Many people feel that they would like to expand their circle of friends, but it is a difficult issue to recognize because it is socially recognized as a social failure. However, over the years we lose great friendships, whether due to a move, working conditions, lack of time, a romantic breakup that ended with the distancing of good friends,… there are many circumstances that lead us to the need to meet new people, but the reality is that making friends can cost more than it seems.
If you are one of these people and want to meet new people and expand your social circle, keep reading this Psychology-Online article where we will explain how to make friends: 15 effective tips and tricks.
Why do I have a hard time making friends?
The vast majority of people believe that friendships should arise naturally and in the least forced way possible. However, if we stop to remember, the time when we had the most friends was at school, where we met daily with a group of 30 people with whom we maintained contact every day. As age advances, we all choose our path and each path is different, preventing this continuity from occurring.
Faced with this reality, we must be aware that meeting new people will require an effort on our partwe must leave our comfort zone and explore new environments, since in our house or in the places we always frequent we are not going to meet new people.
To make this effort more enjoyable, in this article we will show you some tips, places and ways to meet people and make new friends. If you want to know more, you will find more information in the following article:
How to meet people and make new friends
To meet people and make new friends you can apply the following tips:
- Become a member of an organization: a very pleasant way to meet people naturally is by joining an organization or association of your interest or hobbies. The great advantage of being part of an association is that you already share something in common with the attendees and this can be a great topic to start a conversation.
- Start a new hobby: Another option similar to the previous one could be to start a new hobby, such as dance classes, learning a new language or any activity you want to start doing. It is a great opportunity to meet new people and become interested in other hobbies than those you have usually practiced, which causes you to put a lot of interest in others, in knowing their hobbies and aspirations.
- Volunteering: volunteering can be a great alternative for the most altruistic people. In addition to the personal reward it entails, you will surely find great people, open, friendly and eager to help you with everything you need.
- Frequent unknown places: if we always frequent the same places, it will be impossible for us to meet new people. Where to make friends? When it comes to going to new places, we can choose between two options: we can go to different places than usual, but maintaining the essence of the places we like to go, where we will find people who possibly share our lifestyle, But if, in addition to expanding your social circle, you are interested in discovering new models of life and people different from you, dare and frequent those places that have always aroused your curiosity.
- Dare to talk to strangers: there are many circumstances in which a friend invites his or her friends to have a drink, to go out to party, to eat,… with the usual group of friends and we always tend to make the mistake. of sitting next to those we know and directing our attention and our conversations to those we know. Dare to start conversations with the new people you’ve been introduced to!
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How to make friends online
The Internet is a medium that offers many opportunities to contact other people. To make friends online you can apply the following recommendations:
- Join forums of your interest: if you have a hobby that really interests you, it is a great asset to meet new people. On the Internet there are countless specialized forums on thousands of different topics, which will give you the opportunity to meet people who share the same concerns as you. Take the step and meet people who are also eager to expand their social circle!
- Meetup: one of the websites to make friends, which consists of a platform that seeks to create groups of people to carry out activities and get to know each other personally. Anyone can join the groups, although in order to create a profile, you must pay. However, although it may be embarrassing and they are born before the first time you participate, when you arrive you will discover that everyone is looking forward to meeting you and that it is a great opportunity to meet people doing what you like.
- Linkedin groups: in addition to the exhibition of the different job offers and your visibility in the world of work, Linkedin has the option of being able to associate you with any group (and not only of a work nature), which carry out face-to-face meetings. To do this, look for the interests tab and select group and “find group”.
- Be honest in your profile: one of the big problems of making friends on the Internet, as well as looking for a partner, is the number of fake profiles found on the Internet. To do this, make sure that your profile on the social network is as close as possible to who you really are, so as not to later cause misunderstandings with the people you meet. Likewise, try to make sure that the people you meet have also been honest in their information. This is a very important trick to make real friends online.
- Online games: playing games that allow you to maintain communication with other players is also a great opportunity to meet new people. There are many people who meet at certain times to play and even exchange written messages within the game itself.
- Face to face: whatever online medium you use to discover new people, there will come a time when the relationship thrives and requires an approach. Don’t forget that face to face is important, a good friendship cannot be maintained behind the screen. The Internet is an excellent medium for finding new friends, but these must then be maintained in a more physical environment.
How to make friends at university or school
Surely, you spend many hours at school, university or at work. Therefore, they are places where a friendship can be born. How to make friends at school or university? Some tricks to make friends in your daily occupation are the following:
- No shame: One of the great advantages of starting a new stage at school or university is that the vast majority of people in your class are in the same position as you. Everyone will be looking to make new friends and meet new people, so leave the shame behind and start talking to as many people as you can.
- Joining activities: The easiest way to join people from university or school is to join an activity that is of interest to you, such as playing a sport or doing some activity. This makes it easier to meet people who share at least one common interest with you, which can lead to a first conversation.
- Work in groups: If anything is a reality, it is that at university and school group work is constant. Working in a group is a very good opportunity to interact with people, however we tend to make the mistake of always getting together and it makes us embarrassed to start working with people with whom we have never had a conversation. However, if you manage to get rid of this shame and are willing to work with different people, you will begin to interact with many more people in your class than in your usual group.
- University parties: there are many occasions in which different universities organize parties, any excuse is good to celebrate a university party! These parties are a great opportunity to meet new people and not only from our university, the vast majority of university parties are open to everyone, so tell a couple of friends and enjoy a good party!
How to get real friends
All of the tips mentioned above give us the opportunity to meet new people, the opportunity to expand our social circle and get away from the everyday life to which we are accustomed. However, making true friendships requires time, dedication, effort and interest.
It is not enough to share a common aspiration and have a good time together, friendship must go further to be considered a true friendship. For it, The most essential element is perseverance. It is important to maintain contact, especially at the beginning of the relationship, with that person, show interest, want to share moments and experiences, dedicate your time, show concern for what happens and make them feel heard.
However, we should not overdo it, as the situation could be forced. A friendship should arise naturally. Yes, it is true that to meet new people we must get out of our daily lives and force the situation, since as we have said, we will not be able to meet anyone from home, but once you have met the person, the relationship must arise by itself, we should not force the relationship with the aim of quickly establishing a friendship. You may find the information in this article helpful:
It is worth mentioning that each person is different, they conceive friendship differently and there are also different ones. Every relationship is unique and the important thing is that it enriches the lives of the members.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
If you want to read more articles similar to How to make friendswe recommend that you enter our category.
Bibliography
- Carnegie, D. (1996). How to Make Friends and Influence People. Barcelona: Hermes.
- Rodríguez, JA, & Redondo, LM (2008). Groups of friends and antisocial behavior. Criminological Chapter, 36(4).