Editing 642: Creepy

{{comic
| number    = 642
| date      = September 28, 2009
| title     = Creepy
| image     = creepy.png
| titletext = And I even got out my adorable new netbook!
}}

==Explanation==
This comic displays [[Cueball]]'s fears that his attempts to strike up a conversation with [[Megan]] will only result in her rejecting him and even humiliating him in front of others for attempting to get to know her - he might even risk getting his picture on {{w|Facebook}} with a warning that he is a creep to be avoided. This is because he worries that others might interpret his behavior as {{w|sexual harassment}}, the exaggerated flip-side of his attempted courtship. It turns out in the fifth and last panel that the first four panels was just one large thought bubble on how Cueball worried an attempt to contact Megan would turn out. 

Ironically, however, Megan is actually attracted to Cueball and is dismayed that he has not spoken to her. Therefore, Cueball's fears are unfounded and are even preventing the two from meeting and possibly forming a relationship. Megan could of course also have spoken to Cueball herself, but she expects him to make a move if he is interested. Thus she also prevents herself from making contact because of her own expectations and fears of rejection.

The title text is the continuation of Megan's apparent journal entry and further emphasizes the irony of the situation: in the attempt to be alluring to Cueball, Megan took out her "adorable new {{w|netbook}}," the very thing Cueball stopped himself from complimenting in the first place.

This comic comments on the unsettling effects of social change, particularly with respect to the advent of {{w|social media}} and to modern sensitivity toward a woman's (or any person's) right to be left alone in public. It points out that attempting to start a conversation with a stranger has become risky, and we have yet to evolve new customs and conventions [http://store.xkcd.com/products/just-shy to signal openness] to such an approach. The risk is aggravated by social media, by which means an innocent misjudgment may subject one to public humiliation - or even worse someone might expect that you had intention of performing some {{w|Sex and the law|sexual crime}} - if that type of info is published with a picture and/or your name on Facebook or {{w|Twitter}} etc. your life could be ruined without any reason. As a result, opportunities to meet other people are missed, loneliness and social isolation are increased, and one may even experience existential fears of being unattractive. Ironically, some people react to this problem by relying on the same social media to stay connected with others.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are sitting on chairs, presumably on a train.]
:Cueball: Hey, cute netbook.
:Megan: ''What.''

:[Zoomed in on Cueball and Megan.]
:Cueball: Your laptop. I just—
:Megan: No, why are you talking to me.

:[Zoomed in on Megan.]
:Megan: Who do you think you are? If I were even slightly interested, I'd have shown it.

:[Both Cueball and Megan, with Megan pointing at Cueball.]
:Megan: Hey everyone, this dude's hitting on me.
:Voice #1: Haha
:Voice #2: Creepy
:Voice #3: Let's get his picture for Facebook to warn others.

:[The previous panel fades into a thought bubble of Cueball.]
:[Cueball and Megan are sitting on chairs, on the train, and Megan is typing on her laptop.]
:Dear blog,
:Cute boy on train still ignoring me.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Romance]]
[[Category:Social interactions]]