Ever since the pandemic struck, our need to interact with and meet new people has been left unsatisfied. Even though we’re confined to the comfort of our houses, there are still many different ways out there to help you find new friends. The following six tips will help you fulfill that need for communication, and maybe even help you meet new people once the health concerns are no longer an issue.
1. Join Interpals
Interpals is an online platform that somewhat adopts the model of old-fashioned chatrooms, making it even easier to find people to talk to. Its primary purpose is to help people learn different languages by communicating with foreign speakers, which is another advantage compared to meeting people in person. You’ll also get to discover a lot of different cultures, learn new things, and maybe even make some new real-life friends. Interpals is extremely easy to use – all you have to do is sign up either by using your email address or connecting an existing Facebook account.
2. Download Tinder or Badoo
Compared to the previous platform that’s more focused on helping you find friends, Tinder and Badoo usually advertise themselves as dating apps.
However, since the pandemic broke out, many people have started using them simply as means of communicating with other people. People’s profiles contain basic information – their name, interests, a couple of pictures, as well as their distance from you.
Both apps give you the ability to filter out whether you want to see only men, women, or profiles of both sexes. However, in order to start chatting to someone, you both have to express interest in one another by liking their profile. Once you get a “match” notification, you can message them.
3. Find Business Partners Through LinkedIn
If you prefer formality and are a straight-to-the-business type of person, you should probably skip Tinder or similar apps and try LinkedIn. With over 700 million members from 150 different countries, you’re bound to run into someone with a similar thought process. At its core, LinkedIn is a social network focused on career development, but it also gives you the ability to communicate with other professionals and company owners. If you aim to use LinkedIn exclusively for finding partners, make sure to outline your intentions from the start since many people use it simply to improve their business knowledge.
4. Take Advantage of Instagram
Unlike most of the platforms on this list, Instagram allows users to search posts by location or hashtags. This means that if you plan to meet someone new in person, you can easily find posts that were taken in your area and connect with the person through Instagram beforehand.
Of course, this will only show you people who have their profiles set to public, since the private ones need to allow you to follow them first. Also, hashtags can help you find people with similar interests and you can combine these two methods if you wish to do so.
5. Join Online Marathons
Even though the phrase “online marathon” might seem like an oxymoron, these events attract a lot of people from around the world and even help them turn to a more healthy lifestyle. These either free or paid virtual races work by collecting online registrations from people and monitoring their progress through a mapping device or an app. Winners get certain rewards that range from sports equipment to thousands of dollars depending on the size of the competition. There is a lot of fun, innovative ideas – for example, the 90-minute dash gives competitors 90 minutes to run around and picture themselves holding 60 different items.
6. Check Your Online Friends’ Identity
No matter how trustworthy the person on the other end of the screen might seem, you can’t be certain of their identity. Because of this, you have to take the necessary precautions, especially if you’re planning to meet them in person at some point in the future. To help you with this, a tool by the name of Spokeo was developed.
Since Spokeo works like a phone number search and email lookup tool, you’ll need to know one of these two pieces of information. To get them, it’s as easy as asking the person on the other end. If they have nothing to hide, you won’t have to make up an excuse for why you need their number or an email. Once you’ve run a search, Spokeo could give you a detailed report containing all the personal information of the number/email’s owner.
By Maguire Haigh
Bio: Maguire Haigh is a marketing manager for Spokeo. He is interested in the latest technology trends, marketing strategies and business development. He also prefers travelling, exploring the world and meeting new people. Maguire has great experience in creating and editing articles on different topics.