence? Biderman’s take on this argument is clear—adultery has been around as long as marriage has, and it’s not going anywhere. By offering a “safe alternative” to office romances, or linking up with people that a prospective cheater’s family may know, Ashley Madison’s discretion may serve as a way to save unnecessary heartbreak.
With trying economic times, many married couples are forgoing or delaying divorce, because of the costly court and attorney fees. Ashley Madison offers a less expensive way to seek some “carnal comfort” and an escape from a doomed marriage.
Biderman states that many site members are trapped in sexless marriages, feel that they are being neglected, or some even be questioning their sexuality, but don't actually want to leave their spouses. Thus, he suggests that the company "preserves more marriages than we break up."
Again, it seems sleazy and wrong, but Ashley Madison may be just the site to save America’s dismal 50% divorce rate.
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