Are Tribal Tech startups the answer to the loneliness epidemic?

Today, we place more importance on individual success and independence than on social connections and community. We move further away from family to pursue profession opportunities and ambitions. We are continually multitasking, leaving little time for building social contacts. Many of us live alone, which makes it difficult to achieve human belonging.

We also have a hard time making friends. A study conducted earlier this 12 months I discovered it 51% of Americans surveyed said they found it difficult to make latest friends. Let’s compare this with the situation in 1990 Gallup survey that found that one-third of Americans reported having 10 or more friends. In 2021, only 13% in an American Survey Center survey said they’d that many friends; 12% said they didn’t have them at all.

Is tribal technology the solution?

The epidemic of loneliness and isolation is a fact, and it is exacerbated by social media and the inexorable progress of technology. While technology can keep us virtually connected, research has shown that excessive use of social media can increase feelings of loneliness and isolation as people compare their lives to rigorously edited highlights of other people’s events.

I have worked in sports and entertainment for over 20 years, an industry that has a widespread repute as a net importer of innovation.

However, from a number of industry perspectives including brand, rights holder, early stage exposure (entrepreneur) and risk enterprise, it is abundantly clear to me that the superpower of this industry is that it is inherently tribal.

Sports and entertainment can bring total strangers together on a large scale, which will be further accelerated by breakthrough technology. This is the basis of what I imagine could possibly be the solution to the loneliness epidemic and the next step in investing: tribal technology.

Tribal technology helps us find others with similar passions and gives us the opportunity to share them in real life with other like-minded people. Each of us has had such an experience: we see someone wearing a sweatshirt with the logo of our favourite sports team and we are immediately kindred spirits, no matter the differences that divide us.

Tribal technology takes lessons from skilled sports and applies them to other interests or hobbies to create community, purpose and teamwork. It gets us off the couch and connecting with “our people” by doing our favourite activities: hitting the trails with other runners, making homemade pasta with other foodies, surrounding ourselves with other fans (well, you name it) – whatever our political and socio-economic differences.

Among other things, there are five areas where tribal technology can make a significant impact.

1. Traditional online dating is over. Dating apps aren’t connecting couples in the way many expected. Check the company’s annual stock performance Babble (-60%), Match group (-18%) i Hello Group (-28%). These “macro” online dating platforms don’t connect passions in the same way that tribal platforms do. Instead of connecting people based on geography, tribal technology takes an interest-based approach. To consider DharmaFor example. The company creates and promotes specially chosen trips organized by the most iconic people and brands in the world. Who higher to democratize this mission than influential people, athletes and rights holders whose fans resemble cults? Travel, identity and personal expression are interconnected.
2. Fitness takes a village. Enabling like-minded strangers to come together on a large scale to create vibrant communities is the focus Running bandit‘S 1 reason for being. Running is perhaps the most distinguished example of tribalism. It is the best yet non-competitive environment built around inclusion and encouragement, where differences are accepted. The company has designed its product line brilliantly and built a solid membership model that it leverages highly tribal development of running clubs to strengthen and expand acquisitions.
3. Reading becomes shared. More than simply book clubs, tribal tech firms create reading events that may happen on rooftops, parks and bars. Participants come with a book, commit to reading a chapter or two, and talk to strangers about what they’ve just read. These firms focus less on reading and more on having fun and spending time with strangers who love books and often change into friends.
4. People need cultural experiences. With a mission to bring more joy and belonging to people like firms Daybreaker explore the world while building a community based on the principles of well-being and camaraderie. The company partners with local creators, artists, entertainers and mischief-makers in 34 cities around the world to build a grassroots movement towards curated, joy-based events and learning experiences.
5. Social recreation for adults can create a lasting community. Research shows the current cohort young adults are among the loneliest generations. Loneliness peaks between the ages of 18 and 29, and activities like video games don’t help. Tribal sports tech firms provide organized recreational sports leagues and activities for young adults for social interaction, exercise and play.

The end of the epidemic

We all need to belong. What higher way than to connect with people whose passions you share? Whether you are setting goals, searching for joy, sharing motivation and triumphs, or just want to philosophize with latest friends, you will find it in Tribal Technology.

Tribalism is and all the time has been in human DNA. Now this is how people find meaning and belonging in a world where swiping, scrolling, and loneliness reign supreme — but hopefully not for long.