Penpals can be very interesting and rewarding because you can find someone who will become your lifelong friend. Fortunately, with the advent of the internet, it has become much easier to find penpals because there are many social networking sites. With a little knowledge and preparation, you can find your perfect pen pal and develop strong friendships with them.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Find the right website
Step 1. Think about what you want to correspond
There are many different ways to engage in dialogue. It is important to decide which is right for you because it will make it much easier to find the right website on the Internet.
- The International Union of Postal Artists is a website dedicated to those who enjoy sharing their art with friends. This community has about 4,000 active users. However, it is an ideal environment for those who love to share their creativity with friends.
- Swap-Bot is another site dedicated to creative communication. The essence of this site is the ability to exchange postcards, stickers, coins and many other fun things. Such a site is perfect for fans of small creative "chips" and those who like to send such letters.
- Global Pen Friends is another website that makes it easier to communicate. On this site, users can search for potential pen pals from all over the world, and an advanced search engine will help find the perfect friend. On this site, users do not send stickers and stickers to each other, but communicate through letters.
Step 2. Think how you would like to correspond
electronically or via regular mail. Some websites only allow electronic communication and users are not allowed to provide a postal address. If you prefer good old mail, if you like the feel of the weight of the paper, it is better to find a website through which you can communicate using regular mail. The Global Pen Friends website accepts both email and regular paper mail. After meeting, users can exchange physical addresses.
Step 3. Search the Internet for paid and free sites
Many websites offer penpals for free, but many sites offer to set up a premium account, for which the user pays a fee every month or every year, in exchange for communication and correspondence. Other websites have the option of free chatting, but often these sites have a lot of advertisements. InterPals is a good free correspondence website, a solid user base, and minimal advertising.
Step 4. A suitable site for dating and chatting can be found through the Google search engine
Check out all the suggestions and tips in this article, feel free to find the site yourself. In fact, there are a lot of dating and communication sites, but many of them work poorly or do not work at all, so it is important to know how to find the right one.
- Pay attention to the design of the site. If it seems unpleasant to you, as if it is unfinished, if it contains a lot of small text and a huge number of annoying advertisements, it is most likely a useless site. A good, reliable site will have a nice design, a clear menu, and not many ads.
- Check out the Frequently Asked Questions section. This section should list the most important questions about whether this site is a paid site, how to set up a profile, whether there is an instant messaging function on the site, or whether it provides communication via email.
- Visit different sections of the site before creating a profile. Review the search engine and decide how comfortable it is for you to use. Pay attention to the number of site users, whether it is possible to view their profiles, whether there are users from those countries that interest you.
Step 5. Create your profile
When you activate your account, you need to immediately start filling out your own profile, which will be visible to your other acquaintances. Creating a profile is an important part of registering and finding penpals. Depending on the information in the profile, users choose their interlocutors and decide whether to start communicating with them. Be sure to fill in the fields "about yourself" and "interests", write down all the details, because it is in these fields that users decide whether they have something in common with you. Upload at least one photo to your profile where you turned out well so that other users know that you are a real person, not a robot. But be careful when filling out these fields. Don't include personal information that you don't want to share.
Part 2 of 3: Find Penpals
Step 1. Think about what your ideal pen pal should be
Think about where it should be from, how old it should be, whether it should be a guy or a girl. It is best to be loyal enough to your potential friend's location, but correspond with someone who will be at most a couple of years older or younger than you if you are a child. If you are an adult, the age difference can be five or more years. Penpals will be an unforgettable and rewarding experience for you, so immediately think about what you want to explore through this correspondence.
Step 2. Find users who are addicted to what you are
When browsing the profiles of other users, pay attention to what they like, try to find someone with whom you have common interests. You can choose a user with completely different hobbies, so that you can share experiences with each other and learn something new.
Step 3. This may be a way to learn more about a country and improve your language skills
Think about the part of the world that you have always been interested in, but you have not had the opportunity to visit. A pen pal can express his personal opinion about the country and its structure, which you do not know on the Internet. Many people prefer to choose pen pals from other countries, different language speakers - this is an important criterion when choosing a pen pals. Make sure that you and your potential friend can understand each other in a common language. Penpals are a fantastic way to learn a new language, so try to find someone who speaks the language you want to learn.
