( CNN ) -- For several months in 2003 , I did the whole European backpacker thing . Which is to say I 've seen nearly every cathedral within 1,000 square miles of the Danube . `` Are we cultured yet ? '' `` Shut up . Two more . '' It also means that I have an old journal filled out in the back with countless e-mail addresses from travelers I 'll probably never see again . This was before the heyday of social media , back when pretending to care about people you just met required considerably less effort . Because now when you go abroad , you actually have to connect with your fellow travelers over Facebook . And then deny their Candy Crush requests . Well , these casual travel friendships are about to go completely bonkers over the next two weekends as the world-famous Tomorrowland festival kicks off in Belgium . I 'll get to why in a moment , but for those of you who are unfamiliar with Tomorrowland , it 's a multiday gathering of thousands upon thousands of beautiful young people from all over the planet , congregating in a fairytale-themed field , dancing all night to DJs playing EDM . ( Note to Dad : EDM stands for Electronic Dance Music . It sounds nothing like Willie Nelson . Just put on the Golf Channel and stay away from Belgium . ) That said , if you 're not my dad and actually enjoy EDM , it 's probably a great time . Especially if you 're into that whole being young and enjoying life thing . I 'd go , but my iCal has me scheduled to wallow in self-doubt . ( The following weekend is also completely booked with some pre-planned lower back pain . ) However , if you do make it over to Belgium , this year you 'll be wearing a special festival bracelet that allows you to instantly send friend requests to people you just met . `` YOU get a friend request . YOU get a friend request . YOU get a friend request . EVERYBODY GETS A FRIEND REQUEST ! '' Now , because this festival is so delightfully wackadoo , these bracelets literally arrive at your door in a Tomorrowland treasure case , which , from what I 've seen online , is far more ornate than anything I currently have in my house . No offense , IKEA . You see , this festival tends to go all-in on the ridiculous . And I like that . They 've made it fun before you even get there . An instructional Web video from Tomorrowland explains that , once your treasure case arrives in the mail , you have to use a `` magical key '' to `` unlock the happiness . '' Then , inside the box , you 'll find your bracelet , for which you have to go online to activate with a personalized code . Next , to `` fully unleash all its magical power , '' you connect it to your Facebook account . And if everything syncs up as it should , the bracelet is then armed for making instant friends . Back in my day , we used cheap bourbon and old war stories . Somehow , I just turned 72 . But at Tomorrowland , you and your new pal just need to be near each other while you press your `` heart '' buttons at the same time . The next day , you 'll receive a daily `` special friendship '' e-mail with all the contact details of your new late-night besties . `` Who the hell is Gunther ? '' `` He 's that crazy German guy with no pants . You spent six hours with him building a glow stick castle . '' `` Oh , Guuuuunther . '' So , who knows what kind of new digital friends you 'll suddenly make . The possibilities are endless . You can even play port-a-potty roulette with the person using the stall next to yours . `` I do n't know who you are over there , or what you just ate , but ... One . Two . Three . Go ! '' What 's also cool is that the bracelet is actually your entrance pass to the festival . There 's no paper . And that 's sort of the new trend in ticketing : high-tech smart bracelets . In fact , this year , Lollapalooza in Chicago is going cashless by using radio frequency identification-enabled wristband tickets that also allow festival-goers to make payments . The bracelets are linked to the user 's credit card . Which , after far too many beers , probably sounds like this : . `` I 'll take a poster . And a t-shirt . And a coozie . And another poster . And another t-shirt for that guy . And whatever this chick wants . And let 's do another poster . '' What could possibly go wrong ? Anyway , things have certainly changed since I promised to keep in touch with all those people I met back in Europe . But this is just life as we know it in our crazy modern world . Embrace it . `` Hey , Gunther . You up for another glow stick castle ? '' Follow @ JarrettBellini on Twitter . See more content with questionable news value at CNN Comedy .
Festival - goers at Tomorrowland also wear tickets that send them friend requests . The wearable tickets are an example of smart technology being used at music festivals . Tomorrowland takes place during the last two weeks in July in Boom , Belgium .