Amid growing concern about loneliness and social isolation, new research from the Institute for Public Policy Research found the number of young people in England with no close friends has risen fivefold since 2014, with one in 20 now reporting having none at all. Making new friends as an adult is not always easy. We spoke to people who have taken deliberate steps to make new connections about what worked for them.
For Rhiannon, a 35-year-old ghostwriter from East Sussex, joining a local knitting and crochet group has become “a lifeline” after separating from her husband and moving a few towns away, and finding connections harder to maintain. In February, she joined the Yarners, a weekly group in Mayfield. Having only started crocheting a month earlier, she was “absolutely terrified” they would judge her for being a beginner.
It’s more than just a group. It’s a real community.” Having local friends to rely on is one of the biggest perks. It soon expanded through friends of friends and Instagram.
There are 70 people in the group now.” The London Coffee Club holds meetups in cafes for groups of five to 10. There’s no agenda.” Working from home left Rebecca, a 31-year-old NHS project support officer in Bristol, missing everyday social interaction. Although “absolutely terrified” at first, she now attends pilates, weights and body conditioning classes about three times a week.
Working from home, you don’t get that sort of office banter. To me, this is my new equivalent.” Rebecca has also met a new friend through Bristol Girls, a local Facebook group, and encouraged her to join the classes. After leaving his job as a primary school teacher Ben, 35, suddenly had more free time so thought he would use it to “meet new people” and get back into stage performance.
In 2017, he joined the People’s Theatre in Newcastle upon Tyne, a non-professional community theatre company, and has since performed in about 20 productions. The systems manager from Kent decided to revive his interest in board and card games and found a local games shop holding £3-a-session games evenings. Although “terrified” before his first event, he “couldn’t have asked for a better environment”.
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