Gen Z is the first social media native generation, growing up with likes, unfollows and news feeds as a social norm. As they begin to age, the generation is proving social media is a tried-and-true way to connect. They have utilized apps and social media platforms more than any other generation to build romantic relationships and make friends in adulthood.
Research proves that friendship not only boosts your happiness and reduces your stress, but also can improve your self-confidence and self-worth. You can find community and build lifelong friendships online. It just takes time, intention and a lot of swiping. Here are five apps to help you make friends in adulthood.
Bumble for Friends
Bumble for Friends is a friendship app, designed to help users create meaningful friendships in their area.
Similar to its predecessor, once you create your profile, you can swipe through and chat with people who share similar interests. There’s AI-generated icebreakers that will help you get the conversation going. Another fun feature, specifically for college students, is the College Verified feature. This is a school profile feature that helps you connect with potential campus friends.
Yubo
Yubo is a social live-streaming platform that allows you to have instant conversations with new, like-minded friends. The app celebrates the true essence of being young, creating a space where the next generation can belong, feel safe and hang out. Users can go live on video streaming with up to 10 streamers, watch Youtube videos together, screenshare and play games together.
Hey! VINA
Dubbed the “Tinder for (girl)friends,” Hey! VINA is a global movement for women’s empowerment and friendship. Users will create a profile, and once they match with a potential friend, the pair will start a conversation and possibly meet up in real life. The app also includes quizzes and articles about living your best life.
Wink
If you’re tired of pointlessly swiping apps for love, download Wink to connect with people from all over the world. It goes beyond the swipe and focuses on the power of “Vibes,” which provides intentional connections to users. This might be camping retreats, karaoke nights, wine tasting, dancing the night away or traveling abroad.
Peanut App
The Peanut App is a safe place for women to build meaningful connections. Geared toward women who are planning to become pregnant, are pregnant, have children or are experiencing menopause, the Peanut App allows users to connect and meetup with women in their area. It provides common interest groups, advice and audio conversations hosted by experts..
Discord
Initially an app dedicated toward building community in the gamer space, Discord creates a space for friends to spend time together, while making it easy to talk every day and hang out more often. Users can create invite-only spaces through Discord’s servers that are organized into topic-based channels for collaborating, sharing and simply talking. You can wave hello over video, watch friends stream their games or huddle for a drawing session with screen share.