– After I grew up, I often thought “Is there no one who wants to be my friend?” In 2019, Oda Renate Oltedal moved alone from Bodø to Jæren to start a new job. The 32-year-old believes it is more difficult to get new veins in adulthood. Oda Renate Lyngstad Oltedal says it was a big transition from being a student to starting work. Photo: Emma Bjelland Ingebrigtsen / news – When you are a student, you naturally have a student environment where many people want to be social. At the workplace, you may only talk during lunch, and then people go home to their own business. People don’t always want to meet after work. Many are lonely In 2024, a survey was published by Opinion on behalf of Mental Health Youth. The survey showed that half of the young people (aged 16-36) have felt lonely during the past year, and women report feelings of loneliness more often than men. Frode Thuen is a psychologist and professor at the Norwegian University of Applied Sciences. He believes that if you don’t have a friend to talk to when you need it, the feeling of loneliness can come. Frode Thuen is a psychologist and professor at the Norwegian University of Applied Sciences. He says it can be more difficult to get new veins in adulthood. Photo: news Thuen has helped write the book “Friendship for adults”, and says many people experience that it is more difficult to make new friends in adulthood. – You don’t have as many arenas as adults where it is natural to develop friendships. You often have to make an effort and actively seek out people to get veins in adulthood. Do you think it is difficult to get new veins in adulthood? Yes, it can be difficult! No, it is not a problem to get veins as an adult! Show result New trend In recent years, there have been several mobile apps and groups on social media, where you can get to know others and make new friends. Oltedal took action himself and joined such a group on Facebook a few years ago. She is one of the close to 5,000 members of the group “Hey girl! Stavanger”. Oda Renate Lyngstad Oltedal together with her friend Anja Bjerkås Fredriksen. Photo: Private “Hey girl!” is a non-profit organization and has 92 such groups throughout Norway with a total of over 85,000 members. Since 2016, they have worked to combat loneliness by running groups on Facebook where people can find friends of the same sex in their local area. Made friends through the Facebook group Oltedal says that she has made several good friends through the Facebook group. Last spring, she published a post in the group that caused several people to get in touch. 17.55 Oda: Hello girls! I just moved to Bryne and would like to get to know more people. Is there anyone who wants to come up with something today?:)Anja: Yes, that sounds nice:)Lina: I’d love to join! – The fact that someone wants to meet means a lot. I don’t need to have 50 veins, but having a couple of good veins is important, says Oltedal. Psychologist Thuen thinks it’s nice to see that there are digital networks where you can meet others. – For some, being part of such digital networks can in itself take away some of the loneliness. From such an arena, good physical friendships can also develop later. Psychologist Thuen’s tips on how to get new habits in adulthood: Go outside the comfort zone: Get in touch with old friends and acquaintances you haven’t seen for many years. Or make contact with friends of friends with whom you may have experienced having some common interests. Seek out social settings: Be in arenas where there are people with the same interests as you. For example, sports teams, associations, organizations or various events where you are actively present. Use social media: Connect with people on social media. Several often have a large network there. Find people you have something in common with. Meet people in new ways: Be more open to others and offer more of yourself. Ask questions and follow-up questions and show a general interest in those you meet. Be active: Being active either digitally or physically is often a prerequisite for getting more veins. Published 06.08.2024, at 06.32
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New trend on social media makes it easier to get new habits in adulthood – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
