Now Going Viral: Meeting Online Friends in Real Life - AppMasterWorld.com
Sunday, February 5, 2023
  • Contact Us
  • Disclaimer
  • Sitemap
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
AppMasterWorld.com
  • Home
  • News
  • SOCIAL MEDIA
  • SAAS APPS
    • Marketing
    • Business
    • Creative Apps
    • Management Apps
    • Productivity Apps
    • Saas offers
  • GAMING
  • INDUSTRY
No Result
View All Result
AppMasterWorld.com
No Result
View All Result

Now Going Viral: Meeting Online Friends in Real Life

August 15, 2021
in News, SOCIAL MEDIA

Marissa Meizz, 23, was out to dinner with a friend in the East Village in mid-May when her phone started buzzing. She tried to silence it, but the texts kept coming. They all wanted to know: Had she seen the TikTok video?

She clicked the link and a young man appeared onscreen. “If your name’s Marissa,” he said, “please listen up.” He said he had just overheard some of her friends say they were deliberately choosing to hold a birthday party when she was out of town that weekend. “You need to know,” he said. “TikTok, help me find Marissa.”

Ms. Meizz’s heart sank. After getting in touch with the man who posted the video, which amassed more than 14 million views, she confirmed that she was the Marissa in question and that it was her friends who had conspired to exclude her from their party.

Her feelings were hurt. But rather than sulk, Ms. Meizz decided to do something about it. She went on TikTok to reveal that the video had been about her. The reaction was instantaneous. “People immediately started messaging me saying, ‘Let’s be friends!’” she said. “‘Screw your old friends.’”

Ms. Meizz’s story took hold as the coronavirus pandemic has radically transformed relationships. Some old friendships have withered after a lack of in-person interactions and people have forged more online connections to alleviate loneliness. What happened next to Ms. Meizz encapsulated those changes, with her online and offline worlds blurring to create something new — and joyful.

Within days of her revelation on TikTok, Ms. Meizz, a costume designer, received more than 5,000 messages. Strangers invited her to their birthday parties, housewarmings and weddings. Some who lived outside New York City asked if she could set up a post office box so they could be pen pals. Thousands — especially Gen Zers and millennial adults — seemed hungry for new connections as summer began and coronavirus restrictions lifted.

“I was like, OK, how can I use this to help people?” she said.

The answer: Ms. Meizz decided to hold a meet-up.

In June, Ms. Meizz posted a TikTok telling everyone looking for new friends to meet at Central Park on a Saturday. The video went viral. On the day of the meet-up, 200 people showed up. For over eight hours they laughed, played games, chatted and bonded.

The event was such a success that Ms. Meizz started No More Lonely Friends, an online community of people looking to make friends in real life, or IRL, meet-ups across the country.

Ms. Meizz has since held meet-ups in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Washington, Philadelphia and elsewhere. The events are free and open to anyone. Though the crowd skews young, hundreds of attendees of all ages have showed up as word of the events has spread through TikTok’s “For You” page, which is powered by the app’s recommendation algorithm.

“At some point everyone has had that feeling of loneliness or, man, I have no friends,” said Max Grauer, 24, a pastry baker in Los Angeles who recently attended one gathering. “Being locked in your house for months on end, there’s a release of going out, seeing new people and experiencing new faces.”

The No More Lonely Friends gatherings are the latest example of online interactions turning into real life events in the pandemic. In May, after an invitation to a 17-year-old’s birthday party went viral on TikTok, thousands of teenagers showed up in Huntington Beach, Calif. YouTubers, TikTokers and live streamers went to make posts about it for those who couldn’t attend. Eventually, there was a riot and the police moved in, arresting 150 people and issuing an emergency curfew.

Ms. Meizz’s effort is far less chaotic. She said she tries to greet all the attendees and help make connections between them. She bops from group to group to ensure that no one is left alone. To break the ice and help cover event costs, Ms. Meizz recently began selling merchandise, including T-shirts that say, “If you’re reading this, we should be friends.”

“The cool thing is everyone there is to make friends, so everyone looks like they’re already friends but in reality everyone’s showed up alone,” she said.

Many attendees bond quickly. A large group from the Los Angeles gathering reconnected the next weekend for a beach trip and have started a group chat on Instagram to plan future outings.

Some people have joined multiple meet-ups. Makenna Misuraco, 26, a mental health counselor in Philadelphia, attended a No More Lonely Friends event in her city and recently traveled to one in New York City. She said Ms. Meizz’s exclusion by her friends resonated with her, as did how Ms. Meizz then took the experience and turned it into something positive on and off the internet.

“Social media can be a very bad place for people,” Ms. Misuraco said. No More Lonely Friends “brings people that are all in the same boat, looking to make friends and craving good human interaction. When you go there, you know everyone has the intention of meeting friends.”

