In the anti-social media era, young people rebuilding relationships at "blind box dinners" | Early-stage projects

The era of anti-social media has arrived.

The above conclusion comes from an article published by the well-known American magazine The Atlantic in early November. Over the past decade or so, social products like Facebook and Instagram, aiming to "promote interpersonal relationships," have been continuously expanding. Currently, more than 60% of the global population uses such software.

However, deeper interpersonal connections have not emerged. On the contrary, the author points out in the article that in the past 15 years, face-to-face social interactions in the United States have sharply decreased, while feelings of anxiety and despair have continued to rise. Surveys show that about one-eighth of Americans say they have no friends. They are isolated, lack a sex life, are tired of online dating, but still stay on the sofa all day, never parting with their phones, and remain silent for long periods. The U.S. Surgeon General has even characterized the sense of loneliness in the United States as a "public health issue in urgent need of solution."

This is not a social phenomenon unique to the United States. Japanese sociologist Miura Noboru refers to the upcoming "Fifth Consumption Era" as a "lonely society." This means that loneliness is no longer an individual experience but a collective situation for modern people.

In an overly digitalized society, people have not gained more happiness. Instead, the desire for real life is increasing: Data from the global consumer insights agency GWI shows that 70% of Internet users have tried to reduce digital consumption, with the 25 - 34 age group having the highest proportion of those "completely quitting electronic devices." The main reason driving them offline is the desire to spend time with family and participate in offline interactions.

In other words, real-life interpersonal relationships have become an important motivation for young people today to try to stay away from social media and build higher-quality embodied social interactions.

"If we compare modern people to glass balls covered in dust, then society needs a solution to polish each other again." In the view of Lu Ming, a serial entrepreneur in his 90s and an Internet product manager by background, the most direct and efficient way is to create opportunities for people to meet in person and let them encounter each other in real life. This became the original intention for him to found the social platform "Potato Island."

"I hope people can meet each other more often," he said.

Algorithms and Chance

The blind-box dinner party, as the name suggests, is an offline encounter randomly composed of six strangers who become "dining partners."

However, it is not entirely random.

Different from traditional social activities in the market, "Potato Island" emphasizes the participation and guidance of algorithms: After signing up for the dinner party, participants need to fill out a personal questionnaire. The questions will cover aspects such as city location, personality traits, interests, and basic views on the world. These seemingly minor pieces of information will be compiled into a small personal profile. First, the background algorithm will conduct a preliminary match, and then the staff will perform a manual match to help each participant find like-minded partners as much as possible.

In fact, finding offline partners on the Internet is not new. So, what role does "Potato Island" play exactly? In other words, why do people need a dedicated platform to facilitate offline encounters?

The primary reason is to reduce uncertainty. In traditional partner-finding activities, it is difficult to judge who the other person is - their personality, sense of boundaries, and trustworthiness are completely unknown. In this situation, "blind-box-style social interaction" brings not surprises but psychological burdens. However, through questionnaires, algorithm matching, and manual screening, "Potato Island" can first handle the minimum level of security and matching, so that the meeting does not fall into complete randomness.

Secondly, it is to save huge communication and selection costs. When testing the product, Lu Ming also posted online to find partners himself. There were usually two results: Either the requirements were too specific, such as a specific time, specific location, and specific activity, making the organization too difficult and ultimately leading to nothing; or the post suddenly became popular, and dozens of people signed up at once. When a person does not have the energy to deal with a large number of people simultaneously, social interaction becomes more perfunctory and loses sincerity. "Originally, I only wanted one person, but after you gave me ten people, I became even more confused," Lu Ming explained. "At this time, choice became an additional hassle."

In the existing social context, "finding people" is actually a thing with extremely high implicit costs. What "Potato Island" wants to do is not just to simply gather a group of people at a dinner table but to try to put the "surprise of an accidental encounter" and the "possibility of getting along" on the same table.

