SAYING YES, USING NEW AGE TECHNOLOGY TO EMBRACE THE ART OF
OLD-FASHIONED CONNECTION.
>> TAKE A SMALL PORTION.
>> IN RESTAURANTS ACROSS THE
COUNTRY, TOTAL STRANGERS ARE
GATHERING FOR CONVERSATION AND
COMMUNITY OVER SHARED MEALS.
>> I SIGNED UP FOR SOMETHING
WILD TOMORROW.
>> THE CONNECTIONS ARE MADE
THROUGH TIME LEFT, AN APP THAT
SETS THE TABLE FOR YOU AND FIVE
OTHERS.
>> BASICALLY JUST GOING TO GO ME
WITH A RANDOM GROUP OF PEOPLE.
>> USERS TAKE A PERSONALITY TEST
AND THEIR ALGORITHM BOOKS A
RESERVATION FOR A LIKE-MINDED
GROUP TO DINE WITH.
THE APP WAS CO-FOUNDED BY MAX
BARBIA IN 2020.
>> WE ARE MISSING HUMAN OFFLINE
INTERACTION.
WE ARE MISSING TALKING TO A
PEOPLE AND SAYING HI TO SOMEONE.
>> MAX EXPERIMENTED WITH A FEW
CONCEPTS BEFORE LANDING ON THE
DINNER PARTY FORMAT ONE YEAR
AGO.
>> PEOPLE LOVE TO EAT.
IT IS SOMETHING WE HAVE ALL IN
COMMON.
>> SO I MADE MY WAY TO BROKEN
SHAKER HERE IN NEW YORK CITY TO
GIVE IT A TRY WITH SOME OF THE
APP’S USERS.
>> I’M NATHAN.
>> ADAM.
>> US STRANGERS WERE ALREADY
MAKING SOME UNLIKELY
CONNECTIONS.
>> MY DAD IS FROM GHANA.
>> I SPENT SOME TIME IN CAPE
COAST.
>> NO ONE HAS BEEN THERE.
>> I’VE BEEN THERE.
>> I WOULD NOT HAVE EXPECTED
THAT CONNECTION.
>> THAT’S WHY IT IS GOOD TO TALK
TO STRANGERS.
>> OTHERS CAN FIND IT
INTIMIDATING.
WAS ANYONE NERVOUS?
>> I LOVE IT AND VERY
INTIMIDATING AT THE SAME TIME.
ONCE YOU START ENGAGING IN
CONVERSATION, OKAY, THIS GETS
GOOD.
>> SHOW OF HANDS, HOW MANY OF
YOU HAVE USED DATING APPS?
HOW DOES THIS DIFFER FROM THAT?
>> A LOT LESS PRESSURE.
IT IS A LOT EASIER TO BE LIKE,
HEY, I’D LIKE TO BE YOUR FRIEND
VERSUS I’D LIKE TO GO ON A DATE
WITH YOU.
IT IS A DIFFERENT ASK.
>> 50 STAYS ACROSS THE U.S. AND
OVER 60 COUNTRIES.
JUST ONE IN A GROWING MARKET OF
FRIENDSHIP MAKING APPS.
AND THE DINNER PARTY CONCEPT IS
GROWING IN OTHER WAYS, TOO.
>> HOW FAST CAN I GET EIGHT
STRANGERS TO MY APARTMENT FOR A
DINNER PARTY TONIGHT?
>> THESE BROTHERS HOST WEEKLY
DINNER PARTIES AT THEIR HOMES IN
WASHINGTON, D.C. AND NEW YORK.
THE PAIR GET THEIR RSVPs FROM
FOLKS THEY MEET IN CHANCE
ENCOUNTERS ON THE STREET.
>> YOU CAN ONLY SIGN UP IF YOU
SEE US OUT, RIGHT?
>> I SEE.
IT IS ALL ABOUT THE IN-PERSON
CONNECTION.
>> THEY CALL THE DINNER SERIES
BLIND EIGHT.
THEY HAVE HOSTED OVER 40 DINNERS
AT THEIR HOMES.
WHAT WAS PART OF THE INSPIRATION
BEHIND THIS?
>> WE’RE TAKING OUR FIRST
BROTHER TRIP TO MEXICO.
AND WE ARE HOSTILE HOPPING,
MEETING STRINGERS.
IT IS SO OPEN AND FREEING.
I CAME UP WITH THE IDEA TO JUST
HAVE FRIENDS OF FRIENDS MEET
EACH OTHER.
>> EVENTUALLY YOU WENT FROM
FRIENDS OF FRIENDS TO STRANGERS.
>> RIGHT.
WE MOVED THE NEEDLE WITH THIS
LITTLE PIECE OF CAR BOARD HERE.
>> THESE ALL HAVE ONE GOAL IN
COMMON, FIGHTING LONELINESS.
>> THE SURGEON GENERAL ANNOUNCED
AN EPIDEMIC OF LONELINESS IN THE
COUNTRY.
ALL OF YOU ARE NODDING.
DO YOU FEEL LIKE THAT’S
ACCURATE?
WHY?
SAY MORE.
>> I MET A LOT OF STRANGERS WHO
SAY THE SAME THINGS.
THEY ARE FRIENDS.
BUT A LOT OF TIMES WHEN THEY
HAVE SOME ISSUES, THEY DON’T
HAVE ANYONE.
BUT THINGS GET DEEP.
>> HAVING A FRIEND IS SOMETHING
DIFFERENT.
>> IN FACT, ONE IN THREE
AMERICANS SAY THEY FEEL LONELY
EVERY WEEK.
BUT USERS SAY THESE DINNERS ARE
HELPING.
>> HAVE YOU MET ANY PEOPLE THAT
YOU HAVE BECOME CLOSE WITH?
>> YEAH, A COUPLE.
>> I DEFINITELY HAVE LEARNED
THAT I CAN BECOME REALLY
EXTRAVERTED IF I WANT TO.
I WAS JUST LOOKING AT THE WRONG
PLACES.
>> I INVITED FIVE PEOPLE TO MY
DINNER PARTY A COUPLE WEEKS AGO.
>> TO STRANGERS AND NEW FRIENDS.
CHEERS!
>> WHILE YOUNG PEOPLE ARE BEHIND
THESE DINNER PARTIES, THESE ARE
OPEN TO INDIVIDUALS OF ALL AGES.
IT’S TRUE.
IT AIMS TO HIT PEOPLE WITHIN A
15-YEAR AGE RANGE.
SO YOU ALL CAN GO, TOO.
>> THAT’S RIGHT.
>> AND THE FOUNDER OF THIS APP
EVEN SAID HIS 72-YEAR-OLD DAD
FOUND A FRIEND BY GOING TO ONE
OF THESE DINNERS.
>> I CAN FIND A FRIEND.
I DON’T NEED ANY MORE FRIENDS.
>> DID YOU DO IT?
>> I DID IT.
AND I WOULD DO IT AGAIN.
IN THESE CITIES, IT IS SO HARD
TO MEET PEOPLE.
I THINK A LOT OF YOUNG PEOPLE
ARE LOOKING TO MEET.
>> CAN I SOUND CYNICAL?
>> WHEN DO YOU NOT?
>> I DO WONDER IF SOMETIMES THEY
GO TO THESE DINNER PARTIES WITH
THE HOPE OF MEETING SOMEONE AND
DEVELOPING A ROMANTIC
CONNECTION.
>> THERE ARE ALL KINDS OF
FRIENDS YOU CAN MAKE, RIGHT?
>> THAT’S TRUE.
>> GIVEN HOW LONELY SOME PEOPLE