This New App Found A Way To Connect You With The 'Familiar Strangers' You See Everyday

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Next time you're heading to work on the subway, or waiting for a friend at the bar, look around. Everyone is by themselves, plugged in and staring intently at their phones or tablets, sending off body language that we're not interested in engaging with those around us.

Developer Matt Newberg doesn't buy the idea that people want to make connections, but agrees we use phones as a wall we can hide behind when we're alone in a public place. So he created "Playdope", an app that launched today to help people make connections in a comfortable and familiar way ... connections they may not have made otherwise.

Playdope lets two "familiar strangers" in the same room or city block play fun icebreaker picture trivia games and chat for 24 hours afterward the game is completed.

The term 'familiar strangers' was coined in 1972 by the Yale psychologist Stanley Milgram, and it describes individuals we recognize from various activities but do not interact with. Perhaps it's a guy you see in the elevator each morning on your way to work, or a bartender at the hole-in-the-wall down the street.

Playdope determines familiarity based on data: how many times you've physically passed someone, and how many phone contacts you share. Right now, the app is available on college campuses (which makes it more plausible that two people who don't know each other may share mutual phone contacts) and in New York City (less plausible).

It's like Tinder meets QuizUp, except it's not a dating app and it's not designed for you to play games with strangers forever; you have a short window of time to engage with someone, play the game, and start a chat.

Here's how it works:

Create a profile:

Playdope

The app, which keeps your GPS on in the background, can connect you with people you've passed a few times before. In this case, Matt (above) has passed Elizabeth (below) either on the subway or at a bar. So if the two people have the app and find themselves in the same vicinity, the app pings both to let them know.

Playdope

The app then prompts you to play a quick icebreaker.

Playdope

And then, you are able to chat with the person for up to 24 hours, forcing you to initiate making the connection offline, or miss the opportunity.

Playdope

The app also encourages the losers of the icebreaker game to buy the winner a drink.

You can download Playdope in the Apple Store today.