Understanding how to make friends as an adult is easier than you might think! It can be scary, but these 5 tips will help you make new friends that fit into your adult life! Keep reading to learn more.
“How do I make friends?”
This sounds like a question that you ask your mom before heading off to your first day at a new school. But, you’d be surprised just how many people, especially millennials, are asking themselves that question now as adults.
Over 1 in 5 millennials say that they feel lonely and the same amount feel that they don’t have any friends. And now that most of this generation has graduated from college and entered the “real world,” many are finding it hard to find ways to make friends without the built-in friendships of classes, dorms, and school.
Thus, the “how do I make friends” question has returned to relevancy in the form of “how to make friends as an adult.”
It’s actually easier than you think, but you might need to put yourself out there a little bit!
1. Take Some Classes
Growing up, how did you make friends? It was at school, right?
Whoever was in your grade or in your class likely became some of your closest friends. The same goes for college friends. Most of the people you talk with and become friends with are the ones in your classes, your major, your dorm… school gave you a plethora of friend options.
So if you’re looking for friends now, take yourself back to school! Take some classes in things that have interested you but you maybe haven’t had the chance to learn about yet. Taking classes in areas that interest you will put you in a room with people who share your interests, which is the first step in building a friendship!
This could be an art class, parenting newborn classes, biology class to finish your degree, accounting, acting, wine making… the list goes on! There’s a class for every interest and goal out there, and this will push you to meet new people, work on group projects, learn something new, and make friends while doing it.
2. Join a Club or a Group
Similar to taking a class, joining a club or a group is another great way to find people who have similar likes and interests as you. This immediately gives you something to talk to the group about and you can bond over this shared interest.
This could be a Dungeons & Dragons group, a new mom support group, a hiking club, a running group, or whatever else suits your fancy! There are great websites like MeetUp.com that can help you find groups of almost any kind right in your area.
3. Volunteer
You might notice a theme emerging here: getting out of your house and doing things that you like and care about are going to be the keys of how to make friends as an adult.
Volunteering for a cause you care about can help you feel fulfilled. It gives you a way to give back to something you believe in whether that’s a political campaign, environmentalism, caring for animals at a shelter, cleaning up litter on beaches, tutoring local kids and adults, reading stories at your local library, or something else completely unique to you!
Most volunteers are in groups or organizations where it can be easy to make friends.
4. Online Friends Are Real Friends
The Internet has opened up an entire new world of possibility. Making friends is now as easy as logging onto your favorite social media accounts, browsing chat rooms, Reddit, Tumblr, etc. While there are definite downsides to friends who you make online (they could be far away, you might not meet in real life, etc), many people find that their online friends are as close to them as people they’ve met in real life.
In fact, over 57 percent of teens report that they make new friends online constantly.
Just like you can join clubs in real life, you can also join clubs and communities online. If you like video games, try joining a Twitch community of streamers who all talk and laugh while playing their favorite games.
Check out Tumblr and follow your favorite blogs, interacting with people who like the same things you do. Try bonding with your Fortnite squad by talking on a headset while you play. Reddit has thousands of specific and tightly knit communities you can join based on your likes and interests.
Try putting yourself out there and chatting with someone. It’s much easier to do through the Internet than face to face, so what do you have to lose?
5. There’s an App for That
Online dating and dating apps are one of the most popular ways that people are meeting nowadays with over 40 percent of Americans use some sort of online dating like eHarmony or Tinder.
But did you know that there are “friend” versions of the most popular dating apps? Bumble, a dating app, has a version for making friends called “Bumble BFF”. Other options include:
- Friender (like a friend version of Tinder)
- Hey! Vina (a friend-finder app for women)
- Peanut (a friend-finder for moms)
- Meet My Dog (a pet owner friend app)
How to Make Friends as an Adult: Push Yourself and Get Out There!
As a kid, it was easy to walk up to a random kid on the playground and declare yourselves best friends. As an adult, it’s not that simple.
But these 5 tips will help you learn how to make friends as an adult. All that’s left to do is step out of your comfort zone and try!
