How to Make Billions of Dollars Reducing Loneliness • Hacker News Board

Re: How to Make Billions of Dollars Reducing Loneliness

#21

Post by mcguire » Sat, Aug 31, 2019, 7:44 PM UTC

"...especially in the Bay Area. ... But there's a palpable lack of social fabric. I worry that this atomization is becoming a world-wide phenomenon – that we might be some of the first generations without the sort of community that it's in human nature to rely on."

Are we talking about a general problem, or about a group of 20-somethings who grew up with families, went to college where they had a lot of free time with a bunch of others in the same situation, and then moved hundreds or thousands of miles to a place that puts emphasis on lack of ties, short terms, mobility, and long work hours?

'Cause I can assure you that most of the lonely people in the world can't afford $100 per month for a friend network.

Re: How to Make Billions of Dollars Reducing Loneliness

#22

Post by jrumbut » Sat, Aug 31, 2019, 7:49 PM UTC

Something that goes unquestioned in this article is that you want to live with people who are like you down to the same taste in video games. I find this not to be true for me, and that I find it easiest to live with people that are different enough that you end up needing to use kindness to relate to each other.

After having felt isolated in my previous living situations, I'm now in a complex where we all hang out in the parking lot most afternoons. I'm a software engineer, my neighbors include bus drivers, clerks, landscapers, those who have no visible means of support, etc. It's a nice relaxed environment, which I don't experience when people who are too similar are around.

This is a problem with a lot of matching systems, sometimes similarity isn't desirable.

Re: How to Make Billions of Dollars Reducing Loneliness

#23

Post by therealmarv » Sat, Aug 31, 2019, 7:50 PM UTC

It's not about roommates alone. Many people like myself don't want to share space but enjoy going to a local coworking and having a community there with people who do stuff also outside work. I've found some real friends there.

Re: How to Make Billions of Dollars Reducing Loneliness

#24

Post by SaltyBackendGuy » Sat, Aug 31, 2019, 7:54 PM UTC

jrumbut wrote: post #22

Something that goes unquestioned in this article is that you want to live with people who are like you down to the same taste in video games. I find this not to be true for me, and that I find it easiest to live with people that are different enough that you end up needing to use kindness to relate to each other. After having felt isolated in my previous living situations, I'm now in a complex where we all hang out i…

> people that are different enough that you end up needing to use kindness to relate to each other

I've never heard it put quite this way before, and it's so true. Thanks for this.

Re: How to Make Billions of Dollars Reducing Loneliness

#25

Post by rzzzt » Sat, Aug 31, 2019, 7:58 PM UTC

spookybones wrote: post #9

A simple solution would seem to be an OKCupid clone that is strictly for friends and perhaps another for roommates. It is very good at aligning mutual interests and proximity and giving a sense of personalities. I see a large untapped market for older people as well. Unlike RL, you know going in that anyone on there is looking for companionship, which considerably reduces awkwardness.

The age old tale goes that FriendFinder was intended to be such a website, before gaining the prefix.

Re: How to Make Billions of Dollars Reducing Loneliness

#26

Post by jfk13 » Sat, Aug 31, 2019, 7:59 PM UTC

spookybones wrote: post #9

A simple solution would seem to be an OKCupid clone that is strictly for friends and perhaps another for roommates. It is very good at aligning mutual interests and proximity and giving a sense of personalities. I see a large untapped market for older people as well. Unlike RL, you know going in that anyone on there is looking for companionship, which considerably reduces awkwardness.

If it's a simple solution, why hasn't someone built it?

I suspect that any such product that starts to get a significant user base is quickly overrun by people looking for cheap hookups, on the one hand, or "sugar" relationships (at best) on the other.

Re: How to Make Billions of Dollars Reducing Loneliness

#27

Post by jfk13 » Sat, Aug 31, 2019, 8:00 PM UTC

jfk13 wrote: post #26

spookybones wrote: post #9

A simple solution would seem to be an OKCupid clone that is strictly for friends and perhaps another for roommates. It is very good at aligning mutual interests and proximity and giving a sense of personalities. I see a large untapped market for older people as well. Unlike RL, you know going in that anyone on there is looking for companionship, which considerably reduces awkwardness.

If it's a simple solution, why hasn't someone built it? I suspect that any such product that starts to get a significant user base is quickly overrun by people looking for cheap hookups, on the one hand, or "sugar" relationships (at best) on the other.

Oh, and bots aiming to take advantage of the above-mentioned people.

Re: How to Make Billions of Dollars Reducing Loneliness

#28

Post by jamesrcole » Sat, Aug 31, 2019, 8:01 PM UTC

in3d wrote: post #12

caser wrote: post #6

In a city like NYC, the only people you really see regularly are the people you live with, the people you work with, and the people you sleep with. Finding good roommates is definitely one way to solve the problem, but if you’re not knee deep in a community with a strong sense of values and culture (like EA), finding matches can be challenging. Also, as someone who has been in and around this space, several of the co…

What’s EA?

I think it's probably referring to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effective_altruism

Re: How to Make Billions of Dollars Reducing Loneliness

#29

Post by donretag » Sat, Aug 31, 2019, 8:04 PM UTC

spookybones wrote: post #9

A simple solution would seem to be an OKCupid clone that is strictly for friends and perhaps another for roommates. It is very good at aligning mutual interests and proximity and giving a sense of personalities. I see a large untapped market for older people as well. Unlike RL, you know going in that anyone on there is looking for companionship, which considerably reduces awkwardness.

Bumble has a BFF feature.

Re: How to Make Billions of Dollars Reducing Loneliness

#30

Post by dglass » Sat, Aug 31, 2019, 8:11 PM UTC

For remote workers in the Bay Area that deal with the added loneliness of working from home, Out Of Office[0] hosts weekly popup coworking sessions at different locations around San Francisco. It's a great way to get out of the house and meet other people while getting your work done.

[0] https://outofoffice.app/workclub