Rent a crowd? You can actually hire ‘mates’ for your social media snaps

If you've ever found yourself losing sleep over the number of people who appear in the photographs you upload to social media, your concerns may be placated with the help of a Japanese company called Family Romance.

In a bid to help those who tend to think quantity over quality when it comes to friends, Family Romance have launched a service called Real Appeal which allows you to 'hire' people to populate your uploads.

So, here's the deal.

Those who feel they're in dire need of a mate or two can choose people from a catalogue – and can even specify certain characteristics, such as gender, age and style – before hiring the individuals for a minimum of two hours at a cost of €42.

According to the folk behind the service, they receive an average of 100 requests per month for their service, and they even offer fake family members and seat fillers for various other occasions like weddings and business seminars.

Something to think about the next time you think your friends are about to bail on you…

Oh, and while we have you; don't forget to have your say in the inaugural SHEmazing Awards this May! It's time to vote, and you can do it right here!