“Literally within minutes, someone is calling,” said the father of three in Hamburg, Germany. He was surprised by how quickly he went from making connections to joining live video chats. The app also automatically lists the usernames of strangers when typing a letter or character into the search bar, making it possible to send “friend” requests to anyone.ģ9, downloaded Houseparty and began accepting these requests from people he assumed he knew. Once you open a chat and are in “the house,” any of your Houseparty friends can join-up to eight at once. Unlike Zoom or Google Hangouts, video-chat programs popular with schools and businesses, Houseparty not only offers to connect to users’ phone lists but also to their social-media contacts so they can become “friends” over the app. Have you picked up the video-chat habit? Join the conversation below. “I say ‘Hi,’ and stand there awkwardly.”Ĭhildren notice their parents blabbing over their screens on Houseparty for hours-the same moms and dads who before the coronavirus crisis would nag the kids about spending too much time on their smartphones. “They’re nice people, but I don’t know exactly what to do,” said Lily.
Worse, her parents ask her to make on-camera appearances. “It’s weird seeing them do it,” the 13-year-old said. Parents started hosting friends for a Houseparty Happy Hour from their home in Randolph, N.J. The older users alternately entertain and annoy everybody with their new video-chat habit. Long populated by teenagers and 20-somethings, Houseparty is being invaded by aging newcomers stuck home with a younger generation.
“My cousin is like, ‘There’s Lexi, Joe and Maria’s ceiling,’ ” she said. Her aunt aimed the camera at the ceiling during a Houseparty chat with relatives. She saw her mother put a phone to her ear to make a video call on the app. “They don’t know how to mute themselves or flip the camera,” said Ms.