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Have ‘hobby’ apps become the new social networks?

theguardian.com

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Re: Have ‘hobby’ apps become the new social networks?

#81

Post by hammock »

etrautmann wrote: post #18
marginalia_nu wrote: post #3

Can't be overstated how good having a setting centered on some common activity with low stakes social interaction is for building relationships, romantic as well as platonic. Hookup culture just isn't for everyone, and the notion that it is has been the cause of a lot of grief and agony.

Yes, I’ve always loved the camaraderie around climbing gyms and the community that develops naturally when you go to a gym consistently. Romantically it’s quite hard though, if a relationship is built around an activity, there are a number of challenges if someone’s interest shifts or a big skill mismatch etc.

Just like work or school friendships, if you don’t shift those hangouts to other contexts (meals unconnected to the activity, family introductions, travel, etc) then they won’t stick outside of that initial context, however deep they feel at the time

Re: Have ‘hobby’ apps become the new social networks?

#82

Post by morkalork »

dqv wrote: post #78
brushfoot wrote: post #73

"Users near you" functionality is sorely needed in online spaces, considering how much interaction has moved online. Reddit has worked around their lack of it to some degree with location-based subreddits like r/AtlFilmmakers. But subreddits are high maintenance, and they isolate content. Plus, the naming conventions aren't standard. Maybe there's r/AtlFilmmakers for filmmakers in Atlanta, but another subreddit for m…

TikTok is the only app I’ve encountered that gets this right. I’ve made connections with people from my town and places just outside where I live. I’d love to see more apps do what TikTok does.

How does Tiktok do it? Edit: I meant how does Tiktok help person above meet people locally?

Re: Have ‘hobby’ apps become the new social networks?

#83

Post by robjan »

anal_reactor wrote: post #66
marginalia_nu wrote: post #3

Can't be overstated how good having a setting centered on some common activity with low stakes social interaction is for building relationships, romantic as well as platonic. Hookup culture just isn't for everyone, and the notion that it is has been the cause of a lot of grief and agony.

I spent years attending various language courses where I literally sat and talked to people, but I never became friends with any of them. If anything, it usually felt like stepping into a world of individuals hand-picked to have nothing in common with me, except for the fact that they were trying to learn a language too.

Language courses generally have a clear end date so it's not surprising that many people wouldn't be super invested in making or maintaining new relationships in them.

Re: Have ‘hobby’ apps become the new social networks?

#84

Post by sim7c00 »

dagelf wrote: post #58
marginalia_nu wrote: post #3

Can't be overstated how good having a setting centered on some common activity with low stakes social interaction is for building relationships, romantic as well as platonic. Hookup culture just isn't for everyone, and the notion that it is has been the cause of a lot of grief and agony.

Umm.. yes it can. Common interests are WAAAY overrated. It's barely even a starting point... asymmetry is there it's at, why "partner" with yourself, when you can partner with your literal compliment, someone who has what you lack.... to make not just a bigger half, but an actual whole?!

fully agree with dagelf here. me andmy wife share nothing in common but the fact we enjoy eachothers presence. imho its really important to have your own thing. if it all revolves around some external commonality, its bound to fail once that thing is gone for either.

Re: Have ‘hobby’ apps become the new social networks?

#85

Post by notjoemama »

marginalia_nu wrote: post #3

Can't be overstated how good having a setting centered on some common activity with low stakes social interaction is for building relationships, romantic as well as platonic. Hookup culture just isn't for everyone, and the notion that it is has been the cause of a lot of grief and agony.

Cool. So online activists can become more engaged irl? Sounds great unless the activism is the kind you disagree with. Imagine this brining together a collection of white supremacists or antifa. Or pro-life versus pro-choice.

This is the problem with the tech world. They are so preoccupied with whether they can, they don’t stop to think if they should.

Yes, that's from Jurassic Park.

Re: Have ‘hobby’ apps become the new social networks?

#86

Post by werid »

bradlys wrote: post #79
Trasmatta wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the common advice, but it's also resulted in many of these hobby based events being overrun by people who are primarily there looking to find a date. It can be a weird dynamic. My suggestion is get a hobby that you explicitly are interested in, but don't go in with an expectation that you'll find someone, or make that your primary goal. > Chances are you present yourself way better in the real world vs online…

> My suggestion is get a hobby that you explicitly are interested in, but don't go in with an expectation that you'll find someone, or make that your primary goal. The issue here is that you need to have hobbies that are explicitly good for finding partners. For instance, I love riding motorcycles. I am happy to do group oriented aspects of the hobby like track days or group rides, etc. The amount of women in that ac…

curious how that works out. you start dating, stop doing the hobby you're not really interested in, but she continues, and finds out you were only in it to find a date?

Re: Have ‘hobby’ apps become the new social networks?

#87

Post by robjan »

Renaud wrote: post #60

I wish there were more offerings for socialising around hobbies. Strava looks great for some sport activities, but I’d like to meet other nerds into 80s computing, hobby electronics, comics, sci-fi, home automation, kayaking, city exploration, etc You invariably end up with lical Facebook groups, which are just a flow of posts, and require a FB account, or some non local reddit group, or small scale website you have…

Doesn't meetup.com somewhat fulfil this, although it's most useful to people living in big cities

Re: Have ‘hobby’ apps become the new social networks?

#88

Post by xiaoxiong »

tchock23 wrote: post #61
xiaoxiong wrote: post #49

Strava is the only social network I’m on anymore, and I pair it with a number of weekly, in person group rides. It’s a great way to maintain connections, and a wonderful source of encouragement. Typical social network dopamine hits probably aren’t great for your health, but when it’s paired with 100 miles of exercise, I think it has a net positive. I’ll definitely admit to pushing myself further than I typically woul…

I find Strava is also helpful for solo activities that aren't in-person. Knowing that an IRL friend/follower will see my activity pushes me to work harder.

Yeah definitely, gives you something to talk about at the next group ride too haha.

Re: Have ‘hobby’ apps become the new social networks?

#89

Post by abound »

Gualdrapo wrote: post #4

I do use Strava a lot to record my rides and stuff, and even more since I could afford a Wahoo - but I really hate the 'social' side of Strava. It tries to make you 'competitive' so hard. Granted, as a professional loser I'd like to find someone that likes cycling too, though cycling alone is great too - still, I'd rather find that person in one of those rides than in some weird thing like Strava fly-by's or somethin…

I use RideWithGPS for this reason. It also has social features (if you want them), but making everything private is three dropdowns on a single settings page.

It also has a great route builder.

Re: Have ‘hobby’ apps become the new social networks?

#90

Post by SR2Z »

notjoemama wrote: post #85
marginalia_nu wrote: post #3

Can't be overstated how good having a setting centered on some common activity with low stakes social interaction is for building relationships, romantic as well as platonic. Hookup culture just isn't for everyone, and the notion that it is has been the cause of a lot of grief and agony.

Cool. So online activists can become more engaged irl? Sounds great unless the activism is the kind you disagree with. Imagine this brining together a collection of white supremacists or antifa. Or pro-life versus pro-choice. This is the problem with the tech world. They are so preoccupied with whether they can, they don’t stop to think if they should. Yes, that's from Jurassic Park.

Look, even if it's white supremacists, it's still good for their mental health to meet up irl.
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