Heather Steele and Taylor Moore relocated to Calgary a few years ago. Steele hails from Ireland, while Moore made the move from Manitoba. Upon arriving in Calgary, Steele had no connections, unlike Moore, who had a couple of acquaintances. Seeking to expand their social circles, they turned to a friendship app called Bumble BFF, designed for those seeking platonic relationships. The app operates similarly to a dating platform, where users create profiles detailing their interests and personalities. By swiping right or left on profiles, users indicate their interest in connecting. Steele and Moore both swiped right on each other, initiated a conversation on the app, and eventually met for their first hangout at Trolley 5 Brewpub on 17th Avenue. Their instant rapport blossomed into a lasting friendship that endures three years later.
“She was my first Bumble BFF date,” Moore shared. “She was by far the greatest one … Sometimes you meet someone, you have that instantaneous connection.”
“We hit it off right away, and we haven’t stopped hanging out since,” Steele added.
Steele highlighted the benefits of using a friendship app, emphasizing the ability to gauge a person’s character and interests before meeting in person. “You can see some of those qualities,” Steele elaborated. “We both had lived abroad. We had similar interests, like hiking. Taylor snowboards. I snowboard. It’s skipping a little bit of the early conversation so you can be like, ‘OK, this person and I have a few things in common.’”
Vanishing Social Spaces
Described as a contemporary method of forging new connections, apps, including AI-driven platforms mimicking friendship, have become digital hubs for socializing, supplanting traditional face-to-face interactions.
The concept of the “third place” was originally introduced by sociologist Ray Oldenburg in the 1980s. It denotes a space outside of home and work where individuals congregate and socialize, encompassing venues like religious assemblies, cafes, bars, and fitness centers. However, the dwindling presence of these third spaces poses a challenge, with fewer Canadians engaging in such communal settings. The decline in attendance at religious gatherings and the shift to remote work have reshaped social interactions, potentially contributing to heightened feelings of loneliness and social detachment. Statistics Canada reports that in 2021, over one in 10 Canadians indicated frequent or constant loneliness, a state often linked to deteriorating mental well-being.