What price would you put on friendship? In these hyper-capitalistic(高度资本化的) times, where nothing is beyond being given a monetary value, perhaps even Mastercard wouldn’t dare to claim that it’s priceless(无价的). A YouGov survey found that 15% of Britons say they have no close friends, while nearly one in 10 (8%) have no friends at all. The numbers are similarly dismal(惨淡的) in the US. As we face this contemporary crisis of connection, it is little wonder that friendship, or at least the possibility of it, is increasingly being marketed for sale.(面对这场当代的联结危机，友谊——或至少是友谊的可能性——越来越多地被当作商品出售，也就不足为奇了。)
你愿意为友谊标上什么价码？在这个高度资本化的时代，没有什么不能被赋予金钱价值，恐怕连万事达卡也不敢宣称友谊“无价”。YouGov的一项调查发现，15%的英国人表示自己没有亲密朋友，近十分之一（8%）的人则完全没有朋友。美国的数据同样惨淡。面对这场当代的“联结危机”，友谊——或者至少是友谊的可能性——越来越多地被当作商品出售，也就不足为奇了。
There has been a striking(显著的) increase in online platforms and apps that promise to introduce you – algorithmically, through social mixer(社交聚会)s or a combination – to your next BFF(挚友、最好的朋友). There’s Cliq, PLY, standing for “People Like You”, and RealRoots which promises user satisfaction with the tagline(宣传语): “Make new friends. Guaranteed”. Meanwhile, 222 boldly declares it is “not a friend-making service”, but a means to “explore serendipity(机缘巧合)” through social experiences with compatible(合得来的) people.
承诺帮你结识下一位挚友的线上平台和应用激增，方式五花八门——靠算法推荐、通过社交聚会，或两者结合。Cliq、PLY（意为“像你一样的人”）以及RealRoots纷纷登场，后者用“交新朋友，有保证”的宣传语承诺让用户满意。与此同时，222大胆宣称自己“不是交友服务”，而是通过与合拍之人进行社交体验来“探索机缘”的途径。
And this new sweep of pay-to-play(付费才能参与的) friendships doesn’t stop at apps and algorithmic matchmaking. It is accompanied by supper clubs, book clubs, running clubs and other opportunities for you to mingle(交往、应酬) with people in your area – for a fee, of course. CircleUp, for example, holds regular social mixers across the UK for paying members, so that you can “keep seeing the same faces”. Others cultivate a more exclusive(排他的、高端的) crowd. Gathering Tables hosts dinners for a “curated(精心挑选的) mix of guests”, united by their willingness to pay £145 a head(每人).
这股“付费即参与”的交友新风潮，并不止于应用和算法配对。它还伴随着晚餐俱乐部、读书会、跑步俱乐部等让你与同城之人交往的机会——当然，要收费。例如，CircleUp在英国各地为付费会员定期举办社交聚会，让你能“不断见到熟悉的面孔”。另一些则打造更排他的圈子。Gathering Tables为“精心挑选的宾客组合”举办晚宴，而把这些宾客联结在一起的，是他们每人愿意支付145英镑。