![]() ![]() The audio immediately became a garbled mess. We broke into smiles and all started speaking at once. Slowly people started popping up on my phone screen. I brought out the wine, sent my new username out and waited. Ready to get literally anything lit, I persuaded everyone to download the app and meet up in an hour. It’s 2017 again.” “Make Houseparty great again!” “Who’s down to get Houseparty again and get this social distancing lit?” Twitter confirmed Houseparty’s re-emergence into public consciousness: “Everyone is back on Houseparty. Downloads in March 2020 were the highest of the year. It had been installed by 35 million users (40% of whom were outside the US.) In subsequent years, however, downloads of the app had declined – that is, until the pandemic. Its CEO, Sima Sistani, touted it as the “next best thing to hanging out in real life”. Houseparty had gotten a lot of attention among the under-24 set when it first started back in 2016. After a lot of back and forth about platforms, I suggested we download Houseparty. “In!” we said, thoroughly sick of our own company. “Who’s up for a virtual happy hour?” Marisa texted the group a few days later. After we elbowed our way out the door and hugged goodbye, the University of Iowa moved classes online and we tucked ourselves, reluctantly, into our respective homes. ![]() That was our last “in real life” night together. “This is what happens,” Aimee sighed, “When you spare the rod.”
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