I guess I knew the day would come where people were no longer required to talk when introducing themselves. I used to host speed dating events (I should speak about these more…but that’s a whole other story). So, I should figure that new ways of meeting people would keep cropping up. The thing is, singles parties seem to be going in kind of the opposite direction from actual talking/ socializing. Now, it’s sufficient to park yourself down with your laptop or mobile phone and have a date materialize without having to make eye contact or open your mouth (iHookUp, etc.).
The latest trend is Flitter parties. This my friends, is a party where hundreds of singles gather together IN THE SAME ROOM with their mobile phones. They wear white name tags with numbers written in sharpie to identify themselves. A giant projector screen is in the middle of the room waiting to display public tweets. Then they open their Twitter apps and let the games begin.
The concept: if you see a cute guy or girl, instead of approaching them and talking to them since they are IN THE SAME ROOM with you, you tweet them something flirty. That’s right, 140 characters or less for a pick-up. Example: “Hey #91, u r hot. #38”. Clever.
Then they tweet you back, or not.
I guess eventually you decide to meet up with the guy or girl you are tweeting face-to-face, but that part is unclear. One guy who attended this party said it was annoying because “it was hard to talk to anyone—they were all too busy tweeting”. Imagine.
Maybe I need to open my mind to typing over talking, but I doubt I will ever attend a Flitter party, except maybe for research purposes.
About Kelly Seal
Kelly is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles, CA. She blogs about dating, relationships, personal growth and what "healthy living" means to her. You can follow her on Google+, Twitter @kellyseal or through her website www.kellyseal.com.
Ew. Ew. Ew. I’m so glad I’m not in the dating game anymore. There’s no way I could ever do something as ridiculous as that. You should go and just make fun of the process. Can you believe what our world is coming to? I’m all for online dating, as a media to meet people, but nothing beats the face to face interaction!!!
I feel like saying, “Twitter is for the birds” but I know it’s probably been said a few million times before me.
It’s a different world these days and I’m just trying to keep up. I’m not against social networking, but it’s not helping us as a society. Sure it’s fun and even has a lot of cool benefits, like finding out where Kim Kardashian’s ass is at any given moment. (I’ve got no problem with that)
But is it really helping us?
At some point those Flitterers or Twitterers will have to step up to the plate and actually have a relationship that requires conversation. Or maybe expectations are so low these days, that real conversation is a party stopper.
I totally agree with you guys. Just like texting, Flitter parties are a cop-out. I guess it lessens the sting of rejection, because there’s no real “asking out”. Then again, there’s no real dating either. Hmmm….
I’m trying to imagine being at this party, looking around, and seeing everyone glued to their cell phones and not talking. Like 300 people. Creepy, really. I hope the music was good.