How To Make Friends as an Adult

Making friends as an adult is a different ball game. Here are 10 effective ways to get you socially connected without compromising priorities.

 

Relearning how to make friends as an adult isn't as straightforward as on the playground when sharing your Buzz Lightyear toy could attract at least three birthday party invites.

In a world where packed schedules are the norm and digital connections often outpace face-to-face interactions, finding and fostering genuine friendships can feel like a labyrinth. Transitioning from high school to college to the workforce, or to infinity and beyond, leaves no shortage of balls in the air. Adulthood requires us to navigate complex shifts — in our lives and relationships.

Remember those childhood friendships? They were built from shared interests and open-heartedness — traits that still apply today. Throughout this blog, we'll dive into practical advice and real-life scenarios to help you navigate the art of adult friendships.

From leveraging online communities like Azar that enhance kinship to joining local hobby groups, you'll find actionable steps to initiate lasting and meaningful friendships in adulthood. Because let's face it: Life's a lot more fun with besties by your side.

Why Is It Difficult To Make Friends as an Adult?

It's more challenging to make friends as we grow older for three core reasons. First, the building blocks of friendships are harder to come by. As a child, there are endless opportunities to learn and grow as you undertake exciting projects, embark on mischievous adventures and play sports together.

Second, society is currently witnessing a drop in the use of “third spaces.” These are locations outside the home and work, such as cafes or parks, where we’d casually run into friends and meet new people. Between 2014 and 2019, Americans reported spending 37% less time with friends than they had in the decades prior. Since we’ve shifted out of social distancing norms post-pandemic, meeting face-to-face with friends less regularly is becoming the standard.

Finally, in adulthood, we have a newfound freedom and responsibility to make choices and commitments that influence our lives over the long term. It's not always feasible to keep in sync with best friends. The priorities, lifestyle and social dynamics that change shape as we grow, include:

Time Constraints

Building a new friendship requires time. One study found that it takes 200 hours of investment to transform a social connection into a close bond. That's on top of balancing professional lives, self-care and family responsibilities already making a dent in our busy schedules.
While most of us can make space to catch up with an old friend now and again, finding 200 hours to establish a deep, lasting connection with a potential friend is harder to come by.

Social Circles Already Established

Some carry their social circle from high school or college long into adulthood. This may curb a perceived need to form new friendships as they transition through different stages of life.
Others lose touch with meaningful relationships as they venture into elected projects and places. Finding fresh connections may be challenging when it feels like everyone already has a thriving social life — even though it's not always the case.

Personal Barriers

Anxious feelings can develop at any stage of life and enhance an individual's fear of rejection and self-consciousness. If you're an introverted type or already drained by the idea of interacting with a new person, anxiety can increase a sense of loneliness and social isolation.
Interacting in casual one-on-one video chats in Azar can fulfill your social connection quota and build confidence.

Shifting Interests and Values

No longer drawn to the allure of catching your crew for happy hour on Thursday? Shifting priorities, including careers, parenthood, health and more, naturally impact our interests and values.
Even small changes can affect our availability to walk the same path as friends. These scenarios underpin why it's necessary to build meaningful friendships that align with our directions throughout adulthood.

Geographical Mobility

Moving towns, states or even countries is easier than ever. Whether you venture on a solo travel exploration, relocate for work or follow a romantic relationship overseas, it can reform the dynamics of adult friendships. This could come up from any one of your friends moving.
Fortunately, it's also much simpler to stay connected with friends through social media. However, it's still common for the nature of the rapport to evolve if someone moves.

Changing Social Norms

We live at a faster pace in the twenty-first century compared to the cavemen (and most of our historical references to society). We can thank the technological revolution for that. While cell phones have become our second brains and humanity can achieve more than ever, it comes at a cost.
Instead of walking miles with a friend to get to work, we use public transport. In place of friendly neighborhood barbecues every year, we take a trip overseas. Shifts in the societal norms we experience — not only as adults but across generations — impact our opportunities to make new friendships.

Life Transitions

Opening the doors to a new phase in life is exciting! Whether you enter parenthood, kiss the bright days of college goodbye as you step into your first job or move to a new city for the first time, it's impossible to synchronize these transitions with your entire friendship group.
Change is one of the most challenging lessons we must come to terms with in adulthood. We design life, and life transforms us. It's a completely natural process. Even though it can be difficult to let go of the way things used to be, change allows us to decide what we want for the future — including the friends we have by our side.

10 Ways You Can Build Adult Friendships

There are no two ways about it: Forming lasting friendships as an adult takes place in an incomparable environment to childhood. But everyone has the latitude to invite new connections; there's just a different set of rules to follow.

Here are 10 fool-proof ways to make close friends as an adult:

1. Embrace Video Chat Platforms

Think about how your friendships changed through high school and college. In hindsight, it's as though everyone was chilling in a shared place with more time than a clock, waiting to find people they might connect with. Where on Earth is everybody hanging out now?

One-on-one video chat platforms like Azar are growing in popularity among Gen Zers who want to build meaningful friendships online with like-minded people. Video chat apps provide a digital “third space” for young people to socially interact face-to-face, rather than scrolling through video feeds.

