Enhance Your Social Life With Technology and Social Media
Using Social Media To Stay Social
Social media has gotten a bit of a bad reputation over the years, part of which is due to the perception that it can make people become increasingly anti-social. Instead of meeting up with friends to catch up at a cafe, you might forego that coffee and just check into your group chat with a couple texts or scroll through Instagram to see what your friends got up to last week.
Social media doesn't always cut it when it comes to social interaction, but social media can be used for getting a little more social interaction in your life. Statistics show that this generation has experienced the highest levels of loneliness and depression, especially these past couple of years due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for social distancing.
Below you'll find a few social media platforms that make the quest for new friends and activities a little bit easier!
Founded way back in 2002, MeetUp is one of the oldest online platforms with the intent of having users organize events and getting together in real life. Available as an app and website, you can organize any event you're interested in, like hiking, eating, reading, collaborative writing, and arts & crafts. You can even bolster your career by using MeetUp for professional networking, something LinkedIn is generally only used for online. Meetup makes searching for and organizing events easy thanks to features like a searchable calendar of events, as well as being able to establish your availability, structure your time, and plan commutes to meet-ups.
BumbleBFF
Having launched back in 2014, Bumble sought to refine the dating app experience that Tinder popularized. Unlike Tinder, Bumble's goal is curb unprompted inappropriate messages. The main hook is that once a heterosexual couple matches, the woman has to send the first message before two-way communication opens up.
After becoming a success, Bumble expanded its platform by adding a platonic friend-finding feature, BumbleBFF. It works just like the dating side of the app, swipe left if you aren't interested in a user profile or swipe right if you are. If two users both swipe right on each other, they'll have the opportunity to engage in a one-on-one conversation.
Like most dating apps, you can fill out your profile with your interests, relationship status, and anything else you feel is worth mentioning.
Hey! Vina has been called "Tinder for (Girl) Friends." It' is specifically designed for women looking for more female friends. According to the founders, its main goal is to empower women and strengthen both their individuality and camaraderie.
This app is similar other dating and friend-making apps, as it requires you users to swipe to connect or join groups and communities. You Users can also take quizzes and read articles about living their best lives.
A few years ago, Tinder partnered with Hey! Vina, but only in an investor and mentor capacity – the app is still just for women looking for other female friends.
Sometimes it’s hard making friends at the gym or during a pickup game at the park, and that’s where Atleto comes in. Atleto is like a blend of Tinder and MeetUp that’s made exclusively for finding people or groups that are interested in athletic activities.
Supported by Northeastern University, Stony Brook University, and Manhattan College, it’s perfect for those who need a reliable spotter on the bench or a regular tennis opponent.
Along with the normal stress involved with moving - packing, decorating, setting up your utilities, and figuring out which local Chinese takeout place is the best one - there can also be social difficulties as well. You may not know a lot of people and don't yet know where all the cool spots are. Nextdoor aims to help with those social difficulties by hosting a private social network exclusively for you and your neighbors.
Besides building friendships, NextDoor helps with some other neighborhood activities, like promoting virtual yard sales, selling household items, and even seeking out part-time jobs like babysitting and dog-walking.
If you’re worried about an app that identifies you and the neighborhood in which you live, along with various technical safety features, NextDoor requires user verification before a member can join a community.
Optimize and Enhance Your Social Life
There are so many ways to use the Internet and social media to build strong in-person connections and to meet like-minded individuals.
At Optimum, we want you to be aware of all the ways you can use the Internet to improve your quality of life and social relationships through our services.