Can virtual socialising apps outlast the pandemic?

For its first few years, Teleparty seemed doomed to be a niche product. The browser extension, which lets multiple people sync up their Netflix accounts so they can watch the same thing at the same time, was a hit among couples in long-distance relationships. Otherwise, few people had even heard of it. And then, in March 2020, the app suddenly found itself with a planet’s worth of potential users. Lockdowns weren’t so great for movie theaters or the economy as a whole. But for Teleparty, they were “a huge accelerant,” Chief Executive Shaurya Jain said. “We definitely grew a lot.” And they weren’t alone. Call it remote entertainment, a counterpart to the more-familiar remote work. At the end of a long day of video calls and Slack messages, workers unable or unwilling to meet up at the bar can mouse over to another tab for some virtual socialisation on apps such as Discord and Clubhouse. Think of it as Zoom: After Hours. The pandemic gave this burgeoning phenomenon a boost, pushing into the mainstream what had previously been the domain of gamers, overseas soldiers and other sub-communities. These days, everyone’s living life online and at a distance. Although the future…
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