Snapchat is used by plenty of real-life couples to stay in touch. But can the popular app also be used to find love?
That was the case for two students who accidentally found each other on the app, and then tried to meet up in the real world. Their resulting search for one another had the University of Wisconsin—Madison campus hooked to their exploits, and budding romance.
Their fellow students egged them on, the campus featured them in its own Live Story, and Snapchat even gifted them their own geofilter. Best of all, the love story unfolded live with thousands of viewers tuning in to find out if the real-life romantic drama would have a happy ending befitting a Hollywood rom-com.
It all started when a female UW–Madison student posted a Snapchat story with a pic of a male campus member, seen wearing a Vikings jersey, she had a crush on. “I’m seriously in love with you, find me,” she said, closing off her short clip.
The university quickly latched on to the video and featured it in its own Live Story, which luckily came to the attention of the girl’s object of affection. He then posted his own recording to the app asking her to meet him at the location from which he was broadcasting. That in turn set off a series of snaps, that saw both the individuals attempt to meet. Even Snapchat got in on the action, with its very own “Help Vikings fan find mystery girl” geofilter. Other students subsequently used it in their clips, which featured words of support for the two hopeless romantics.
You can check out the action in the collected clips posted on YouTube above, which (spoiler alert) finally sees the two meet at a bar. Will their Snapchat love result in an unfiltered, real-life relationship? We’ll have to wait and see.
As witnessed in countless Hollywood movies, modern forms of communication are the best way to track down your mystery crush. From Ernst Lubitsch’s The Shop Around the Corner to its web-era remake, You’ve Got Mail, on-screen couples have often sought love through textual interaction.
Perhaps it’s only a matter of time before Hollywood makes its first video messaging rom-com. The UW–Madison Snapchat couple may have just given film studios the source material they need for the most millennial movie of all time.
