You know what they say about lasting relationships- they don’t just happen, they’re built! If you want to have a strong social support system, you need to leave your comfort zone.
Yeah, I know how hard that sounds, especially if you can’t imagine anywhere else but home to spend your weekends; but think about the benefits that come with having great social life connections in a world that seems to becoming more and more disconnected.
A sure way to build your social confidence is by putting yourself in places where you can meet people. It means taking time off your phone and computer and going to places where you meet a variety like-minded and different-minded people..
We live in a digital age and social media is the happening thing, but the downside is that it appears it’s eroding genuine human interaction. Most people now prefer to spend hours ‘online’ and have hundreds of ‘followers’ but this is not the same as having deep and meaningful connections.
While popular social media networks like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc connect you with a lot of people, they’re more focused on online activity rather than face-to-face interaction, which puts you at risk of becoming more introverted. However, there are some other social networking sites that are dedicated to face-to-face meetups helping people to be more social. Remember if you are meeting people for the first time or are unsure of your safety, tell other people where you are and don’t put yourself in risky situations. See below, for sites that offer social meetups:
Designed to bring people together, Meetup is a location-based social networking site where individuals create profiles and join groups, generally to attend events hosted by the groups.
On their website, here’s how they described themselves: “Meetup is the world’s largest network of local groups. Meetup makes it easy for anyone to organize a local group or find one of the thousands already meeting up face-to-face. More than 9,000 groups get together in local communities each day, each one to improve themselves or their communities.
Meetup’s mission is to revitalise the local community and help people around the world self-organise. Meetup believes that people can change their personal world, or the whole world, by organising themselves into groups that are powerful enough to make a difference.”
Meetup is not a dating website, rather, It is designed for all ages to meet up socially. If you have an interest, there’s likely a meetup group for it. There’s no pressure to attend any events you don’t want to, but you can RSVP to the ones that interest you. Absolutely worth a try! Check them out at www.meetup.com.
Here’s another interesting site meant to connect people ‘onsite’ rather than ‘online’. If you
are a major fan of music then here’s the thing for you!
GigsAndTours is a ticketing website for one of the UK’s leading music concert promoters. On it, you can buy gig tickets to watch your favourite bands live performance.
Book an event on the website and actually attend it, you’ll meet people with similar interests at those musical concerts whilst soaking up the vibe that comes with live music!
Visit www.gigsandtours.com to learn more.
Here is another great social networking site with media apps available on Google Android and Apple iOS devices that helps you find cool social gatherings around your area. Like Meetup, it focuses on face-to-face interactions rather than online social life connections.
As you attend more events, your network will grow, and you’ll be invited to even more events. It’s also a great way to see what’s going on in a new city, or find great places in your city that you may not have known existed!
How does it work? It’s simple! First, you sign up, look around, add some people to your network, then see a social that you like and go out to meet some new friends.
Now, you can, of course, leave it to the social (refer to the website) to start talking to the other guests, or you can do some research beforehand and see what the people you are going to meet are like, and increase your chances of engaging in conversation when you actually meet.
When you meet, make an effort to interact. Do this often and watch your social life start to soar! Again, always be careful when you are meeting new people, check in with other loved ones so they know where you are and always be safe.