But how can you combat loneliness when you’re surrounded by media-hungry friends and family members? Most social media sites encourage “likes” to determine whether your post is a hit or miss. But what if there was a different, healthier, way to interact with your social circle? A new app is in the works that promises to benefit your mental well-being. It can make you feel less lonely and can also encourage you throughout the day. Let’s see Facebook do that. Tap or click to discover how people are happier after taking a break from Facebook.
Can an app really help with loneliness?
There are a lot of ways to combat the feeling of being alone. If you think you can just live with being lonely, consider the fact that researchers view loneliness as a disease that can be lethal, as indicated in a recent report. The study revealed a lack of social connections is more hazardous to your health than if you smoked 15 cigarettes a day. In response to this serious affliction, an app called Ikaria, named for a Greek isle, was born. According to its co-founders Chrys Bader and Sean Dadashi, the app can help users break free from the disconnected dynamic of current social media platforms and “create richer personal relationships among its users.” Designed in collaboration with mental health experts, psychologists and teachers, Ikaria provides you the tools and knowledge to experience the joy of meaningful connections and safeguard you from loneliness. Here’s a sneak peek at the details.
What makes Ikaria different
While today’s social media equates one’s sense of belonging to the amount of attention he or she acquires in the form of likes and followers, Ikaria provides an environment that encourages a healthy approach to your online existence. Ikaria focuses on your well-being, self-disclosure, presence and vulnerability. You may also like: Join the ad-free Komando Community Intimate and adaptive spaces allow you to chat with family, close friends and others in similar life circumstances. Group members can opt to participate in guided experiences that can help them “reflect and discuss what’s going on in their hearts and minds.” Because the team behind Ikaria believes you are a person and not a product, the app is void of your typical advertisements seen on other platforms. As if the number of ads across social media isn’t enough, it’s an election year and the political groups are out in full force. Tap or click to learn what you need to know about political ads in 2020. In addition, your data is yours, not Ikaria’s. The company stresses you should be in control of your data and they will never sell personal information including your Ikaria conversations and relationships.
How to get the app
Although this new approach to social technology is not available yet, you can gain early access by signing up via the Ikaria website. Since it is essential to understand you as a person, and what you hope to get out of the app, you’ll need to fill out a short questionnaire about your social media habits and relationship goals. With the obvious dysfunction of today’s social media, it’s refreshing to find chat platforms that concentrate on creating and supporting authentic deep relationships with others.
