Good morning, neighbor! Lovely day we’re having. Hope this weather holds. When’s the last time you said hello to the people living next door to you? I do it every day if I happen to meet them in my building, but beyond that, I don’t really know my neighbors all that well. As do plenty of people, I bet.
The era of friendly chatterbox neighbors is long past, but the age of ‘number neighbors’ has finally come. Twitter users gladly jumped on the new trend spreading through the internet and started sending text messages to their ‘number neighbors’ — those people whose phone number’s last digit is off from theirs by one. Either up or down. So if my phone number were 123, I'd send a neighborly funny message to numbers 122 and 124.
However, not all of the texting with ‘number neighbors’ went as planned. Plenty of people got unexpected, weird, or even downright creepy replies to the unknown number texts. To keep you entertained, Bored Panda collected the most interesting text messages from the Twitter thread. Kick off your shoes, get comfortable, and start scrolling. Upvote your favorite funny tweets and let everyone know which ‘number neighbor’ texts you think are the best.
This post may include affiliate links.
My Number Neighbor Fried The Hell Out Of Me
I’m Bffs With Mine Now
The sad reality is that the fabric of society is changing: fewer and fewer people know their neighbors — who they are and what they do. Take the United States as an example. In 2018, Pew Research conducted a study with shocking conclusions. The findings show that less than a third — only 31% — of Americans know who their neighbors are. Unbelievable, I know. This number changes quite a bit if you go to the countryside (where 40% know who all or most of their neighbors are) and to urban neighborhoods (a mere 24% know the people living next to them). Ironically, it looks like the closer your neighbors live to you, the less well you know them.
I Feel Attacked
Yalllll, Look At My Number Neighbor
Meanwhile, the New York Post writes that two out of every three millennials feel as though they don’t belong to the local community in which they live. Fortunately, around 69% stated that they wish things would be different, so perhaps there’s some hope for youngsters yet.
Odd Request By My Number Neighbor
This Number Neighbor Game Is Dangerous
If you’re scared of getting to know your real neighbors, why not send your ‘number neighbor’ a friendly greeting, and let us know what kind of unexpected reply you get? Only remember to stay safe and not give out any important personal information. And if you want to read about wholesome neighborhood goodness, check out Bored Panda’s post about the teachings of everyone’s beloved Mr. Rogers.
My Number Neighbor Speaks Russian!
Well That Went Well
My Number Neighbor Was Pretty Cool And Gave Me A Potato Casserole
Appropriate
Not Sure How To Feel About My Number Neighbor...
You Won’t Believe Who My Number Neighbor Is
Mine Has Some Serious Dad Energy And I'm About It
Im [friggin] Scared
Oof
My Number Neighbor Pranked Me And It Has To Be The Best Thing To Happen All Day
Had A Similar Experience No Thanks
This Was A Gift
Never Doing This Number Neighbor [crap] Again
Omg
Someone doesn't respect privacy of other people's phones, I see... also, jealous and obsessive much?
Just F*** Me Up Fam
Mine No Nice :((
Number Neighbor
Text Your Number Neighbor They Said... It’ll Be Fun They Said...
I Got Played
I’m Going To Jail
I don't understand.... I'm the the FBI and FTC have nothing better to do than follow up on stupid memes.....
I’m Going To Invite Mine To A Bbq
Ummmmm... Do I Tell Him?
My Number Neighbor
Well They Sent Me A Link To Some Demon So I’m Afraid
Wow. I understand not wanting to be contacted, but some people are taking it a bit far with the replies. Who remembers doing this before texting? Anyone? Corded phones? No? Kay.
Yeah, I did this when I was a kid in the early 90s, 1 up from our number is Walmart pharmacy. 1 down didn't speak English...
Load More Replies...I don't see anything wrong with reaching out to a random stranger in a friendly way. You should introduce yourself and explain what a number neighbor is. If the person isn't interested apologize for the inconvenience and never contact them again. Otherwise it's a nice way of saying hello.
Just one more of stupid trends in line, it'll go away soon, only to be replaced by something similarly stupid.
At least it's safer than the Tide Pod Challenge...
Load More Replies...Wow. I understand not wanting to be contacted, but some people are taking it a bit far with the replies. Who remembers doing this before texting? Anyone? Corded phones? No? Kay.
Yeah, I did this when I was a kid in the early 90s, 1 up from our number is Walmart pharmacy. 1 down didn't speak English...
Load More Replies...I don't see anything wrong with reaching out to a random stranger in a friendly way. You should introduce yourself and explain what a number neighbor is. If the person isn't interested apologize for the inconvenience and never contact them again. Otherwise it's a nice way of saying hello.
Just one more of stupid trends in line, it'll go away soon, only to be replaced by something similarly stupid.
At least it's safer than the Tide Pod Challenge...
Load More Replies...