In today’s “pics or it didn’t happen” world, Instagrams, Tweets and Foursquare check-ins are a crucial part of a good night out for many. The CouchCachet mobile app aims to take advantage of that.
“CouchCachet gets its inspiration from that desire we all have to live an exciting life colliding with our need to stay home and watch TV,” CouchCachet co-founder Brian Fountain said.
The app uses the check-in app Foursquare and Mashery’s APIs to create an itinerary for a night out. Once users authorize the itinerary, the app can check them in at these places and post appropriate updates to Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare.
Porscha Alonzo, a sophomore majoring in human development, uses Foursquare to check into places so people can see where she is going. While Alonzo says she would not check into places where she is not, she does understand the pressure social media puts on people to maintain the appearance of having an exciting life.
“I feel like if you’re not having the coolest pictures on Instagram and your like, ‘Oh, I’m sitting there with my cat’ or something, then you’re just looking lonely,” she said. “Social media’s the top thing now, and there’s so many apps for everything, so I feel like if you’re not doing something, no one will care if you’re not doing anything cool at all.”
The joking nature of CouchCachet implies that maybe users should not take the app too seriously.
“I feel like everything could probably be a joke, except for LinkedIn and maybe Twitter these days,” Alonzo said. “I feel like all social media is a joke.”
Mandi Miller, a sophomore majoring in criminal justice, said living an active online life as opposed to a real one might lead to a rise in sedentary behaviors.
“I think it’s kind of weird to pretend to be going somewhere if you’re not, but to each their own,” Miller said. “I think [CouchCachet] might just make [users] live on the couch more. They should probably just go out and actually do it instead of pretending.”
Fountain acknowledges the risks of such a program making people less social, but in addition to making users just look cool, CouchCachet does offer real alternatives to staying in.
“There’s always the risk of couch-addiction, but we try and encourage our users with a follow up email the next day that includes a list of upcoming local events,” Fountain said.
Despite it’s name, CouchCachet does not have to be all about staying in. The app can plan a great night out, but it is up to the user to make it an itinerary or a cover story.
“Have fun and remember you can always go legit and actually get off the couch,” Fountain said.
Leading in today’s Crimson White:
Male body dissatisfaction increases
