At this stage, many of us have tried online dating. In fact, in 2021, 323 billion people all over the world (Opens in a new tab) used dating apps as their main avenue of meeting new people. It’s now the go-to method for finding romantic partners and the first port of call for most when seeking a new relationship, but the apps might not be top-of-mind for finding new friends.
Apps for finding friends are out there, though. There are now a bunch of apps designed to help people make friends. From Bumble’s ‘BFF‘ means which was the first to really go mainstream, to Peanut which helps mums make friends, to Patook (Opens in a new tab) , Wink (Opens in a new tab) , and Swipr (Opens in a new tab) , there are multiple online platforms for people to find the right friendships for them.
Loneliness in young people has increased over the last few years, with 40 percent of 16 to 24-year-olds in the UK reporting effect alone (Opens in a new tab) „very often“. In total, 45 percent out-of people become sporadically, either or usually alone (Opens in a new tab) in England. This could be, in part, to the difficulty of forming new friendships as an adult without the help of apps. A reality most people face in their 20s is that friendships are hard to come by when they’ve not been somewhat „assigned“ to you – the way friendships occur when you’re younger, because of school and clubs. Více