And in the words of our modern day Romeo, Hank, and his love story to find his bride in Whims, a bit of advice for finding love on social media: “First - as in real life, be yourself. With over 200 million users from all over the world to choose from, the odds are in our users’ favor to meet someone who might be a new friend, maybe a romantic partner. And that, according to various research, helps you be happier and live longer because of a person’s natural desire to connect with other people.

The shared experiences in IMVU help people bond, create friendships, and even develop over time more romantic relationships. Potential lovers overlook superficial turnoffs, and people open up to each faster and more deeply.Īt IMVU, we’re studying ways to help people meet new people and deepen their social relationships. Many of the couples who have met online and later married in real life say that meeting online let them ask questions they would not have asked face to face and often they fall in love before they meet in person. Communicating online before meeting IRL can actually foster strong relationships by helping those with similar interests come together over great distances. Online technology enables having a connection that is faster and more direct. How many times have you left a first date analyzing every move you made, falling to self-doubt or worse self-blame for the fact that you were too forward, too reserved, too hasty in that first encounter? Imagine the freedom of dating behind the veil of something you control - what you look like, what you wear, how you dress, how you move, and what you say. For those new to dating or just plain shy in social settings, IMVU avatars give a sense of protection and anonymity to experiment with socializing, to test the waters of a potential partner, to practice reaching out to someone else - with little risk of failure. Thanks to the added benefit of being able to control not only what your avatar looks like but how it acts, users are empowered to communicate in ways more accessible, controlled, curated and expressive than real life. So what makes these online relationships successful? When avatars high five, the sense of elation is just as palpable as it is in a bar, a stadium or a break room at work.

Avatars can smirk, display nervousness, wink, and hug. The nonverbal cues in IMVU are just as important as they are IRL (that’s In Real Life). While the avatars are hyper-real, their onscreen actions are lifelike and nuanced to simulate real life interactions. They are idealized versions of us: what we would look like if we went to the gym more often, stuck to our diets, and had a side hustle modeling for Elle or GQ. It doesn’t hurt that the avatars in IMVU represent our best selves. Unlike traditional social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat, where the social experience is limited to posting photos, comments, likes, and shares, IMVU enables an online experience that is truly social with immersive and life like chatrooms, real conversation and shared experiences, all from an avatar that you own, customize and learn to love. Whims and Hank are just one of many couples who met on IMVU, the world’s largest avatar-based social network, and married in real life. The moment he walked up to me, however, the nerves disappeared and it was like I’ve always known him. We were both very tired but exhilarated at the same time to finally meet face to face. He arrived very late in the evening in a winter coat having never set foot in Arizona in the winter - he couldn’t believe it was t-shirt and shorts weather in January. It took him several days to drive from Michigan to Arizona, so we’d been in contact by phone for the trip. We were both very nervous! At least, I was. In early 2011, we decided to meet in person but I lived in Arizona and he lived in Michigan.

December 2017 imvu apk