For one, you have complete control over when and how you interact; making friends can fit seamlessly into your schedule. Second, Azar is a space designed for light and casual conversations; ciao social anxiety. Finally, you can make real connections with people from across the globe, opening your horizons to new languages, cultures and personalities. Socializing just got way easier.

2. Join Clubs or Groups

Where are your priorities right now? If you're focused on health, joining a casual sports team or running group can help you discover friends and reach your goals. Is your career taking front and center? Professional development or industry meet-ups expose you to different networks and teach you new skills.

Remember to take advantage of how your priorities and lifestyle change as you grow. For many, embracing a knitting group would have made us shudder at 15. Now, we might see it as an opportunity to connect with people on the same wavelength while rendering yet another macrame indoor hanger for our growing plant collection.

3. Volunteer

Volunteering is built on a foundation of social connection and support. If you have time up your sleeve, there's no shortage of ways to help those in need and make lifelong friends while you're at it.

Contact your nearest animal shelter, soup kitchen or events organizer to see which volunteer positions are open. Or, if you're looking for something more adventurous, consider traveling overseas to support wild animal populations or local education. You'll meet outgoing and kind-hearted people to form meaningful friendships with.

4. Take Classes or Workshops

Want to put a few more feathers in your cap? Classes and workshops offer excellent personal and professional development opportunities — and the prospects of meeting new friends.

Learn skills to level up your career or summon your creative mastery with a woodcraft or storytelling course. You'll run into driven and motivated people with similar interests and direction.

5. Attend Social Events

It can be downright hard to scrape together the remaining iotas of energy and attend social events — especially those that are open invites. If you're struggling to make it out to meet new people, find a space in your day to rest and recharge. Setting a goal to head out every so often — even if you head home early — fills the social cup and exposes you to new friends to bond with.

6. Leverage Existing Connections

One of the best parts about being an adult is you can't “steal anyone's friend” anymore. In fact, plenty of adults would be delighted if you connected with their friends because it means they can catch up with two or more people in the same gathering.

Dinner and housewarming invites are a great way to leverage your existing social connections and put yourself out there!

7. Be Proactive in the Workplace

They say we spend more time with colleagues than our families or partners. Time spent on the job is not exactly “quality time” from a social perspective, although workplace relationships can carry throughout a lifetime.

Start by inviting a colleague to lunch once or twice a week. It breaks up the day and reinforces workplace collaboration. Alternatively, get a crew together for a newspaper quiz on your coffee break. They're a great way to learn about colleagues and develop social bonds.

8. Use Social Media

Dig through social media platforms and find a few online or local groups to start meeting new people. Plenty of social entrepreneurs build location-dependent and cloud communities over time based on shared interests and passions, so you're likely to find a few that'll work for you.

Or, if you've got a super niche hobby like extreme ironing, consider creating a social media group and invite friends and family to share it with their connections. You never know which kindred spirits are looking for someone to start the action.

9. Be a Good Neighbor

Neighbor friends are great, primarily because you barely need to leave the house to see them. Living in an area with students or professionals means you're likely to meet a few people in your demographic. Leave a friendly note in the letterbox introducing yourself, invite them to a casual dinner with friends or go old-school and bring around freshly baked cookies.

Many adult friendships know little bounds in terms of age limits. An elderly neighbor living alone will likely enjoy the company if you pop in for a cup of tea now and again.

10. Pursue Common Interests

If you meet a new friend with a range of hobbies, there's no better way to regularly cram a few extra hours with them than exploring one of their hobbies. Whether you try your hand at squash, join a book club or take a language course, you can strengthen your bond with the new person and learn skills.

Imagine all the future opportunities or social connections you may be setting yourself up for. Plus, you get extra points if you can knock out a few learning or health goals while you're at it.

Make Friends on Azar

One of the easiest ways to make friends as an adult is by leveraging tech to jump online and find them. Azar is a leading online video chat platform that helps Gen Z build friendships. Connect with new people through one-on-one video chats and form close relationships through fun and easy conversation in an environment where you can feel safer. Here are some tips for optimizing your Azar experience:

• Create an Engaging Profile: Let your true colors shine on your profile to attract people who want to know the real you.
• Be Open and Friendly: Treat people respectfully and positively to establish genuine friendships.
• Use Common Interests to Connect: Begin with small talk then find common ground that you can start building a connection upon.
• Practice Good Communication Skills: Listen actively, show empathy and ask plenty of questions to show you're genuinely interested in relating to your conversation partner.
• Be Yourself: You’re the only one who can be you, so remember to stay authentic and have fun.
• Stay Safe and Respect Boundaries: Define your boundaries and respect others' to ensure your friendships form on a foundation of mutual respect.
• Follow Up: Keep in regular contact with new friends to check in and show you care.
• Make Real Connections: Because Azar offers one-to-one video chat, you can embrace the opportunity to forge genuine and lasting connections with new people.
• Be Patient and Persistent: Not everyone you meet online or offline will instantly become your bestie. Be persistent and enjoy the engaging conversations.

On Azar, you can easily discover how to make friends as an adult with people scattered around the globe. Enjoy casual and breezy conversations when and where it suits you. Simply sign up to the platform and initiate a conversation with anyone instantly.

Start chatting now!