The 5 Best Social Media Apps for Making Friends in Your Community
Whether you’ve just moved to a new city, are working from home, or have lost touch with old friends, there’s no need to feel isolated. There are apps at the tips of your fingers that will have you connecting with others in minutes.
What sets these apps apart from other social networking apps like Instagram and TikTok is that they encourage in-person meetings. When you’re connecting with people in your community, chances are that you’re also creating memorable experiences.
If you’re hoping to find like-minded individuals in your area, check out these social networking apps designed to promote a sense of togetherness.
1. Hey! VINA
Hey! VINA is an app created by women, for women. Unlike dating apps, Hey! VINA encourages friendship-only connections by matching you up with women in your area.
While initiating you into the app, it asks you to choose from communities and interests you identify with, such as: introverts, extroverts, dog owners, gamer girls, foodies, homebodies, mothers, expats, and LGBTQI+ to name just a few.
Profiles of women show up with a photo, their location, some personality traits, interests, as well as communities that the person belongs to. You can then swipe right or left if you are interested in connecting with that person. Just like a dating up, if there’s a match, you can begin chatting.
There is also a section where you could make plans, host your own events, and discover things going on in your area. To add a new level of fun, there is an assortment of quizzes and personality tests for you to play around with to get to know yourself better. If you’ve played the quizzes, your results show up on your profile for others to see.
Download:Hey! VINA forAndroid|iOS(Free)
The Meetup app has been around since 2002. It is considered one of the oldest in-person meetup apps. It hosts meetups in nearly every country in the world. From sewing circles tostartup communities that entrepreneurs can join, there’s something for everyone.
The whole point of Meetup is to establish connections between people who are living in the same city. If you move around a lot and are looking for activities, events, and people in your area, you can search for Meetups and start finding things you’re interested in that are going on around you. You’ll get notified as soon as there’s an event for the group you’ve signed up for.
You can also host your own events, create your own groups, and even promote your services (for example, if you are giving a talk or if you have a conference coming up) you can promote it. Meetup encourages people to grow their professional and social networks by prompting them to connect with others based on mutual interests.
Download:Meetup forAndroid|iOS(Free)
3. Nextdoor
Nextdoor is an app that lets you find people in your neighborhood. As the name suggests, people are encouraged to share their exact location and find people in their district, street, or even apartment building.
The app is focused on hosting get-togethers, buying/selling items, as well as initiating chats with people nearby. Nextdoor shows you exactly how many groups are in your area and lets you discover events, restaurants, and businesses near you.
To set it up, you need to give your exact location for a personalized experience. After that, you’ll be able to see people from your area. You will need to complete your profile completely to get authenticated.
The only thing about Nextdoor is that if you find yourself in a country where you don’t speak the language, it may be difficult for you to find people who speak your language. you may however search for groups and services that are “English-speaking” to see what’s going on.
Peanut was created predominantly for moms who want to connect with other moms. The app acts as a support group for women who have questions and require support on various topics, such as motherhood, mental health, and wellness.
The app has spaces for group conversations, chat rooms, and community meetups. It promotes itself as a “safe space for women to connect”. It’s a network where women can share personal experiences, offer expertise, and connect with other women in their city. There are also podcasts it’s possible to listen to.
After signing up, you’ll be asked to verify yourself with a selfie which won’t act as your profile picture, but which will be used to safely identify that you’re a real person.
After that, you will be able to access blogs about almost any topic related to women’s health and wellbeing. You can also browse through advice from experts (such as midwives, doctors, and nurses) with whom you can get in touch via the group.
Download:Peanut forAndroid|iOS(Free)
5. Facebook
Using Facebook to connect with people in your community is a great way to network, make new friends, and keep up to date with events in your area. If you’re a long-time user of Facebook, you would have noticed that over the years it has undergone many changes.
From what used to be a platform where you could find your old friends, now many people are using it to find new friends and build online and offline communities. It is easy to find groups devoted to what you’re interested in. You can join communities located in your city as well as start your own group or community.
When you meet someone in an app, chances are that if you like them, and if they live nearby, you can meet them as well. For people who have a difficult time making friends, there areonline platforms solely focused on creating online communities for introverts.
Download:Facebook forAndroid|iOS(Free)
Social Media Apps Are Pushing People to Connect In-Person
While it’s plausible to think that social media apps are intended to get people talking online, many apps these days are designed to get people interacting face-to-face.
Apps that are focused on creating communities are much more likely to provide their members with a feeling of belonging because their intention is to get people in the same location to connect.
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