Ever been the new kid on the block? We all know it can take a while to meet new people sometimes. Especially when you move somewhere knowing absolutely no one. But, eventually, by random chance, we meet someone at our new school, job or local shopping market and, bam, the wait is over.
Before you know it, you’ve built yourself a brand new circle of friends. But, what if you could eliminate the waiting period and meet someone as soon as you make the big move? That would certainly ease the transition. Thanks to websites such as RentAFriend.com, you can rent a friend for a monthly or annual fee, not including the hourly rate for any friends you may meet.
That’s right—not only can you rent houses, cars and movies, but now you can rent friends, too. What used to take socialization skills and a number of shared experiences to build, you can now buy at the click of a button. That’s capitalism for you.
RentAFriend.com is a site that provides people with the opportunity to rent friends from all over the world. The website makes it abundantly clear that RentAFriend only offers platonic friendships and does not serve as a dating website or escort service. Users can rent friends for a multitude of reasons—whether to learn a new skill, have a personal tour guide, or just to have someone to hang out with. Need some personal advice? Use RentAFriend. Or, perhaps you’re in need of a tutor. Fear not, RentAFriend can save the day. They even list offerings for needs as random as prom dates and psychic buddies.
While the idea of friend rental is still relatively new to America, the RentAFriend website is not the first of its kind. In recent years, a wide number of rent-a-friend companies have been popular in Japan. According to company research, family structure is a very big part of Japanese society, so friend rental services offer fill-in family members to substitute for anything from absent parents to stand-in activity partners. This may be a strange concept for the American psyche, yet in Japan, it’s an amiable solution for those looking to keep their social status intact. Thus, in response to the lack of a friend market in the United States, the site’s creator, Scott Rosenbaum, decided to launch RentAFriend.com out of Stewartsville, New Jersey in October 2009.
I decided to peruse the website after stumbling across an advertisement during a night of late night web surfing. When you reach the home page of the site, it prompts you to enter your zip code into a friend-finder database in order to see potential friends. This is a great feature because it allows you to view the profiles of all the potential friends in any location you wish, while other rent-a-friend sites may ask you to sign up before viewing members.
Upon entering my zip code into the friend finder database, a number of local Richmonders instantly appeared on my monitor, with ages ranging from 22-45. These friends for hire advertised a number of activities for which they were available, including poetry, sightseeing, video games, business events, personal advice, pet sitters and even running errands. (The latter of which almost tempted me to join the site). However, if you wish to go further and message someone, you must sign up for the site.
As interesting a concept as this may be, one can’t help but wonder if these friend-market websites are a sign that we’re connecting with each other or disconnecting with one another. It’s a known fact that friendships are vital to a happy life, but is it possible to buy real friendship? I think we all know the answer to that. But, the site does have its good points. For the lonely new kid on the block or the bored executive with some downtime on his/her business trip, it could be quite useful to rent your very own tour guide. Only time will tell if this phenomenon will catch on in America as it has in Japan.
Interested in friend rental? Visit http://www.rentafriend.com/ today to check out local friends in the Richmond area.
Dena Spruill is a recent graduate of VCU's School of the Arts invested in the exploration of fashion, art, and culture in Richmond, VA. As a recovering shopaholic you may find her perusing through thrift stores for bargain buys or snapping photos of pretty things. Visit http://mademoisellerva.blogspot.com/ to see more.
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