How new apps are helping people combat loneliness

The United States is in an “epidemic of loneliness,” according to the surgeon general. The internet and social media have played a part in Americans suffering from isolation and mental health declines. But the online world also features apps that can help people make friends.

Those over 40 can often face social isolation. People struggle with divorce, losing a spouse, seeing their kids leave the house or overworking. That’s where Wyzr comes in. Wyzr looks like a dating app, but romantic connections are not the main idea.

Wyzr users create their own profiles, add information about themselves and start meeting other individuals over 40. People can connect for dinners, events or even carpool trips to work. Jane Leider, a 62-year-old fashion and linen company owner from the San Francisco Bay Area, first tried it out when she found out she had an extra ticket to the local ballet.

“So I thought, ‘you know, I'm going to give this a whirl.’ So I did a blast of who would like to go to ‘Swan Lake’ in April,” Leider says. “I saw this gal, and she was close to my age. She lived in Marin. So I said, ‘let's do it.’ And I met her there, and although I would not say, you know, we're best friends, we had a great time because she had a great attitude.”

Wyzr said it has made 300,000 connections since launching in 2023. Leider finds the user experience easy, safe and honest. Unlike in dating apps, she doesn’t see many people who misrepresent themselves on Wyzr.

“I think you can really dig deeper into the app depending on your motivation, but it takes a willingness, I would say, to be open to potentially connecting with complete strangers,” Leider says. “Before this app, I don't think people knew what to do. They were just kind of silently suffering.

Leider says she doesn’t often feel lonely – she likes keeping busy and uses Wyzr to have fun. But she says she often sees people struggling with isolation in her friend groups. She’s noticed people who get too busy with kids or work, then feel frustrated when they never make plans, before finally withdrawing from many social opportunities. Apps can make restarting a connection easier.

“You don't have to go meet up for a drink or something. You can, but initially you could just sort of feel the waters from the comfort of your kitchen,” Leider says. “Even if you made one good friend, it's one more than you had.”

Tonya King is familiar with loneliness. She’s a divorced school teacher in her 50s and with a teenage son. A lot of her friends are married or have different obligations from her.

“That leaves me to kind of find my own way for friends in the evening to do things with,” she says.

So, when King heard from a friend about Timeleft, she quickly felt intrigued. Just like with Wyzr, you start off by signing up for a service and telling the company a bit about yourself. But then, an algorithm matches you with five other “compatible” strangers – with similar interests and age ranges – and it sets up a dinner featuring icebreaker games and pre-set conversation topics.

King bought a single ticket for $16 dollars – plus the cost of her meal at an American restaurant – and attended a dinner in the Orlando, Florida, area. She says she “almost chickened out” but is happy she stayed. She hopes to remain connected with at least two of the other diners.

“It was a great way to meet new people and kind of interact outside of your work friends and your mom friends,” King says. “Through one of the people I met, I met somebody else. So it's just kind of a networking app.”

Timeleft has set up 13,000 of these dinners since launching in 2023 and operates in 300 cities across 60 different countries.

One other app is not so much for human-to-human connections as it pet-to-pet. Pawmates has been called Tinder for dogs. It started as a company to help users find quality vets, stores and other playmates in their area.

But for 23-year-old Alex Ballesteros, Pawmates became a way for him to enter into a new community. Three years ago, he moved to Toronto from Mexico. He struggled with the language barrier and the stresses of a new job. He describes himself as a social person, but still found himself feeling isolated.

“It was very hard for me. I eventually got very shy. I stopped talking a lot, you know? So I had to adapt,” Ballesteros says.

One source of companionship was his 4-year-old boxer mix named Matilda. Matilda enjoys playing with other dogs but can be rougher as a larger breed, so Ballesteros looked for solutions on how to keep her socially stimulated. Pawmates was one option.

“I found this pit bull. It was four blocks away from my home. His name is Milo. And it's a big breed. So I decided to text the owner. We both matched … We arranged a meeting nearby. And I guess that's how Matilda met her first friend here,” Ballesteros says.

Eventually, Ballesteros says he started talking with Milo’s owner. He then met others on the app, and other dogs for Matilda to play with. This allowed Ballesteros to practice his English, get to know his neighborhood and integrate faster into Toronto.

“I need to force myself to talk to these people in order for Matilda to be happy and socialize with their dogs, right?” he says. “It sticks into your daily life, making these new connections and meeting new people.”

Ballesteros now plans on staying in Toronto for the foreseeable future. He has a girlfriend (a husky owner) and a steady job. And he credits apps like Pawmates for making his transition to a new place easier.

Will Walkey produced and edited this interview for broadcast with Catherine Welch. Walkey also adapted it for the web.