Jiovanni Daniels, 25, a singer in New York, said he has been to all three meet-ups in the city after finding out about it on TikTok.

“You never know who you might meet,” he said. “Every type of demographic has popped up there. I’ve met people in their 50s and early teens.” The main attendees were those in their late teens to late 20s, he said, and they “go at 11 a.m. and stay until 8 p.m. or 9 p.m.”

Ms. Meizz is planning more gatherings in U.S. cities and said she hoped to expand internationally when the pandemic eases. Though No More Lonely Friends isn’t a business, the events have attracted interest from brands. This month, representatives from Arizona Iced Tea showed up to one gathering with free drinks and merchandise.

Ms. Meizz said she was keeping an eye on the latest coronavirus surge, fueled by the more infectious Delta variant. To be safe, she only holds events outdoors.

“I check the cities, I go to vaccination rates and make sure that things are still open and I’m not doing anything illegal,” she said. “I always look out for everyone’s safety and everyone feels comfortable.”

As the gatherings have grown, some logistics have become more complicated. One Sunday meet-up this month in Central Park attracted more than 600 people over eight hours.

“I looked it up and as long as I don’t have a foldout table or giant speaker I don’t need a permit,” Ms. Meizz said. “We’re just a group of people gathering. But we’re talking to people about permits and stuff to make sure.”

The community also extends online. People search the No More Lonely Friends hashtags and Instagram comments to reconnect with people they met or to discuss attending the next event together.

At the recent Central Park meet-up, Ms. Meizz was calm and upbeat. As people clustered in groups, some mingled and greeted potential new friends. One man brought out his acoustic guitar and played under a tree. Others played card games or volleyball. Some ate snacks on picnic blankets.

At one point, in a moment captured for TikTok, Ms. Meizz grabbed her phone and panned to the cheering crowd behind her as they raised their hands. Ms. Meizz, who hasn’t spoken to the former friends who excluded her from the birthday party, said she has more than enough new friends now.

“It’s kind of just turned into a big giant family,” she said.

Growth Capital For Online SaaS and App Businesses | Clearco
This is how you fund your business without giving up any Equity Click Here To Learn How!!

Previous Post

The best films you can stream on HBO Max this month

Next Post

Titans season 3 has too much Batman for a show with no Batman

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

dropshipping spocket

How To Start Your Drop Shipping Business With Spocket in 2022!

Groove Funnels – We All Want A Free Sales Funnel Builder

Groove Funnels – We All Want A Free Sales Funnel Builder

Remote team management: 5 challenges and solutions

Remote team management: 5 challenges and solutions

WPFunnels – A Drag & Drop WordPress Sales Funnel Builder

WPFunnels – A Drag & Drop WordPress Sales Funnel Builder

Elementor plugin

Elementor | How Do You Get Your Website Started?

Emma email campaign

Emma | Personalized Email Marketing Solutions for your Business

A calendar that is actually useful, batch deferrals, and more.

A calendar that is actually useful, batch deferrals, and more.

8 Factors To Begin Using An Online Form – Forms on Fire 🔥

8 Factors To Begin Using An Online Form – Forms on Fire 🔥

Vendasta – All in One Platform For Success

Vendasta – All in One Platform For Success

Sanebox

SaneBox | Email AI To Keep You Sane

Red Pill for Sales CRM

What is VipeCloud? Sales CRM and Marketing Suite

AppMasterWorld.com

AppMasterWorld.com is for techies, who wants to be up to date before others. We work hard to serve you first and best of all and to satisfy your hunger of Technology. I hope you will get latest business, gaming, social media news and much more. If you have difficulty in any topic or doubt in mind. Just Feel Free to ask me in comment of that topic.

Trending Now

The 15 best movies leaving streaming at the end of February

F.T.C. Chair Lina Khan Upends Antitrust Standards by Suing Meta

Leftover BBQ Chicken Nachos

TikTokers Flood Texas Abortion Site With Fake Tips

How Christian Smalls and Derrick Palmer Beat Amazon

Most Popular

Two Rivers Hosts Inaugural Somali Cultural Festival

Two Rivers Hosts Inaugural Somali Cultural Festival

OK it’s time to watch some Christmas movies

OK it’s time to watch some Christmas movies

What is Rewind and how does it work

What is Rewind and how does it work

  • Contact Us
  • Disclaimer
  • Sitemap
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy

© 2021 Copyright. All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • SOCIAL MEDIA
  • SAAS APPS
    • Marketing
    • Business
    • Creative Apps
    • Management Apps
    • Productivity Apps
    • Saas offers
  • GAMING
  • INDUSTRY

© 2021 Copyright. All rights reserved.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT