Loneliness is the epidemic of the 21st century, so why don't we see successful meeting platforms?

The reason is simple. Tech can't resolve this problem, tech is one of the causes.

Online interactions are a poor substitute and actually hurt psychological well-being.

I know, there are Facebook, Meetup, forums, this stuff... But if loneliness is a real issue, why nobody still didn't manage to create a successful non-sexual meeting-dedicated platform?

Why doesn't Meetup count? It's not about sex or relationships, it brings people together in real life, and it's huge.

There are also plenty of niche-based platforms doing the same. You probably won't hear much about these unless you belong to their particular niche. Indie Hackers is a good example. We've been averaging 2 meetups/day in recent months.

I'd also posit that there are lots of real-world events and places that don't need any online platforms to bring people together. Most people are fully aware that they can waltz down to their local bar, dance classes, farmer's market, etc., and strike up a conversation.

The problem may be loneliness, but it's risky to assume the cause of the problem is that people don't know where to find each other. There are many other possible causes. For example, perhaps people are addicted to Netflix/social media/etc. and that's preventing them from getting out.

Agree it's an interesting and real problem – and one I've been looking at personally with Skillmap

We are trying to solve this problem by building an app that lets you meet and host meetups near you. Having a hard time figuring out a business model that aligns with the mission though. It's true that monetizing makes most of these apps pivot to either networking or dating. We can't use advertising since that requires a large number of active users and our goal is to get people off the app as soon as possible and meet in real life.

Take a look at our Product Hunt page and let me know whether you think this product can help solve this problem: https://www.producthunt.com/posts/tagmate
here is the website's link (its only launched for universities for now) https://tagmateapp.com

Interesting question @MatanYad. You do mention Meetup, and I think it is in fact quite successful.

Perhaps not in getting people from the same neighborhood together, but definitely in getting people together who have the same interests. Whether that is entrepreneurship, indie hacking, DnD gaming, or something else entirely.

Or is that not what you meant? What other features would Meetup need to have to help solve loneliness?

The reason is that this is more of a mental issue and not what technology might resolve. I think people just have to find an alternative way of making this difference. As someone that has been married for 11 years I still get lonely sometimes especially when my business is not doing well or I have a need that is not being met on time.

I'm just starting to work on something in this space, but like most social problems really solving it will be take more than just one thing.

Whats App groups have appeared in my life in the past year for organizing meets with local people - for me these are typically parent and home education related. I think many parents create unofficial WhatsApp groups for the school classes their kids are in.

A friend of mine is working on an app called "Owly - Senior Discounts" with the mission of helping this problem, for seniors specifically. Loneliness, suicide, and fall deaths, are all major issues in aging populations. (I'm in the US, don't know if it is different elsewhere. And I mention fall deaths since they happen more often, and are more often fatal, when people are isolated and sedentary.)

Their hope is that it's a simple and easy way for seniors to find things to do, and in the process meet other people.

It's available in the Bay Area, if anyone lives there or has older family living there!

https://www.owlyapp.com
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/owly-senior-discounts/id1471840578

Thanks for starting this thread. It is a very important question to ask, and keep asking.

This is a great short video from Aeon that is relevant here.

https://aeon.co/videos/a-happy-life-is-built-on-pleasures-such-as-sex-and-food-but-also-company-and-variety

Here's the summary:

A happy life is built on pleasures such as sex and food, but also company and variety

Pleasure, despite being central to human experience and evolution, is quite hard to define. Aristotle argued that what we call pleasure is comprised of at least two distinct aspects, hedonia (pleasure) and eudaimonia (human flourishing or a life well-lived). However, as Morten Kringelbach, professor at the department of psychiatry at the University of Oxford in the UK and at the Centre for Music in the Brain at Aarhus University in Denmark, points out this instalment of Aeon’s In Sight series: ‘It’s surprisingly difficult to show that somebody who is happy is also somebody who has had a lot of pleasure.’

Kringelbach’s research into how pleasure works in the brain seeks to find the connections between experiencing hedonistic pleasure – food, sex, drugs – and living an eudaimonic life. When all is well, he discovered, there is a system of give and take between different regions of the brain that yields experiences of pleasure that cumulatively contribute to feelings of wellbeing. However, imperfections in the mechanisms that govern pleasure in the brain leave us susceptible to conditions such as addiction, an unhealthy fixation on the pursuit of pleasure, or depression, in which both the desire for pleasure and pleasure itself are significantly diminished. A common characteristic of these and other affective disorders is that they take people away from what Kringelbach argues are the two key – often overlooked – aspects of pleasure: variety and community. Ultimately, he thinks, variation in pleasure, together with sharing that enjoyment with others, is what’s needed for a well-balanced, eudaimonic life.

The solution to this is not digital

In Germany there is https://nebenan.de/ don't if it's successful

I think this platform will come, it's a deep need that hasn't been filled properly in the marketplace. Or Facebook will bolt on something.

My friend has been working on a solution.
https://www.greatestappever.com