LDRs weren't as common or stupid before the internet. Somebody would have to move for college or work or the military, but eventually meant to come back or bring the other person with them, because they already had a serious relationship before the long-distance happened. Now people are falling in love with total strangers that they have never met, sometimes without either one of them having the resources for a move. It doesn't make any sense, until factoring in mental issues that would compel somebody to pursue a hopeless romance with an unavailable stranger.
Good decisions come from experience. Experience comes from bad decisions.