Finally, an App to Make Friends Online

The BFF app worth swiping for by Lorraine Jones

Making friends as an adult is harder than you think. Meeting new people when you're older is a little more complicated, especially during a pandemic. A small gesture such as FaceTiming ‘just for fun’ or sending a friend a funny Snapchat can make someone’s whole day in such isolating times. During the global pandemic, friendship is essential.

Nobody warns you growing up about the importance of staying in touch with friends. Life happens. People grow apart, find jobs, and move away. Whether you're new in town, drifted from your old friends, or in a transitioning period in your life—it’s always good to have friends by your side to support you or just to get you out of the house to grab a coffee. You need friends to help you through hardships in life or to get the good angles for your Instagram photos.

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How many of you are still friends with your best friends from high school? As we get older, our lives are rapidly changing. We are coming into our own and establishing who we want to be. That’s not an easy task to do alone, especially without a support system of friends to lean on.

A lot of lonely people crave a man to fill the void but great friends can pull you out of any funk and know exactly how to hype you up to give you the confidence to do anything.

The mobile app Bumble has become a more comfortable way to make friends for most Millennials. For many people, the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Bumble is hooking up and dating, not creating long-lasting friendships. The recent addition of the BFF mode on Bumble helps people create meaningful connections.

BFF mode is a setting—alternative to the dating setting—that allows you to swipe for your next BFF. You can customize your profile, personalizing it with questions like why you're looking for new friends, what activities you like to do with friends, music taste, etc. The same rules apply with the regular Bumble setting; but with the BFF mode, girls more often read the bios and interests of the person to find a genuine friendship rather than superficially swiping.

A little over a year ago, 27-year-old Kamie Stephen met her best friend and now current roommate by swiping on Bumble. Stephen originally joined the app for dating purposes but decided to give the BFF setting a chance once she moved to Nebraska. “I knew no one and I, like many adults, suck at making friends,” said Stephen. She was skeptical of Bumble BFF at first because she says in Western Nebraska, it didn't seem like the BFF feature was heavily used.

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She was instantly grateful for the app after she met someone as supportive and genuine as Montana. Stephen had only been using the app for a few months when she matched with Montana. One day, after weeks of texting back and forth, Stephen was messaging Montana and said, "…it's a lot to text." Montana’s immediate response was "Well, I guess we're having lunch then".

The two met at a local Mexican restaurant and were instantly flooded with comfort and giggles once they realized they both showed up wearing the same Black Converse shoes. At dinner, the girls bonded over the fact that they were both paranoid the other one was going to ghost them. Before they knew it, everyone around them had gone and they had been talking for hours.

Shortly after their first in-person hangout, Stephen helped her new friend Montana get a job with her previous employer, and just like that their friendship was cemented. The two recently moved into an apartment together to help save some money but Stephen admits that Montana is easily the best roommate she ever had.

Similarly to Stephen, Courtney Moeslein downloaded the app when she moved to St. Louis for a job opportunity. Moeslein, who was accustomed to having a sorority full of girls to lean on in college, was out of her element after graduation when she moved to a big city where she knew no one.

Since she was new in town, Moeslein and her current boyfriend were long distance; she craved the company of a BFF. Moeslein gave the app a chance when one of the girls at her sorority alumni happy hour recommended it after having a successful experience with the app herself.

“I was unsure of how it would go – what do you talk about, what if we didn’t click, a lot of thoughts went through my head,” said Moeslein. Although she was skeptical of the app at first, she was relieved when she found her new best friend Morgan.

The two instantly blended right into each other’s lives. They’ve been friends for over a year and do everything together from exploring different places around town to going away on girls' trips. Morgan invited her new BFF to her bachelorette weekend and Moeslein couldn’t be more excited.

“I’m super thankful for the app in helping meet girlfriend’s post-grad, which is no easy feat,” said Moeslein. Moeslein has met a few potential friends from Bumble, usually at restaurants for lunch or dinner for drinks. “While it's always a little awkward, figuring out what to talk about, it usually ends up being conversations about what we like to do for fun, past issues with men we have dated, and fun travel stories,” said Moeslein.

The first girl she ever met in person from Bumble BFF, ended up getting margaritas with her, and quite a few she admitted with a laugh. The two ended up laughing the entire evening at all of the crazy things men have said to them and how hard dating is now.

Making new friends is sometimes harder than dating. Bumble helps take the pressure off with the BFF mode and gives you the push you need to get out there and make connections with people. Sometimes women don’t need a man to be happy, all you need is a best friend.

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Finally, an App to Make Friends Online

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