Just ask Nikol Moses, who still could not find friends nine months after moving to Brisbane from Melbourne, despite her best efforts.
Friends on Purpose founder Nikol Moses hands out cookies at her first event. Supplied
Lonely and isolated, Moses posted a TikTok video of her struggle.
Little did she know, many others were feeling the same.
“I realised this is not a unique story. Heaps of people moving to Brisbane had the same issues,” she said.
“Everyone already has tight-knit groups. Everything is so online nowadays, it’s just hard to meet anyone for friendship, or even with dating.”
This gave Moses the idea for Friends on Purpose, a “speed friending” online platform that brings like-minded people together at different locations to help forge friendships.
“I tried to put myself out there as much as I could. I tried the apps, Facebook groups, and chatting to girls in the bathroom, but I really struggled to make friends.”
Moses said Friends on Purpose events eliminated the effort involved in meeting potential friends by taking away the planning – and the possibility of a cancellation – while guaranteeing a group of like-minded people.
“The demand is insane. I think what people really crave is a friend group rather than an individual,” she said.
Last month, Moses held her first event, which sold out, with about 60 people attending. Next weekend, another two events – for ages 18 to 35 – are oversubscribed, with many people on the waiting list.
On social media groups such as Facebook’s , women post a profile of themselves and other members message them if they want to be friends.
Meanwhile, apps such as Meet Up encourage friendships through activities such as hiking.
In the past year, Google Trends has seen an increase in friendship-related searches, such as “how to make friends”, with a spike around Christmas and New Year.
The same term also spiked when Queensland emerged from the COVID-19 lockdown in August 2021.
University of Southern Queensland associate professor in psychology Gavin Beccaria said friendships changed as people moved through life’s different stages.
“We think the adolescent years come with massive development, but there are still massive life changes between 18 and 25,” he said.
“[Young people] have left the structure of school, many will have romantic relationships, family of their own, and lifelong commitments: signing rental agreements, purchasing property and building a career. People’s friendship groups will go through those periods.”
Beccaria said the younger generation of tech natives were far less likely to rely on face-to-face meetings with friends, which could result in more superficial friendships.
“There’s a greater reliance on technology, but less reliance on face-to-face contact. Perhaps this hasn’t complemented, but supplemented, human contact,” he said.
“There are many positive benefits to meeting people in person. Research has indicated that people who socialise and get out have better health.”