Want to Make New Friends Amid COVID-19? These Pen Pal Apps are for You

We cannot imagine how difficult the COVID-19 pandemic has been to our social butterflies and extroverts out there. Not being able to go out and meet new people or even one's own friends for an extended amount of time is just the stuff of nightmares. The good thing is we aren't totally hopeless when it comes to making new friends while cooped up at home.

Sure, things may feel less "organic" since you aren't striking up conversations with random strangers at, say, a bar or some trendy beer garden on a Saturday night, but there are a ton of apps that allow you to make new friends through shared interests. If you're dying to make new friends amid the COVID-19 pandemic and want to be safe and cautious at the same time, these pen pal apps are for you.

HelloTalk

Want to learn a new language and make a new friend at the same time? HelloTalk makes this possible. Available in iOS and Android, HelloTalk supports over 150 million languages and has over 30 million members for you to chat with! This app has a ton of chat features depending on your communication style, from text, voice messages, and voice calls to video calls and even doodles. Meanwhile, its built-in intuitive language tools ensure you and your new friend get to converse without worrying about mistranslations or mispronunciations. Its Moments feature also allows you to engage with the app's entire community through public posts.

SLOWLY

Using SLOWLY is both a practice in patience and delayed gratification in this world of instant communication. Its messages take the form of a letter, meaning the farther your friend is away from you, the longer their mail will take to get to you and vice versa. We’re talking days here, but we believe it's well worth it! It's just like in the time of our grandparents when smartphones and email did not yet exist, when waiting for the mailman to arrive is filled with days of anticipation and longing. SLOWLY replicates this nostalgic feeling in this postmodern world and gives friendships an even deeper meaning as you make sure each letter is purposeful and intentional.

Bottled

Bottled is just like sending a message in a bottle out to sea, except it's in digital form. Simply write a letter and wait for your bottle to reach a user from anywhere in the world. The app only allows your letter to be received by one user at a time; if the recipient ends up liking your message, they can keep it for themselves, and you will then be allowed to chat. If they release it, however, don’t despair; your bottle "floats back to the sea" for another stranger to find. Talk about serendipity!

Tandem

Tandem is similar to HelloTalk in which it allows you to learn and master a new language by chatting with real people from around the world! Take it as an educational app, wherein your goal is to connect with someone to learn something new, from a new language to a new culture. Once connected with a user, you can use Tandem's messaging features and language tools to practice your chosen languages together. Tandem has been named as one of the Best of 2015 apps by the AppStore as well as among the Best of 2017 apps by the PlayStore.

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