A new app called “LINK Social” is making an impact on LSU’s campus by providing a way for students to meet new groups of friends online based on who they connect with.
LINK Social co-founder and CEO Dayton Hedges said he came up with the idea for the app while traveling with friends. They wondered why there was no easy way to meet new people together and that although there are plenty of dating apps, there are no reliable social media platforms to make friends with people who are the same age and have the same interests in the same area.
Hedges said he created LINK Social for people to have the ability to either meet with others alone or with a group of friends.
“There should be an option to meet people with your friends instead of just alone because it’s more comfortable and more fun,” Hedges said.
Hedges said that while dating apps are how some teens meet new people, many people have different motivations, such as catfishing, which is when a person portrays a different image online than who they are in real life.
Hedges said that on LINK Social, a person can “link,” or match, with someone who has similar interests, like on a dating app. They can also create group chats with multiple people.
A feature that makes LINK Social different is the way the group chats are set up. If two or more friends set up a group chat, they can invite someone on LINK Social to join their group chat. Yet, the people who set up the group chat send messages on the same side of the chat when messaging the other group. It can be seen as two groups messaging each other.
“Our group chats are really fun because it’s our group talking to this other person or other group,” Hedges said.
Hedges said that one thing that makes LINK Social different from other applications is that it lets people know if the other person they are considering “linking” with has similar friends. Each user has a friends list that is connected to the contacts in their phone. This lets people know if they have friends in common, which can be a deciding factor in whether they choose to “link” or not.
“I have grand visions of where LINK will go,” Hedges said.
Hedges said that while this app is starting small and primarily focused on college students, who are 90 percent of its users, he plans on making improvements.
He said that currently, the feed is mainly geographically-based, which means everyone in Baton Rouge can only see people in Baton Rouge, but he adjusted the app to filter by schools around the nation. He said that students can now use the app to meet people in different states who are going to the same college before actually moving to college.
“I really want to combat loneliness,” Hedges said. “Our generation is the most chronically online generation.”
Hedges said he is proud to assist people in making new relationships, especially in college.
“I know how valuable having just one friend is and if I can do that for just one person, makes me happy,” Hedges said.
He said for the future of LINK Social, they are getting a lot of feedback from people who want the option to post pictures with their friends, and he said they have a lot of exciting things coming up involving that.
Hedges said that in a month, LINK Social will have stories that users can post to the people they “link” with. He said the purpose is to seem less like a dating app and more like a social platform.
Entrepreneurship junior Seth Trotter said that he heard about LINK Social around LSU’s campus. He said he would definitely consider getting the app because he’s always trying to meet new people since he’s a social media influencer.
He said there are pros and cons to the rise of social media. Younger people have the opportunity to build a career and make money from it; however, he said some people are on their phones so much that they can’t develop a life outside of them.
“Most people meet people online,” Trotter said, “so I think Link Social is a great way to meet new friends.”
Trotter said some advice he would give to people who are struggling to make friends would be to put yourself out there. He said in terms of the app, just being yourself and reaching out to people can be a great way to meet true friends.
Finance freshman Nick Kallay heard about LINK Social from a friend, and after downloading the app, he said he felt it was a great way to make friends online. He said that while his generation is developing social media to become more social, he feels it’s done the exact opposite.
“I feel like it can be hard to socialize with kids my age because I’m so used to talking online,” Kallay said.
Kallay said he thinks LINK Social is a good way to meet new people because everyone on the app is open to making new friends. He also said it’s easier to find what everyone has in common since it’s explicitly stated in their profile.
For anyone struggling to make friends in college, Kallay suggests attending events and activities on campus. He said trying anything to meet new people is always worth it because, in the end, it will be rewarding to have a good group of friends.
“This app seems like it could have a lot of potential and be able to help benefit college students,” Kallay said.