How Tech Can Help Create Meaningful Friendships And Community

With International Friendship Day having passed on 30 July (or coming up on August 4, depending on your location), its important to reflect on why we make these connections. Friendships have proven to be quite beneficial for our mental health.

In fact, countless psychology studies have shown that people with strong friendships tend to experience less stress. A long-running study from Harvard found that it isn’t money or fame that brings true happiness, but rather, strong connections with friends, family and a sense of community.

Due to strong connections having a good impact on health by serving as support systems, friendships can in turn lead to healthy lifestyles when a sense of motivation is provided between friends. Having a gym buddy, for example, can inspire one to work out more, thus creating healthier lifestyle choices.

Its important to be intentional about the kinds of friends you want and pick, because the wrong influences can also bring the opposite effects, causing you to make decisions that do not serve you.

Friendships should make you feel valued, appreciated and seen. Creating these bonds works towards bringing a sense of community and purpose, making the world seem like a less lonely place.

 

The Role Of Friendships In Times Of Need

 

Although its important to make friends, its also important to create a level of understanding and openness, for the community aspect to be effective.

Vicky Reynal, Financial Psychotherapist and author of Money on Your Mind: The Psychology Behind Your Financial Habits shared her top 5 tips, in partnership with RiseUp, on how to navigate tricky financial conversations with friends with us. She said:

 

1. Respect difference

“When it comes to disagreements about money (or anything else for that matter), people often try to ‘win’ the argument and convince the other that they are right and the other is wrong.

“This, however, will often lead to a stalemate rather than help friends resolve conflict. It’s important to respect differences, and by that, I mean accepting that your view is not better or worse than your friend’s – it’s simply different.

“Your friend might prefer to split the bill evenly because it will save everyone time (and be equal), but you value fairness and so for you it feels more important to split it so that people only pay for what they consumed.

“But who is to say that equality is more important than fairness (or vice versa)? It’s just a different view – and we need to leave room for disagreement before we can be in the right mental space to seek compromise.

 

2. Honesty may be liberating for you and for others

“‘It’s out of my budget’: these words seem so difficult to utter to friends. They may feel like dangerous words to pronounce because they will leave us feeling exposed, embarrassed or even judged.

“Yet, what most people don’t realise is that more often than not, when someone dares to say that a gift, a trip or a restaurant is out of their budget, someone else in the group follows with “actually, for me too.”

“It’s no guarantee, but because we don’t normalise money talk, many of us (and statistics show this) spend more than they would want to because of ‘peer pressure.’ They struggle to be transparent, so being the one who kicks off the honesty chain can be met with gratitude and a sigh of relief from others, rather than the judgement we feared.

 

3. Establish and respect boundaries

“Boundaries are important: they help us feel safe. How we each set boundaries varies, some people are more open than others. For example, some people value transparency and for others, privacy is more important.

“If a friend, for example, doesn’t want to disclose their salary or bonus in a conversation where the subject comes up, it’s their choice and a boundary to be respected.

“Boundaries around lending money to a friend, or how much generosity is welcome versus uncomfortable, are also ones that we might have different views on.

“Some people find it difficult to establish boundaries that help them feel ok about how much they are giving/receiving in a relationship – so they end up going along with a money behaviour (say, a friend that keeps asking for small loans, or a friend who keeps offering to pay for them or getting them overly generous gifts) without broaching the topic and voicing their discontent.

 

4. Be mindful of how you phrase your points

“Let’s imagine that our friend has now twice shared an ‘Uber’ with us and forgotten to send us their half of the ride, which they said they’d do, but haven’t. Many of us might not say anything and sit with the anger building up over time until one day they ‘snap’ at their friend over the smallest sign of opportunism.

“But if you are in the brave minority who might want to confront the friend and deal with your feelings by expressing them, how you do it matters.

“You could simply try to remind your friend: “Hey, I wanted to remind you to send me the money for the Uber.” If that doesn’t work, you can raise it more directly. Accusing your friend of being exploitative won’t set the conversation off to a right start.

“‘I’-statements are much more helpful. Start with how you feel and then follow it by a fact, for example, “It’s a bit frustrating that you keep forgetting to repay the Uber and I have to remind you.”

 

5. A bit of discomfort is an investment in the relationship

“You might be thinking “it’s uncomfortable to talk about money” – sure! It is because it’s unfamiliar- we are not used to it.

“And often also because we are in the dark about how the other thinks when it comes to money (what are their parameters around fairness, excess, frugality, etc?) and so we worry they might disagree or even judge our money views/behaviours. But isn’t surviving a bit of discomfort a worthwhile price to pay to invest in a relationship we care about?

“People often avoid bringing up money and the avoidance gets them nowhere: the issue might not go away, could get worse and the brewing negative feelings might get acted out in a different aspect of the relationship (we might start avoiding our friend, or make passive aggressive comments when we see them, etc.).

“Confronting the subject might involve a few minutes of unease but we need to think of it as being in service of the relationship. Conflict, if handled with empathy and respect, can deepen a relationship, leaving both parties with a greater understanding of one another.”
 

