Find friends to go climbing, visit an exhibition or simply have a drink: many of them today use friendly dating applications, after two years of pandemic which have disrupted social ties.

Fight against isolation

These platforms want to fight against social isolation, which is affecting a growing number of people, especially since the Covid-19 crisis.

First name, age and areas of interest: you create your profile in a few clicks, like on dating sites.

Launched in 2002, the pioneer of the Meetup sector thus offers to join thematic groups online which organize collective activities.

"Meetup has long been about learning and technology, but that's changing," CEO David Siegel told AFP.

"People now just want to meet new people and build relationships."

The pandemic as an accelerator

The pandemic and the periods of confinement "have accentuated the feeling of loneliness" all over the world, confirms Cécile Van de Velde, professor of sociology at the University of Montreal.

In Canada, France, Israel and the United Kingdom, studies have shown that young people have been particularly affected, she said.

A third of French people aged 15 to 30 reported a feeling of loneliness last year, compared to 21% of the entire French population, according to a study by the Fondation de France

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