Friends of Convenience
Surveys say that between 40 and 73% of us are lonely. It seems with all our electronic devices we have not gotten any warmer and fuzzier. That is why so many people get carried away relating to Facebook and Instagram posts and playing those Tik-Tok videos. Japanese companies are great at finding niche markets. For instance, one company allows female office workers to hire a hot guy to come to their office and cheer them up. In terms of fake photos, “Real Appeal” is the latest entrant in the weird world of Japanese business. The company’s goal is to make its customers appear so popular that they move up in the world. This can happen in a variety of ways, but usually it includes a selfie stick and a wide smile.
The company is a subsidiary of Family Romance. Family Romance got its start by, you guessed it, providing fake significant others to attend family functions. In many ways, it is the Japanese version of all the fake guests at South Korean weddings. However, Real Appeal’s specialty is portraying its customers in the best possible light on social media, rather than in face-to-face interactions. Similar to the existing Family Romance business, customers go to the Real Appeal site. There, they select potential “friends” from a catalog of Real Appeal staff members. Customers can choose based on age, sex, and physical attractiveness. Once selected, a staff member shows up and will pose in social media photos for two hours. The price for the service is about $70. You can purchase as many “friends” as you would like. However, there is no bulk discount. Additionally, the customer is responsible for covering all the travel expenses and meals for their new “friends.” Real Appeal’s belief is that your social media accounts will make you appear to be so much fun that, suddenly, strangers and coworkers will decide you are worth hanging out with in person.
Friends in Need
My friends tell me I have an intimacy problem. But they don’t really know me.
Facebook’s new relationship status: “No longer able to interact with actual people.”
If you are friends with the wrong people, Google+ autocorrects them.
I went to hang out at a friend’s house. He told me to make myself at home.
So I kicked him out, I hate having people over.
March 29th Birthdays
1969 – Lucy Lawless, 1981 – Kim Tae Hee, 2001 – Ysa Penareejo, 2000 – Hana Hayes
1978 – Michael Kaczurak, 1918 – Sam Walton, 1991 – Josh Blaylock, 1974 – Kristoffer Cusick