Social media is the defining technology of the 21st century, it is where most human connections are formed and women are leveraging this technology not to only have financial independence, but to also build supportive relationships, by creating apps that bring women together in real time.
These apps are a response to the need, amongst single adult women and new mothers, who would like to form new and authentic relationships in a non-threatening safe way, especially considering that loneliness is an increasingly pressing issue of our society .
Continue reading to see how women are using social media applications to bring about real time connections as well as combat isolation, in order to build authentic communities and relationships.
The Peanut app is the brainchild of Michelle Kennedy who wanted to connect mothers in the same location. The app was created to give women a safe space where they can build community on their own terms. It works like Tinder in that individuals will swipe to create conversations with mothers who interest them. Other built in features are the meet up and calendar capability which allows mothers to move their relationship into an offline space. This app has 400 000 users and facilitates 200 000 swipes a day. Mush, created by Katie Massie-Taylor and Sarah Hesz , is another application created to help mothers who feel isolated. The settings on the app even allow you to link up with mothers who have children of the same age so you can relate to them. These apps hope to eradicate loneliness that is associated with motherhood .
Above: An introduction to Peanut
The idea for Girl Crew, was born in 2014, when Elva Carri, found herself not having anyone to go out with . Thereafter she, with Aine Mulloy, chief marketing officer, and Pamela Newenham, joint chief executive, created a Facebook group that has grown globally, from Dublin, Ireland to Australia. This Facebook group finally immigrated from the Facebook platform to it’s own app that can be downloaded in Android or iOS. The app caters to women between the ages of 25 – 40 and host events to bring women together who share the same interests or who would like to organise a last minute outing.
Above: A few words from the Girl Crew Founder
This application was created by Olivia June, who believes that it takes one friend to change a woman’s life. Hey!VINA encourages women to build healthy and supportive friendships with each other. Connections are formed based on similar interests and the app has articles and quizzes that encourage women to achieve their goals and live a fulfilling life. This app has been termed the Tinder for (girl) friends and it is safe space for mature women to make friends. Hey!VINA added a “plans” feature which allows you to make plans with women in your area. This app is available on both iOS and Android.
Above: Introducing Hey!VINA’s Plan feature
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t Tumelo
Tumelo Mojapelo is a silent force behind the scenes at Flux Trends, and steers the direction of the content created by the Flux Trends Team. Her interest in trends analysis emanates from her desire to want to give people opportunities to do, think and act better – to make better decisions because they understand the connections between seemingly unrelated factors and phenomena.
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Image credit: Engadget AND Glimpses by Brooke AND Fire Newsfeed AND Permanent Procrastination
Video credit: Peanut AND Girl Crew HQ AND hey!VINA
