20 people share clever and impactful ways to form friendships as an adult: 'Keep it positive'

Making friends might not be as easy as it sounds, especially when you are not in school or college anymore. When you do not have a set group of people you can interact with, it gets difficult to forge a genuine bond of friendship with anyone. If you are an introvert, it might be a scary experience for you to reach out and offer your hand of friendship to random strangers.

Friendships made in adulthood can be tricky to initiate, but here are a bunch of netizens sharing their tips and tricks to find meaningful friends as an adult. Answering a question thrown to the Reddit community by u/nageet2020, here are people sharing their personal experiences about how to meet people and make friends as an adult. These pointers might aid you to find your next best friend among the strangers you meet.

1. Get out of your shell

"I've met a lot of nice people in my climbing gym. I'm kind of a shy dude, but it's easy to just start a conversation like, 'This route is tough, right?' and people will always respond with, 'Yeah, a little bit!' That's when you start talking more. Just don't look desperate, and keep it positive." —u/ZapatazoEnLaMano

2. Go to community events

"Community events that offer free food." —u/ImaginaryWargt

3. Start volunteering

"Volunteering is great. But no matter what you do, that awkward first step toward friendship is all up to you." —u/Capital-Literature-9

4. Strangers to friends

"I was waiting for a table at a restaurant, and I got to talking to a grandma, daughter, and granddaughter. When my table was ready, I invited them to sit with me. We had a great time, and it turns out we had a fair amount in common! We exchanged numbers and agreed to meet up again." —u/GlitteringEarth_

5. Log in to social apps

"Social apps like Bumble! The app lets you select whether you want to use it for dating, business, or making friends." —u/d4wnn

6. Get into sociable sports

"I do Brazilian jiu-jitsu. It's a very sociable sport — I can move to a new city and make friends almost immediately." —u/Thefirstfish

7. Bonding over board games

"My local board game store hosts open board game nights that attract very friendly, accepting people. And I don't run out of things to talk about while playing." —u/BlooLagoon9

8. Go to game shops

"Ditto to role-playing games. I've made a bunch of good friends through game shops." —u/EfficientDismal

9. Hit the gym

"The gym is great! I'm someone who doesn’t usually go up to people because I assume nobody wants to talk to me, but over the years, I’ve made so many acquaintances from the gym."—u/Effective_Ad_273

10. Be a friend to make a friend

"I recently hired someone to organize my house, and we hit it off and became fast friends. Just talking to people and being friendly can open doors organically! My grandma always said, 'In order to make a friend, you have to be a friend.'"—u/AndTwiceOnSundays

11.  Music brings people together

"I’m really into a kind of niche genre of music. By regularly going to see live music in my city, I got to meet and make friends with people who are into the same specific thing as me."—u/haziladkins

12. Go to networking events

 "Networking events! I've met so many awesome people and long-term friends this way."—u/Fun-Wave7015

13. Facebook group is a good option

"Go on Facebook and find a group of people in your area with similar interests. Gardening, book club, hiking, pickup basketball, etc. Then start attending events pertaining to something you like and strike up a conversation! Easier said than done, I know."—u/HueyB90

14. Find friends online

"Meetup.com is also really great for this."—u/ejfrod

15. That's a cool hack

"Use the friends you have to make more! Saying, 'My friend and I are doing [insert plans here] on Saturday if you want to join' is a lot less intimidating than asking a stranger to hang out one-on-one."—u/zazzlekdazzle

16. Interact more

"If you have kids, make friends with the parents of their classmates that you hate the least."—u/Big_Requirement_3540

17. Go hiking

"Hiking meetups. I've had little success with anything else. I have no proof to back this up, but I think you have to share some type of challenging experience to bond over in order to make a lasting friendship."—u/Remiteacher

18. Talk more

"Talk to everyone. When you go to the store, that's a great excuse to chat with the cashier, for example. Maybe they're a great conversationalist and a future good friend!"—u/AnastasiaFrid

19. Bond over hobbies

"Hobbies - sports, classes, activities. Or through work (though that’s usually hit or miss)."—u/2SadAllTheTime

20. Say yes to more invitations

"Go to invitations, even if you are not in the mood or dubious about how much fun you will have." —u/zazzlekdazzle