Would You Travel 5,000 Miles to Meet Total Stranger That Facebook Suggested You Would Like

I also do ignore most of the Facebook’s friend suggestions and I know a whole lot of people do same. But a 24-year-old Belgian student traveled all the way to Austin, Texas to meet up with a stranger because the social network’s algorithm suggested they become friends.

Victor Van Rossem said he was intrigued when Facebook displayed 49-year-old Neal as a ‘suggested friend’, and he decided to make it happen for real. 

“Facebook suggested we become friends, and I thought that was pretty absurd. I became fascinated by him. He had a long beard and looked a little unusual. He did art performances and paintings of mythical creatures and strange beasts which only made me more interested in him. These days you can be friends with anyone anywhere, just by clicking that friend request button. I wanted to take it back to the real world." Victor said

Victor set off on the 5,000-mile trip along with his 27-year-old friend, Bran Van Lee, who brought a camera to document the experience. As the two spent an entire week searching for Neal. Made a poster and pasted them on the streets in case someone that knows Neal sees it would contact them. “Do you know or have you seen this man? Facebook said we could be friends. Please help!” They even wore t-shirts with the words ‘Neal D Retke for President’ printed on them.

Victor explained:  

“At first we thought our chances of finding him were very slim, but then we visited some places in Austin that we knew he liked to go – and we eventually found someone who knew him. We were nervous when we first saw him. We didn’t know how he would react – but after we explained the whole thing he just laughed and said “well, you found me” as if he was expecting us.”

The two are now real friend and are still in touch on facebook. “We had a lot of fun with Neal, and I consider him a real friend. We are still in touch through Facebook, and he might be coming to visit us next summer.”

Victor and his friend Bran turned all their video footage into a 30-minute documentary that is now available on Vimeo. It’s truly a heartwarming story that shows how friendships have remained the same, even with the sophisticated technology.

Photo Credit: Facebook