Step 4. Friendship correspondence can also be a form of public service
There are many older users who want to communicate. Communication with these people will provide an opportunity not only to learn from the experience of another generation, but also to help a person who needs a friend.
Step 5. Use the advanced search
Most chat sites offer advanced search that you can use to filter other users based on specific information. For example, the Global Pen Friends site has a good search engine that allows you to customize various search parameters.
- In the main search on the Global Pen Friends website, you can select the gender, age, country and city of users, as well as the presence of a photo and postal address in the profile.
- In the advanced search, you can choose your preferred race, religion, interests, language. You can also choose your preferred communication method (regular mail or e-mail).
- Don't be too categorical in your search, as it will be difficult to find the perfect pen pal. Try to find several different users with different interests and experiences, because this will let you know a lot more.
Step 6. Check out the website's guidelines for how to get started
When you find a user that interests you, you can add him as a friend, or you can write him a message. Do not get attached to him ahead of time, so that later you will not be disappointed! Paid sites usually only allow one message or emoji to send, so make sure you have a premium account that will allow you to continue chatting.
Step 7. The first correspondence should be short, easy and friendly
Write a little about yourself and why you decided to write to this user. For example, you can write: "I am a high school student in Moscow, and I am looking for friends abroad who also like biology and botany." Don't give too much information right away. First, you need to decide what information can be disclosed (including information about a physical address).
Part 3 of 3: Maintain Communication
Step 1. Try to spice up your correspondence
When you are just starting to communicate with your new friend, you will definitely start sharing information about yourself. Developing a friendship is a game in which you uncover and learn more and more information over time. Try to develop your online communication in the same way as your normal friendship. Start the conversation by discussing things like profession and interests, and only then move on to more personal topics and emotions, to various difficulties and doubts - this will help you get to know each other on a deeper level. However, you should only tell the person about yourself if you are comfortable with them.
Step 2. Think about security
Penpals are a great way to make friends all over the world, but it also makes you more vulnerable. Be careful when communicating, you should not give out your personal information to everyone (this even applies to things like Skype, email, phone number, and so on). Wait a while before giving the person your personal information. Over time, trust will develop between you. You should not post your email address on your profile, because spammers can send various unsolicited emails to it. Always think before you send any personal information to your pen friend, you need to trust this person before you tell him anything personal.
Step 3. Take time to chat
Chatting with a pen pal sounds simple, but it’s very easy to wind down that communication. Developing a lasting friendship with a user, like any other friendship, takes a lot of time and attention. You need to try to regularly correspond with your friend, otherwise your friendship will begin to fade.
- Create a schedule or schedule. For example, once a week or a month, set aside an hour in your schedule, sit down at the table and write a long letter to your new friend.
- If you notice that your pen pal is starting to answer you less, send another email and ask if everything is fine.
- Consider adding each other on social media (e.g. Facebook, Instagram, VKontakte). Social media is a great way to keep in touch with a pen pal on a regular basis and learn more about each other's lives.
- Consider meeting in person sometime in the future. This option is unlikely if you don’t have the funds to travel the other way, but if you have developed a really strong friendship, meeting in real life is the perfect way to take that friendship to the next level.
Step 4. Be patient
Developing strong pen friendships takes much longer than regular friendships. Especially considering how long it takes for letters to be delivered by regular mail. Understand that you need to be willing to communicate over the course of several years in order to truly befriend this person. Gradually understanding each other can be a rewarding experience that will grow even richer over time. If you make an effort to keep the correspondence regular and get to know your pen friend better, that person can become your close friend for life.
Advice
- Be sure to write down each other's contact details in case you lose contact!
- If a person wrote to you, try to answer him as quickly as possible - no one likes to wait long.
- Don't assume that everyone around you speaks your language. Learn basic words and phrases in foreign languages.
- Very often people are looking for penpals for language exchange. Offer the person to teach him Russian, and he, in turn, will teach you his language.
Warnings
- Some people write false information about themselves and try to appear different from who they are. Be aware of this risk before you start chatting with a person.
- If you are under the age of 18, ask your parents to help you choose a pen pal.
- Be especially careful about meeting a pen pal in real life. Set up a face-to-face meeting only after you have been online for a few years, and it’s also best to talk over the phone or video chat first so you can be sure the person is who they say they are.