 

4 Apps And Startups To Help You Make Friends

 

Luckily, technology is finding ways to create these meaningful and very necessary connections. These apps are helping you find and make friends who share similar values, hobbies and other contributing traits to what makes a friend:

 

1. PregnaHub®

 

 

Introducing the PregnaHub® app – the ultimate social & educational hub for expectant parents. Designed to connect you with a supportive community, our app offers invaluable resources and a network of fellow parents-to-be, ensuring you never feel alone on your pregnancy and postnatal journey.

With the PregnaHub® app, you can access an extensive e-learning library packed with evidence-based information on pregnancy, birth, and early parenthood. But the heart of PregnaHub® is its community. It features a moderated forum where you can share experiences, ask questions, and find encouragement from other expectant parents who understand exactly what you’re going through.

Join group discussions, participate in live chat sessions, and make meaningful connections that will support you throughout your pregnancy and beyond. The app also offers tailored pregnancy yoga sessions and relaxation exercises to help you stay calm and centred, along with the “Ask the Midwife” feature for professional advice whenever you need it.

At just £10 per month with a 7 day free trial, or included with a Mindful Natal® course, PregnaHub® is more than an app – it’s a community. With PregnaHub®, you’re never alone; you’re part of a network dedicated to your well-being and joy at this very important life stage.

 

2. Playsee

 

 

 

Playsee, the app to help make meaningful connections and explore your local neighbourhood, is the perfect companion for Friendship Day.

Community-driven app Playsee is dedicated to making meaningful connections and promoting a healthy, balanced use of social media. Playsee encourages users to explore what’s on their front doorstep and in their local community and share their favourite hidden gems with their neighbours.

Playsee offers a unique way to celebrate by discovering new places with friends and creating lasting memories together. Use the app to find cosy cafes for a catch-up, scenic parks for a leisurely walk, or community events to attend with your closest companions.

Playsee highlights everyday moments of people, places, and events happening in the community where users engage with local content and share experiences from their daily lives. Users share neighbourhood happenings through the authentic view and voice of locals. This Friendship Day, take the opportunity to share your favourite spots and experiences with your friends, strengthening your bonds through shared adventures.

Whether that means discovering local gems, sharing one-off events, or chatting with locals for honest recommendations, Playsee is all about using social media to create genuine experiences and interactions in the real world. Imagine the joy of uncovering a new favourite spot with friends, guided by the insights and recommendations of your local community.

Playsee provides a mindful alternative to other social media apps. Launched in 2023, Playsee has so far accumulated over 1 billion user engagements and 50 million downloads worldwide. The app allows you to foster connections and find hidden gems in your local area – with an interactive map showing tagged content and suggestions from locals.

 

3. GoJoe

 

 

GoJoe is a leading employee experience app that focuses on improving the health of employees and making exercise more enjoyable by incorporating friendly team-based competition into their workouts.

It all began when GoJoe founders, Will and Phil, who after meeting at Leeds University in 2003 – inspired by their love for sport – decided to hire a local athletics stadium and set up a team tournament with their mates. In that moment, the idea of ‘GoJoe’ was born and the pair set out to create a friendly team-based app designed to help ‘ordinary joes’ just like them get motivated and enjoy exercise more.

The app has many positive outcomes such as 82% of employees feeling more socially connected after using the app and 87% feeling an improvement in their mental and social wellbeing

They also recently announced 2.4m worth of investment which has allowed them to partner with fitness giant Les Mills, unlocking hundreds of new workouts in a variety of languages so that people from around the globe can be engaged.

 

4. Flash Pack

 

 

Flash Pack is the leading global adventure travel community for ambitious 30- and 40-something travellers seeking authentic experiences and lasting connections. With a mission to foster one million friendships worldwide, Flash Pack curates unforgettable journeys that go beyond sightseeing.

By offering expertly designed itineraries packed with thrilling adventures, the company creates an unparalleled environment for like-minded individuals to bond over shared experiences, explore new cultures, and build lifelong friendships.

At the heart of Flash Pack’s philosophy is the belief that travel is a catalyst for personal growth and a powerful tool for combating loneliness.

Flash Pack specialises in small group adventures and experiences for like-minded solo travellers in their 30s and 40s. Each itinerary is tailor-made and meticulously researched to help shape a brag-worthy adventure trip designed around group dynamics.

The trips cut out the oversubscribed tourist trails by offering authentic activities and spontaneous experiences with locals. They have connections to unique and independent accommodations that show off the best of the destination, whether an exclusive island in the Arctic Circle for the perfect northern lights views or clamping in converted Land Rovers on the Serengeti.

Beyond the thrill of discovery, Flash Pack fosters a strong sense of community among its travellers. By bringing together like-minded individuals who share a passion for adventure and personal growth, the company has created a platform for lifelong friendships to flourish.

The emphasis on group dynamics and shared experiences cultivates a supportive environment where travellers can step outside their comfort zones and embrace new challenges together.