Based on the advantages of algorithm matching, "Potato Island" can quickly complete the matching based on the participants' geographical location, price expectations, and basic personality and interests, taking on the cumbersome and energy-consuming preliminary work of screening, judging, and confirming for users. However, Lu Ming admits that pure algorithm matching cannot touch and understand the deeper and more subtle parts of people getting along. The warmth of getting along, the rhythm of communication, the collision of souls... These non-quantifiable dimensions still require real people to make judgments based on social experience and life intuition.

Lu Ming mentioned an example that impressed the team deeply: A certain participant clearly stated in the questionnaire that he liked playing the bass and hoped to meet music enthusiasts. So, the team arranged him at the same table with several participants who liked the guitar, live music venues, and attending concerts. Unexpectedly, after the dinner party, these people not only didn't disperse but formed a band on the spot and even changed the name of the WeChat group for the original dinner party to the name of the band.

This is how "Potato Island" operates: First, use a lightweight rule matching system as a foundation, and then combine the team's experience to help each participant find more comfortable tablemates. In this way, on the basis of efficiency and accuracy, the sparks and chance encounters between people can still be preserved.

The blind-box dinner party of "Potato Island"

Genuine Relationships Need to be Created Offline

"Potato Island" is not the only platform rooted in offline social interaction. Take the travel content community Mafengwo as an example. Its mini-program "Fun Planet" has organized more than 10,000 offline activities in Beijing alone since its launch in 2022, becoming one of the important entrances for urban social interaction today.

However, in Lu Ming's view, most offline social platforms in the market still mainly revolve around "activities," essentially emphasizing the relationship between "people and things." The attracted participants are interested in a certain theme. "Potato Island" cares more about the relationship between "people and people." The focus is not on what to participate in but with whom. It focuses on whether people can establish genuine connections, aiming to help participants move from "meeting more people" to "building better relationships."

The form of a dinner party can provide a natural conversation field for participants, allowing them to focus on communicating and getting to know each other. From a business perspective, the form of a dinner party has a lower threshold than activities. While it can happen repeatedly, it also brings enough profit for the team to cover costs.

As time goes by, each brand will eventually form its own style, atmosphere, and even cultural concept. The inspiration for the name of "Potato Island" comes from a widely circulated four-panel comic on the Internet: Two seagulls are discussing the ultimate meaning of life by the sea. Seagull A asks, ultimately, what is the purpose of living? Seagull B replies, to go to the pier later and get some fries. Lu Ming thinks this is very similar to the entrepreneurial tone he envisioned - a bit playful, a bit idealistic, a bit absurd, and a bit persistent.

If we regard each person as a seagull that is occasionally out of order during the voyage, then perhaps these seemingly insignificant moments between people are the "meaningful fries" that we can hold in our hands to resist nihilism. He hopes that "Potato Island" can become a place that provides a bit of meaning. Since then, a slightly stupid and cute seagull has become the IP image of "Potato Island." Each user who participates in the dinner party is also affectionately called a "little seagull."

Lu Ming emphasizes that he doesn't like those overly utilitarian dating social apps in the market. At least at this dinner table, he hopes that the relationship between people can return to a more genuine and pure state. "People can also be human beings. Why do they all have to be like animals?" This brand concept also enables "Potato Island" to screen and prevent certain overly utilitarian behaviors. After each dinner party, the team members will also collect the experience feedback from each user to avoid having uncomfortable participants at the dinner party.

Currently, "Potato Island" has opened blind-box dinner parties in three cities: Beijing, Shanghai, and Dali. Since its operation at the end of 2024, "Potato Island" has reached more than 10,000 friends to participate in blind-box dinner parties, and it has maintained a 92% positive review rate in the feedback questionnaires of participants. It also plans to launch a 2.5 million yuan angel round of financing.

Lu Ming said that the ceiling of this business model is actually not low because it can not only organize dinner parties but also accumulate insights into offline social behaviors to continuously improve the matching experience. "As the scale expands, we hope to become a long-term companion for real offline social interaction, rather than just a single dinner party," he said.