Yubo Leads the Charge in Social Discovery: How Gen Z Is Rewriting Online Friendship Norms

Yubo, the Paris-based live social discovery app, is at the forefront, challenging our notions of what it means to be social online.

A fresh current is stirring in the digital sprawl of 2024, where 5.17 billion humans surf the internet’s vast sea of social media. Welcome to Yubo, the live social discovery app turning the tide on how Generation Z connects online.

Yubo’s inception was driven by co-founder and CEO Sacha Lazimi’s awareness of an untapped need for teenagers and young adults in social media. “We noticed that 6,000 tweets daily were about people looking for new friends on Snapchat,” he said. “This gave us a clear niche, and we solved the problem of helping people find friends on the platform.” This insight became the cornerstone of Yubo’s creation.

Initially known as Yellow, the app had a breakthrough when Lazimi identified that its users craved more than just a way to exchange Snapchat handles. They wanted a platform that reflected real-life social interactions. This led to the introduction of features that brought the authenticity of offline connections into the online space. Lazimi’s vision centered on creating a place where teens and young adults could express themselves without feeling pressured by conventional metrics like likes and follower counts.

Yubo encourages users to step out from the digital shadows. The Paris-based platform is about jumping into live video chats, joining group discussions, and making friends based on shared interests. Gone are the days of meticulously crafting the perfect post and anxiously awaiting likes. Yubo throws open the doors to live video chats, group discussions, and interest-based connections. It’s not about broadcasting your life to a faceless audience. It’s about genuine, in-the-moment interactions.

But Yubo’s revolution continues beyond encouraging genuine connections. In a bold move that’s turning heads across the digital landscape, Yubo has ditched traditional social media metrics altogether: No likes, no follower counts, no verification badges. Instead of measuring social currency in hearts and thumbs-up, Yubo asks: What if we focused on the quality of interaction rather than the quantity of approval?

“The goal on the platform is really to make sure that you will speak with as many people as you want, and you will be able to either select an interest because you play Fortnite, for example, or you watch Batman movies. So you can click on this interest, and you can find people that have this interest, and you can send friend requests to those people. You can enter in a room with people that are debating or having also the same interest as you,” said Lazimi. 

“And people are coming on our platform just to have conversation. At some point, we don’t really care if you are making new friends and if you end up having a friendship. What we care is that you have conversations with other people and you are socializing with other people.”

Yubo: A Refreshing Break from Influencer-Driven Platforms

Gen Z, the digital natives who’ve grown up with likes and shares, are flocking to Yubo in droves. Why? Because it offers something that’s become increasingly rare in the polished world of social media: real, unfiltered human connection. 

“We don’t have influencers. That’s why the rooms have, on average, four to five people, and they never have rooms with thousands of people in them,” explained Lazimi. “It’s really small rooms of people interacting together, hanging out, having fun, playing games, debating, like you would do if you were in your living room, having a party, and speaking with other people.”

Yubo is a game changer because it creates a space where users can hang out without the pressure of maintaining a picture-perfect image.

During an appearance on the “Big Technology Podcast,” Lazimi explained, “But the idea is really that you connect with people that are not from your network, people you don’t know, people that can be in another country or in another city.”

A Safe, Authentic Alternative to Social Media

For Gen Z, a generation often unfairly labeled as digital addicts, this metric-free zone is a welcome respite. Without the pressure of maintaining a perfect online persona or chasing viral fame, users are free to be themselves — quirks, flaws, and all.

Of course, safety is paramount with any platform that caters to young adults. Yubo doesn’t just talk the talk. It has implemented a robust suite of safety measures that set a new standard for online platforms. From artificial intelligence-powered content monitoring to age verification and easy reporting tools, Yubo is creating a secure environment where users can focus on what matters: making meaningful connections.

The platform’s evolution mirrors that of its core user base. What began as a hangout spot for teens has matured into a sophisticated platform that caters to young adults navigating the complexities of modern life. The new tagline — “Chat. Stream. Vibe.” — encapsulates the Yubo experience: a space to connect, express yourself, and find your people in the vast digital wilderness.

“This is really a different experience. And on Yubo, our goal is really to empower the way of how you socialize online by adding the power of the technology to reproduce exactly how you have interaction with people in real life,” Lazimi said.

While social media can often feel like a never-ending popularity contest, Yubo stands out by going back to basics, facilitating real human connections. It’s not about building a personal brand or curating a feed that would make influencers green with envy. It’s about meeting new people, engaging in meaningful conversations, and perhaps even forging friendships that transcend the digital realm.

While the rest of the world continues to scroll through carefully curated highlight reels, Gen Z is gravitating toward Yubo, eager to chat, stream, and vibe their way to authentic connections. In a digital ecosystem that often feels as artificial as a plastic plant, Yubo is offering something refreshingly organic — and Gen Z is here for it.

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