Rural website helping reduce feelings of isolation

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This article was published 21/01/2011 (5606 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Marquette area woman has developed a new website she hopes will help some rural residents feel less isolated and build lasting friendships in smaller communities.

Katie Hartle, 24, launched www.friendmatch.ca this past November. The website is aimed at connecting seniors, new parents and roommates in rural communities with other like-minded individuals.

FriendMatch.ca is not intended to be a dating site, Hartle cautioned.

“I created this website because this is a long overdue concept,” she said. “I think there are enough people out there that are looking to build friendships, so I thought why not try to facilitate that online?”

Hartle said she has been pleased with the initial response to her website. More than 2,000 individuals have already visited the site, which offers free registration and a growing number of posts from individuals looking to make new friends.  

“I want FriendMatch.ca to be what comes to people’s minds when the want to find friends easily,” she said. “A large portion of the people posting already are women in their 40s.”

Hartle said it can be particularly difficult for some rural residents to make new friends if they are new in town, are newcomers to the country or are retired.

“A lack of friends can lead to loneliness, depression, and even missed opportunities for employment, or for an active social life,” she said.

Hartle knows firsthand about the challenges of making new friends in a new community. She moved to Marquette from Winnipeg three years ago and admits her initial isolation inspired the idea for the website.
She is hopeful the site will help seniors to connect with one another, but admits that could take some time.

“The seniors market will be the hardest one to capture,” Hartle said. “They are starting to come onboard and they are the fastest growing demographic on Facebook right now, so that means there will be a need in the future.”

Michelle Dunbar, research co-ordinator for the Cartier Senior Citizens Support Committee, said the challenge in trying to link older individuals via the Internet is that most seniors are “resistant to computers.”

“We’ve tried hosting computer literacy classes in the past and there was very little interest among them,” she said.

While that might be true for most current seniors, Dunbar expects that to change in the near future.

“With the baby boomers coming up in age, with computer literacy skills already acquired, there will probably be a lot more seniors interested in this kind of service, especially if they have recently lost their spouse,” she said.

prescott.james@canstarnews.com