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Niall Needs A Friend: A Quest To Find Connection In Isolated Times

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"Social Distancing" by Reddit user u/archaelleon
"Social Distancing" by Reddit user u/archaelleon

A month ago, we received an email that really caught our attention. It was from a listener in Ireland named Niall, who has been feeling isolated during the pandemic. He was wondering if we could help him make some new friends. So... the Endless Thread team got to work.

Niall's Email:

Hi Amory, Ben and Team,

I’m a 29 year old guy from Ireland, I am registered as blind, have reduced mobility, and the only friend I have is in the UK. While the lockdown is impacting everyone, I feel particularly isolated due to being disabled, and I’m not sure how to make new friends in this current situation.

Being totally honest, with my disability, aside from going to the office when it was open, I am pretty much under permanent lockdown without the support of another person (i.e. guiding me).

How does this relate to Endless Thread I hear you ask… Well I have attempted to use Reddit to make some new friends as it has a broad community of members with differing interests. However, I have been unsuccessful finding someone to communicate with as of yet, and I’d really like to change this, but I’m not sure how.

I have heard about great friendships which have been forged online, but aside from posting on r/needafriend and r/makenewfriendshere, I don’t know where to start.

I would love to hear from someone, but if this is too niche/off topic I totally understand. Thank you very much for bringing Endless Thread to all of us.

Kind regards,
Niall

Special thanks to Reddit user u/archaelleon for this episode's original art. You can find more of their work on YouTube.

Show Notes:

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Contact Us:

We want to hear from you! Tell us about your reaction to this episode or send us a story idea. There are a few ways to reach us:

      • Post or comment in the official Endless Thread subreddit
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Josh Crane Producer, Podcasts & New Programs
Josh is a producer for podcasts and new programs at WBUR.

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Frank Hernandez Assistant Producer
Frank Hernandez was an assistant producer in WBUR’s podcast department.

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