Bang With Friends Won't Revolutionise the Way We Get Laid

I interviewed the guys behind the new Facebook app.

4.2.13

Have you ever spent a Friday night at home in bed, laptop on your knees, the sickly blue glow from the screen illuminating the room just enough to make the whole scene really, really creepy? Do you click through your friends' Facebook photos furiously masturbating? No? Well friend, get with the times, because according to the new app “Bang with Friends” everyone has a secret hard-on for their pals, and moreover, a burning desire to, as the moniker would suggest, bang with friends. Bang with Friends allows you to peruse photos of all your Facebook friends, and anonymously select who you’d like to fuck. The friends you chose will only ever find out that you want to bone them if they want to bone you too. Are you titillated yet? Do you have a burning desire to know which of your pals completely objectify you in their alone time?

Annons

I got in contact with the founders of the app – three anonymous people who were too scared to talk on the phone, but who are apparently from California and apparently also all dudes – because I had a few issues with the functionality of the app. For instance, as a female, the site only allows me to choose from my male friends (and vice versa if you are a male), so the gay community is NOT ALLOWED TO BANG. Soz, y’all. And nevermind that you’re not even consenting to have your image used on this glorified whorehouse (the founders’ email is simply “Online Pimp”), because being sexually objectified is “flattering”, just like being harassed by van drivers in the street.

I ended up having to do this over email, so all exclamation marks, smilies and Mila Kunis jokes are interviewees' own.

VICE: The three of you are dudes, right?
Bang with Friends: Yes. So do you guys usually cruise Facebook and think to yourself 'I would fuck this girl. I wonder if she'd fuck me?'
Everyone has some friends that they would throw the bone to. We're no different. Have you ever jerked off to someone's Facebook profile?
Best question yet! Not yet, but not ruling it out. What was your motivation in making the site? Are you looking to make money?
To cut through the pretense of dating and connect people to friends-with-benefits or more. How do you think people will feel about having their image used as a sexual object without their consent or even knowledge?
Flattered? This happens all of the time offline and online via Facebook. We're all adults here. Let's be honest about our sexuality! You talk about wanting to take the "awkwardness" out of sex. How is your app doing that?
It can be awkward to broach the subject of your sexual interest in a friend unless you know it's mutual. We take down that barrier. It should be something that is celebrated and open, not something anyone should feel awkward admitting is their goal. As a woman, I find the homepage image you guys use on your site quite disturbing. An inert, faceless woman on a bed with a dress pulled up over her head doesn't exactly scream "equality for the sexes". Why did you choose a woman and not a man?
We liked the erotic, laid-back and whimsical nature of the photo. But rest assured, we'll be updating it for the ladies and gents who swing that way. When I log on, I'm only able to see males from my friends list. Why the heteronormative standard?
To be honest, we built this in two hours and never expected it to take off. We built the most basic version we could to keep it simple and get to the result of getting people bangin' buddies! We are working on expanding it to help everyone. I also have the option to bang my brothers, uncles, cousins and dad. Is that something you're gonna fix?
Right now, we filter out your family members according to the ones marked as such on Facebook. We'll check into doing something beyond that. Your emails come from "Online Pimp". Do you really see yourselves as "pimps"?
Tongue-in-cheek email address, really :P We are more like the "cupids of boning". Why are you choosing to stay anonymous?
This is growing faster than my member when Mila Kunis is half naked, so we need to get everything in line before we open up more. You say in an interview with The Daily Beast that you'd definitely block your younger sister from using it. Why?
Frankly, we don't want to think of our innocent little sisters bangin'. Curse of the older brother, I guess. But really, if they're of age and making responsible decisions, they can go for it. Just hoping we don't advertise that they've signed up!