Internet Motel

Chat room is defined by netalert.net as “ A place on the Internet where people with similar interests can meet and communicate together by typing messages on their computer.” But how far would this messaging take them?

I was in our house last Saturday while watching this documentary show in which one of their topic is all about this specific internet café’ in one of the most busy and crowded streets in Manila and where students can usually be seen loitering at. This Internet café can be found along Avenida.

At first sight, it looks just like your typical cyber café. The location is very strategic since different schools and universities surrounds the area and it’s is the perfect place where students can make their assignments and projects after school. But is that only the main motive why this place is selling like hotcakes especially to the male species?

It’s really true that looks can be deceiving because behind the café’s cubicle, reveals the deep dark secrets of their regular patrons. The usual conversation between the chatters turns into a more intimate and malicious one.

The usual activities of the customers in this Internet café go like this. They go to the place, rent a computer and hook up to net to chat. But if you’re someone who is a keen observer, you’ll notice that after a minute or so, people keeps on going in and out of their cubicles. This is somewhat perplexing because one cubicle is equal to one person only, meaning, no one is allowed to share a cubicle to another person. But what’s somewhat astonishing is that no tenants of the café seem to notice it. Is the place crowded enough for them not to notice these strange activities?

Little by little customers are turning the Internet café into a pick up room or Internet motel. Their customers? Who else but also the customers of the said café. They meet each other at a particular chat room and scout for potential mates who is also inside the cyber café. Upon agreeing on the set up, the exchanging of cubicles happens, or they do their malicious acts outside the place. Regular customers of this place are males and whatever they are doing inside is only between them and the four corners of the booth.

Upon confrontation with the tenants, because the real owner is out of town, they claim that they’re incognizant about this matter because no one dared to divulge the disgusting acts of their patrons. They received a complaint once but just shrugged their shoulders on it since it was never followed by another one again.

Never in my whole life have I ever seen an Internet café separated by a cubicle, what’s this, a restroom? I don’t want to sound too apprehensive but what’s the purpose of these cubicles plus the doors? Privacy when chatting or doing projects is okay but is using the area to let the heat out of their body still part of it? If they want to do their stuffs, no one is reprimanding them to do so, just be sure to do it in a more private place away from the public’s watchful eyes.

And you know what’s really alarming? It’s the safety of our students, specifically the females. Just the thought of a cyber café infested by perverts, within their schools’ vicinity, is very disturbing. Also, what if someone is innocently doing her project on the said cyber café unaware of the lewd acts happening inside the shop, and then there came the pervert and discreetly went inside the girl’s cubicle? I don’t want to think about the next scene anymore but I do hope you get what I’m trying to point out here. And how about the tenants? Who knows, they might not notice it because maybe they’re too busy with something else again to bother their customer’s behaviors anymore. Or, maybe, just maybe, they choose to ignore them, because whatever they’re doing inside the cubicles is not their business anymore, as long as they pay right and they draw customers, then that’s it.

And to the owners of the Internet Café’s out there, please be on guard, let us make sure that our café’s are conducive for Internet researches, paper works, clean entertainment and not for anything else. I know that money makes the world go round but not at all times, let us also take into account our customer’s safety. And by tolerating such acts, have we ever thought what kind of society are we forming for our children?