meetrange

Meetrange is a term used in social network analysis and online matchmaking to describe the intended or effective distance within which individuals are likely to encounter or connect with others. It is a flexible concept that can refer to geographic proximity, social proximity, or a combination of both, depending on the context.

In its geographic usage, meetrange denotes the radius within which a person is willing or able to meet others in person. This can be set by the user on a platform or inferred from mobility data and travel times. In a social-network context, meetrange can refer to the graph distance between two individuals—how many steps apart they are in a network of connections. Some applications also consider mobility-adjusted meetrange, which accounts for travel time and accessibility rather than raw distance alone.

Applications of meetrange include the configuration of visibility and recommendations on dating and social platforms, where users may choose to expand or restrict the set of potential connections. It is also used in event planning and community-building tools to estimate the size of a potential meeting pool and to model how changes in mobility or location services affect opportunities for interaction. In research, metrange helps analyze how distance constraints influence connection rates, information spread, and social reach.

Limitations arise from privacy considerations, data accuracy, and the variability of urban versus rural settings. Meetrange is not a standardized metric; its definition and measurement can vary across platforms and studies. See also distance decay, radius, degree of separation, and recommender systems.