5 places to make new friends online
I don’t know about you, but COVID has reduced my social life to work, family, and the occasional zoom call with a friend. There’s no opportunity in my day-to-day to meet new people unless it’s a networking call.
What I really miss is going to an event, a concert, or even just a bar, and having an impromptu conversation with someone I wouldn’t have met otherwise. There’s just something about spontaneous interactions, about the possibility that something new and exciting can happen, that makes you feel alive.
If you’re feeling the same way, check out this list I made of 5 places you can go online to make new, impromptu connections.
1. Artery
For all you creatives out there, Artery pretty much lets you sit in on a “jam session” whenever you want. Anyone can volunteer to host performers in their space, so just imagine watching an artist perform in someone’s living room. It’s all virtual now, but they’ve done a great job of keeping the intimate vibe by limiting how many people can attend each event.
Typical events are movie nights, concerts, standup comedy and poetry. If that sounds like a good time, head over to their website, pick a date, and see what’s playing!
2. Interintellect
If, like me, you derive a special kind of pleasure from deep, intellectual conversations, Interintellect is for you. They host discussions on a myriad of topics, all with the purpose of understanding ourselves and the world we live in at a deeper level.
Just to give you a sense, here are a few of their upcoming discussions —
- Modern Day Education: Learning in the Information Age
- The Past is a Foreign Country: (How) Do We Moderns Think Differently?
- Personal Values vs Social Values
What I really love about Interintellect is that the discussions are not lecture-based. There is a host for each event, but they’re more like a facilitator than an expert. In fact, anyone can be a host. So even if none of their discussions speak to you, you can create your own around a topic you’ve been itching to dig into!
3. InspiredHumns
InspiredHumns is a Toronto-based community with the intention of creating authentic connections. Their main event right now is “Stories and Chai”, where people connect and share their own stories over a steaming cup of chai. Stories and Chai happens every Thursday night, so you can pop in anytime if that sounds like your idea of fun.
I haven’t gone to an event myself yet, but have had a few friends really recommend it as a way to connect with new people in a way that you normally couldn’t.
4. CreativeMornings Field Trips
Before COVID, CreativeMornings was a global, volunteer-run community with chapters in most major cities in the world. They hosted free monthly breakfast and lectures around creative problems in a myriad of domains. It was a great way to meet and connect with the other creators in whatever city you were in.
Since COVID, they obviously haven’t been able to do a lot of their in-person events, but they’ve started something called Field Trips, that pretty much creates that same interactive experience virtually!
This is CreativeMornings’ mission statement, and I think it sums up their vibe perfectly —
“As creators, builders, and thinkers, how can we get better at solving complex problems? A promising starting point is for us to be in the same spaces with those we’ve traditionally deemed different.”
5. Bumble
I know, I know, all dating apps are the devil, but hear me out on this! Bumble’s gamified a lot of the most awkward parts of connecting with someone (i.e. sending the first message, planning the first date) to the point where it’s actually kind of fun.
For starters, instead of sending the basic “Hey, how are you” to every match, or wracking your brain trying to say something clever, you can just send a match one of Bumble’s pre-made questions. What’s cool about this is that it’s kind of like a game — you pick a question, you both answer it, and then your answers are revealed to each other. Then, once you exchange a few messages, Bumble prompts you to have a virtual trivia date night IN THE APP. All you have to do is click a button and you’re there! No need to plan anything.
I found all this actually made me excited to date and meet people online, for the first time in … ever. I’ve only used Bumble’s date mode myself, but I recently spoke to someone who said they’d met some great friends through Bumble BFF, so who knows! Anything’s possible!
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