Social life? What social life? The world has been turned upside down for the last year. In a world where we are being kept apart, how do we create new friendships ... or even grow these new friendships? I have some ideas that may help. You want to make new friends -- but the question is, how do you do it? Where do you meet these new friends? Isn't it going to be awkward?
Your first step is to get ready to be uncomfortable. You have to realize meeting new people and fostering those relationships is different now. Where we used to do things out in the world, we're now doing them inside our home and online. And we are doing them in situations we may never have experienced before the pandemic.
Being uncomfortable is okay because I have a sneaky suspicion that your new best friend or circle of friends will NOT be your pizza delivery guy. Well, he could be -- who knows, maybe you both have a mutual love for pepperoni, and you discover this when your pizza is dropped off. This could happen, but gentlemen, my guess is that it's not going to, and you've got to understand that part of the process is being
uncomfortable.
Now it's time to get social the NEW way. You, my friend, need to be a bit of a cyber social butterfly, and there are two ways you're going to go about finding new cool things to do. Remember that friendships come in all forms, and they can all be beautiful.
Login to virtual events and make an effort to engage with the other attendees. The events can range from conferences and summits to trade shows and expos to virtual concerts and live-streams. Here's an example of where you can find events like these: Eventbrite.
Use sites like meetup.com, where you plug in your zip code, and you can just peruse all online events going on.
Can you can also find virtual party events (or even host one) or join into a virtual dance party like this one from N2N DJ Dance Party
Use the friend finder app called Bumble BFF (yes, it's for men as well) which follows the same principle as a dating app, but it’s to make friends online. Due to the platonic nature of the app, both people can reach out to start chatting with a potential new friend, so you won’t have to wonder how to meet new friends during covid.
Another option for meeting friends online is Skout app which is the original OG and world's largest app for meeting new people.
Download the HouseParty app to network face-to-face. You're alerted when your friends are “in the house” and ready to chat so you can jump right into the conversation.
When you drops in, you'll see some of your friends, but you'll also encounter others you don't know that well and others you've never met before.
Using app InterPals, make new friends, practice languages with native speakers, get a virtual pen pal, and meet travelers. You can achieve your language learning
goals, and in turn, you can help people practice your language too.
Start conversations with someone you happen to be connected with on social media because you met once at a party or an even pre-covid.
If you’re working on a project of some kind, like a thesis or a new hobby, reach out to other people you know through social media who might be interested in that topic and form an online community. Ask friends to invite their friends.
ATLETO is an app that will help you meet people with similar athletic interests. During this period of covid, it’s not possible to meet face-to-face for sports in
the majority of places observing social-distancing measures, BUT you can instead use the app and those who you meet to compare home workout plans, goals, ideas, and motivational stories until you can get back to the gym or out on the road for a run or a cycle.
Online acquaintances, such as through LinkedIn, might have experience working in an industry you’re interested in and talk you through your career goals.
Join an online book club which you can find the best in 2021 here. Or instead, you might introduce someone you know from social medai
to your favorite author, which eventually becomes theirs.
Getting social is the key to meeting new people. You can't do that sitting on your couch playing video games and ordering food delivery. You've got to get out there (aka online), and then it's a matter of talking to everybody. Check out my videos about conversation starters and complimenting (everyone loves a compliment!) that will help you get talking to
everybody:
To be social, accept every invitation that comes your way. Here's the deal -- you might not be wild about this person, and you may feel that you're not going to hit it off with him. That crappy attitude can prohibit you from making friends. So instead, think of the social invitation like this: realize that these people have other friends, and so if they are introducing you to some of their
friends, you may hit it off with one or more of them. The key is to expand your social circle.
So, you've got to engage people, but it's not just as simple as, "Hey, how are you doing?" That's going nowhere. You have to take it a step further. Get in the habit of asking questions: "Hey, what do you have going on this weekend?" Now you're probing and creating dialogue. This communication will help to propel you to the next level.
You don't have to rush things. It's almost like with dating -- don't rush it if you know that you're going to see him next time. Don't look too eager. And you have to bring something to the table. Be happy, be engaging, be you, gentlemen.
Friendships are tough to develop, but getting yourself out of a rut and out of your comfort zone is essential to making new friends. You have to meet as many people as possible – you're not going to like them all, and most of them you're not going to have anything to do with after the initial interaction or two. But in the end, when you do that enough, you're going to develop some solid
long-term friendships!
Covid has been challenging in many ways, one of which has been socializing and being able to make new friends. Perhaps making friends during covid seems arduous and convoluted, but the benefits of feeling connected with others cannot be overstated, especially if you are apart from loved ones.
Alpha M. POST of the
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Just to let you Alpha’s know: I got married and got to see my military buddies from basic training, and now I’m enjoying my honeymoon.
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