Like-Minded Moms Meet Through Tinder-Style Apps and Speed Dating Events

   By SheSpeaksTeam  Aug 05, 2015

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New moms know the difficulties of navigating play dates, mommy and me’s, park dates, birthday parties, and every other social occasion that you may attend with baby in tow. The truth is being a new mom can sometimes get lonely and meeting other moms isn’t always easy. Just because you both happen to have children doesn’t mean you will have much else in common. This is why so many new moms are now benefiting from new apps that aim to connect like-minded moms.

In the same way that romantic relationships are often formed through apps like Tinder, new moms are also connecting and forming friendships through technology. Today reports about the new trend of moms using apps and attending speed-dating style events all in the name of grabbing a new BFF.

Jillian Darlington and partner Beth Bryan launched the app MomCo in San Diego that matches profiles and allows moms to set up play dates with those they click with and find out about local community events for kids. Darlington says she herself turned to the app recently when many of her friends had moved away. She says, “One of my last close friends is moving. I feel like I am starting over.” She was inspired to create the app after using sites like Tinder for dating.

Another app that helps moms connect is Hello Mamas which uses an algorithm to make mom matches with over 150 criteria for compatibility. Co-founder of the app, Meg Gerritson explains how it works. She says, “You can go to a park to try and meet someone but it's a shot in the dark. Here, you go online, you can find moms near you, compare profiles and you can connect back and forth before you have to commit.”

And for moms who want to meet potential friends face-to-face there are events like Speed Dating For Mom Friends hosted by popular parenting podcaster Holly Frank. Moms have short 4 minute conversations with other women until they move on to the next potential mom friend. Frank says of a past speed dating event in Brooklyn, “A lot of them have maintained their matches. It's great to have a partner or family for support, but it's so cathartic to find someone else who is going through or who has gone through it. It helps keep you sane to know you are not by yourself.”

What do you think of the new trend of moms connecting through apps and speed dating events?

Would you ever consider using an app to find like-minded mom friends?