Five years ago, the anonymous-gossip app Secret crashed and burned after racking up millions of users.
Chrys Bader-Wechseler, one of Secret’s cofounders, now says he’s sorry about the bullying that went down on the platform (Who could have possibly seen that coming?).
He’s back with a new service that wants to cure one of the most talked-about issues in our app-addled age: loneliness.
Sometimes you just need a friend
The new app, Ikaria, borrows its name from a Greek island. It’s one of the world’s “blue zones” — where people have been shown to live longer and healthier, thanks partly to strong bonds between buds.
Bader-Wechseler told TechCrunch that Ikaria will give people space to chat with friends, family, and people who’ve gone through similar life experiences.
The idea? Tech gets a bad rep for driving people apart and making us more lonely. Ikaria wants to help you connect with kindred spirits in the digital wilderness.
It’s trying to tackle a huge problem
Research has shown that loneliness can be harmful to your health, especially among older adults.More men are starting to shake off the stigma of loneliness, too. A writer for The Boston Globe went viral a few years ago after calling loneliness the biggest threat to middle-aged guys.