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.
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.
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.