BROOKINGS Meeting people and making new friends can be hard. Brookings Public Library hopes to make the process easier through an upcoming workshop on speed friending.
This was definitely something that came out of that idea of the loneliness epidemic, Mikaela Neubauer, library community service coordinator, said. Especially post-COVID, we were all cooped up for so long. Our social skills have to be re-practiced. This is a way for us to fight that loneliness epidemic and also find friendly faces and build a stronger community.
In 2023, the U.S. Surgeon General issued a report identifying loneliness as a public health epidemic, warning it was linked to an increased risk of heart disease, stroke and dementia. A Gallup poll released earlier this month found 18% of Americans report regularly feeling lonely. Among men ages 15 to 34, that number rose to 25%; among women ages 35 to 54, the figure rose to 20%.
Weve done (speed friending) before, and we had quite the demand for it, Neubauer said. Last time, we had quite a few folks in town who had just not yet even over the course of a couple years found their people, their friends in Brookings. This is a good way to broaden your reach and see if you can find someone with similar interests or maybe someone you just enjoy connecting with.
She said speed friending is similar to speed dating a process where all participants rotate through brief, one-on-one chats with each other.
Folks come together and participate in quick, lightning rounds of conversation; but instead of potential partners, here youre looking for potential friends, Neubauer said. We have a circle of tables, and we rotate so everyone gets to meet everyone else. You get about five minutes to have a quick little conversation with some icebreaker questions. Then you get about a minute to write down your thoughts and fill out a ballot. Youre marking down the folks you want to connect with in the future.
Neubauer will then enter that data into a spreadsheet, run an analysis and share contact information between people who matched up as potential friends.
I send each person a list of the people they matched with and their email addresses. You can choose to reach out, set up a future coffee date to hang out or maybe just decide to be email pen pals, she said. Theres no commitment. So for people who come to this, youre not forced to be friends with everyone you meet. Youre not required to meet up if youre not feeling it. We just want it to be a way to meet some friendly faces in town.
She said events like this are part of the librarys mission of working to strengthen the community.
A lot of other libraries have been branching out into things like this for community building and socialization, Neubauer said. Any chance to make friends or build your community is so important. We all need people in our lives. Thats how we function. The more folks you know, the stronger a support system youll have. You just have more people to call upon, to see and to hang out with.
The event is free and open to anyone 18 and older. Space is limited and pre-registration is required. Registration is available at bit.ly/regbpl. The event itself is June 5 at 5:30 p.m. at Brookings Public Library, 515 Third St.
Contact Jay Roe at [email protected].
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