Social media is meant for meeting people and making new friends, but a lot of people don’t take advantage of that possibility.
Most of us simply talk to the people we already know. Social media games allow us to interact with people from all over the world. Once we finish the game though, we usually don’t think much about the person we just played against.
That isn’t the case with Spencer Sleyon and Rosalind “Roz” Guttman.
These two are a pretty unlikely duo, but they became the best of friends, and when they met, they shared an even deeper connection. Both Spencer and Roz enjoyed playing Words with Friends on Facebook. They played against each other often and eventually began talking outside of the game.
Spencer, 22, is a rapper who lives in Harlem, and Roz, 81, lives in Florida. They found that they surprisingly have a lot in common and enjoy talking to each other.
Spencer said:
“2016 was such a big year for politics and hurricanes — stuff like that. We talked about literally just anything.”
They seemed to be just what each other needed. Sadly, Spencer had to delete the game and focus on other matter in his life.
He didn’t want to just leave Roz wondering what happened to him, so he explained and ask her for some advice before he left.
Spencer explained:
“I told her, ‘My life is pretty busy right now, I don’t have time to play every day consistently. But if there was some advice you could give me about life, what would it be?’ And she told me, ‘Always reach for the stars.’”
Eventually, things settled down for Spencer, and he found that he had some spare time to spend on his favorite game with one of his favorite friends. He downloaded the game again and couldn’t wait to message Roz and catch up.
Spencer shared his story of Roz with a friend, who decided to help the pair meet up in real life.
She bought Spender a plane ticket to Florida and arranged to have Roz meet him. The two met at a local hotel and had a chance to get to talk and catch up in the library. Of course, they also took plenty of photos, which helped their story go viral after they were posted.
Spencer said of the meetup:
“She was awesome! I’ve worked in grocery stores and stuff, so I’ve been friendly with older people in person. And that’s honestly what it felt like — like I just saw someone from the neighborhood. That’s why I was really happy.”
The two have never been happier, and they still enjoy playing games together online.
Thousands of people have shared their inspiring story. Eventually, it was seen by Even Frank Gibeau, the CEO of Zynga, the developer of Words with Friends.
When he heard about Spencer and Roz’s friendship, he was thrilled. He said:
“Spencer and Roz’s story is a wonderful illustration of how powerful games can be in bringing people together across generations and geographies.”
So many people are quick to point out the differences in Spencer and Roz and just can’t understand why they became such good friends.
It’s as simple as getting to know someone on the inside instead of worrying about how old they are, what color they are, or where they live. Roz and Spencer’s friendship is inspiring. Hopefully, it will help motivate other people to get to know strangers and people who they might not think they have anything in common with.
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Sources: Upworthy, ABC News, Washington Post
