While parents may be skeptical about their children interacting with strangers online, the social circles of teenagers are increasingly filled with online friends because it is much more convenient.
Although online friendships are often limited in the way they interact. They lack tactility, the visual reading of emotions, and physical activity. Moreover, the internet can be dangerous. Anonymity emboldens scammers and simply malicious people. Nonetheless, the internet serves as an excellent starting point for communication.
Although it was not designed as a dating platform, it is often used for meeting new people. From someone’s profile, you can understand who they interact with, how they dress, and where they hang out. Subscriptions make it easy to identify their interests. Just write a direct message with any question or respond to a story, and voilà – a new acquaintance is made.
- Telegram
Telegram has introduced a new feature called “People Nearby,” which works only on phones. By enabling your geolocation, you can find people nearby or whole communities. If you see them, it means those people have also enabled geolocation and are open to communication.
- Dating Bots
On platforms like VKontakte or Telegram, there are separate bots, such as “Leonardo DaVinchik.” Here, you can like profiles with photos of people from your city. Another fun bot is “Voices of strangers.” Among a ton of strange sounds from real people randomly sent by the bot, you can find interesting interlocutors and move the discussion to private messages. Both of these bots helped me make friends when moving to a new country and simply spiced up my free time.
- Social Media Groups
These can be divided into local and thematic groups. Chances are there’s already a group for your city on VKontakte, where people post their photos and suggest meeting up. Join thematic groups if you have a hobby and want to find like-minded people, such as for car repairs or cycling.
- Discord
A great place on all fronts: you can meet people from all over the world, practice foreign languages, sing karaoke with strangers, and simply chat about everything under the sun in voice chats. Online databases list Discord channels for various hobbies to suit any taste and color. I once attended a drawing circle in Discord, where we chatted and shared our creations with each other.
- Postcrossing
This option is for those who don’t want to hang out on forums but wish to make friends abroad. How it works: after registering on the project’s website, you receive random addresses to which you can send physical postcards with greetings. Similarly, you can receive postcards from other people and start corresponding with them. I once received cooking recipes from a woman in Australia and a postcard collection from Germany.
- Online Games
By chatting with someone, you can not only enjoy playing but also find teammates for joint battles, discussing exciting topics with them every evening via voice chat. And if you live nearby, meeting up is no problem.
- Online Chats
On forums or websites dedicated to fast anonymous correspondence, people are often not looking to make friends but rather engage in trash-talk. However, this does not exclude the possibility of finding a great conversationalist with whom you can continue interacting on other social networks.
- Video Chats
On sites like “Omegle” or “Chatroulette,” you meet people from all over the planet. By setting your region in the settings, you can chat with locals as well as foreigners. My friends and I have used these sites multiple times, remembering many heartfelt conversations with girls from Pinsk and a group of boys from Moscow.
- Online Courses and Events
A cool topic that not only teaches skills for free but also connects you with other participants if you need to work on joint projects. The number of online clubs surged during the pandemic, so you can join courses on public speaking on Zoom or volunteer with youth on social networks.
Be Cautious
Today, making friends online isn’t as scary, but it’s still important to remember a few basic safety rules:
- Do not disclose personal information. Sharing your address, phone number, or card or passport details is not safe. God forbid, this information falls into the hands of scammers.
- Use the delete and block function if needed. Don’t tolerate rude and intrusive interlocutors. Create a comfortable digital space around yourself without threats and insults.
- Do not click on unknown links sent in chat. It could be spam or a malicious virus.
- Inform your family or friends where and with whom you are going. If you decide to meet an internet friend, let your close ones know.
- Connect via video chat before meeting. If you have only communicated via text before, it’s wise to see the person on video. This reassures you of the authenticity of the photos, and it will be less scary to go for a walk.
- Arrange meetings in crowded places. This can prevent unwanted touches, inappropriate behavior, and harassment. Plus, it’s simply more pleasant to spend time in a café or park than in deserted streets or industrial zones.
