Chat apps are filling the “COVID-era void” in people’s social lives. During a year without coffee dates, live concerts, and watercooler chats, quarantined users have been recreating those experiences on social apps instead. First, there’s audio-discussion app Clubhouse which has exploded in the last few months. Then, there’s Locker Room, which is exclusively for “sports talk,” Stereo for broadcasts, Watercooler for workplace chatter, and Lobby for kids and teens. According to Sensor Tower Inc., Clubhouse has more than 14 million downloads, while Locker Room and Stereo each saw downloads jump more than 400% from December to March. The data also showed that Korean audio chat and music-streaming app Spoon Radio, Inc. received nearly half its total 26 million downloads last year. But with vaccines rolling out, the upcoming months “will be a test of whether the newly forged habits of these apps’ users can stick.” (WSJ)
