(There was a collective sigh of relief on this point.)
I didn’t find them particularly enlightening.
We read through some but decided we didn’t need generic prompts to chat.
There’s also Clockout, Timeleft, and Pie.
Timeleft says it has brought more than 400,000 people together in more than 170 cities.
In 2023, Bumble estimated that about 15% of its monthly active users were using the friends setting.
The apps feel like the next iteration ofonline dating, which normalized the virtual meet-cute.
But they’re having a moment as more young people feel burned out by the churn of commodified romance.
There are fewer norms for pursuing a potential friend: How soon after meeting do I text them?
How do I know if they’re interested as well?
Am I being too needy?
Does this person think I’m a total freak?
The anxiety spiral can keep any of us from texting someone to hang out.
The point of 222 is to get past that.
“We’ve created a chance encounter and potentially a relationship that didn’t exist before.”
Leaving friends on read for days became the norm.
People prioritized individualism and the idea of self-care over community and friendships.
The backlash from the self-involved era is in full swing.
Turns out, people want friends.
Among 18- to 34-year-olds, 30% said they felt lonely each day or several times a week.
“Whether or not the specific magic sauce of the matching is necessary is an open question.
It might work, it might not work, it may not matter,” Hall tells me.
“I don’t think the algorithm can do it,” he said.
“I thinkwecan do it.”
The idea is catching on.
At The Disco T-shirt.
Hall says friendships are likely forged at both ends.
You discover that you have a similar worldview or sense of humor in certain situations.
Similarity alone is not enough.
We could read the same book but have completely different interpretations.
We might both be dog people, but that doesn’t mean I’ll like you and your dog.
Would an algorithm match me with these people for dinner?
There’s no way to know.
It said that would help boost my chance of getting better matches going forward.
