When did it become like this?
ZUZ · Peter the Recorder
Hi. I'm Peter.
I write down the conversations people have.
Let me show you a little of what I've written down.
01 — When someone sat beside you
Back then, none of that was strange. That's just how everyone lived.
02 — And now
Swipe through thousands, match with a handful.
Then hesitate over the first word: what if they don't like me?
And then the replies stop.
Everyone choosing, and being chosen, again and again, until they're worn out.
03 — How did it come to this
The people you could meet turned into billions.
Fewer friends to introduce you, so everyone had to choose alone.
Then scammers got mixed in, and now every stranger gets suspicion first.
But there's one strange record.
Commuters who talked with a stranger had the most pleasant ride.
People didn't change. We just ended up carrying all the choosing alone.
04 — This time, leave it to me
So why was it so easy back then?
I'm going to bring that seat back. Not in one neighborhood this time — all over the world.
Choosing who fits, seating you side by side — I'll do it. No worrying about who speaks first.
All you have to do is talk.
05 — Busan and Paris
There's someone who lives in Busan. And someone in Paris.
They didn't choose each other. I just sat them side by side.
First as a lion and a rabbit, just five minutes. Each liked the other more than they guessed.
Then fifteen minutes on seasons. An assigned topic, and still they grew close.
Then for days — a word on the way to work, a word before bed.
As the time added up, they became friends.
06 — Why they could trust each other
In a time when people rarely trust others, how did they come to trust each other?
Anything worth being careful about, I'd taken care of first.
That's how the seat beside you always was.
I've only made it again.
You'll have a seat like that beside you, too.
— Peter, the Recorder