As the founder of the new startup LifeBonder I am often asked how we are going to protect users from the negative impact of social media: cyber- bullying, false profiles, fake news, fraudsters, hate speech, echo-chambers, social media addiction and you name it. Before I answer this question let me first explain how LifeBonder came into being.
The problem
In the last decade we have seen the consequences of a growing disconnect between social media and real life – increasing loneliness and a declining mental health among young adults. It all boils down to the business model used by most of these platforms. Data brokers and advertisers are at the core of these platforms business models – they service at the expense of the user who is merely a means of servicing the advertisers.
As a primary introvert person, I find it hard to find a safe and secure platform. I mean, a social network where I can be sure people are who they say they are, that they do not pretend to be something they are not! And do not have bad intentions. Put simply, you basically have two choices – either endlessly doom scrolling through news feeds with nonsense content of false news, misinformation, hate speech and at best superficial and entertaining content. Or you can be matched on a dating platform for romantic or sexual relationships. I hear from many users of dating platforms, that they suffer from many of the same negative things as on social media platforms. It seems that social media platforms tend to make people want to be something or someone they are not. The reason for this might be that it is easier to hide your true self on a digital platform – but only as long as you do not meet in real life.
Loneliness and the declining mental health
Safe and secure networking, and fighting loneliness and the declining mental health in young adults, has therefore formed the main focus for our team, to make it safe to connect with new people in real-life through a digital networking tool to improve the quality of life for young adults.
Loneliness and mental health issues gives rise to healthcare costs – in Denmark alone, 20% of working age people suffer from mental illness resulting in 25% of all healthcare costs. You can see a similar pattern in many other countries. Also, we see a growing trend toward more people living alone fostering more lonely people. Before we lived in traditional nuclear families with mother, father and children, but this family pattern has been breaking up for long – alone in Denmark there are more than 1.7 million people living for themselves in 2022 –that is 40% of the total Danish population.
The mesaverse as a most needed disruption
The business model of current social media growth engines is designed around consumerism and addiction as a profit-maximizing mechanism and is markedly anti-social and therefore due for a significant disruption. LifeBonder’s safe space (“mesaverse” as we call it) is that disruption. LifeBonder is putting the social into social media – or rather where it belongs, outside social media in real-life connecting people in the local area into authentic friendships and communities.
That so many young people report lacking close real-life friendships and feel lonely clearly demonstrates failure to meet the market need for a deeper and more authentic belonging despite existing “social” platforms – and for that matter dating platforms.
LifeBonder is filling this growing need for a deeper and more authentic reality with real life experiences outside social media platforms – fighting the negative impact of social media and thereby increasing the quality of life for young adults.
A new alternative social network
LifeBonder is a new alternative social network – a safe and secure social network that makes it easy for people to find like-minded people and start authentic friendships in the local area.
The mission of LifeBonder is to break social media addiction and loneliness by providing a safe space that lives up to the promise of what social media can be: A safe space to facilitate human connections in real-life rather than replacing them online. Furthermore, concerned by the noticeably declining mental health in young adults, LifeBonder avoids implicating any social media features contributing to the rising issue.
A safe and well-regulated social network
In our social network tool, which we are currently building, we have built-in features that prevent many of the dangers you experience when you are using social media. For example, we make it very hard to create false profiles and we safeguard our users by letting them know if you behave properly on our platform. Actually, we have a numeric measure for that called MANA. If you already know the social media Reddit and the term KARMA they use, you have an idea about what MANA is, it is not identical to Reddit’s KARMA but similar and is an expression of how you behave on our platform, and tells other user if you can be trusted.
To summarize LifeBonder’s primary focus is on supporting our users in their real life in the local area – besides that we:
- have no additive elements – likes, followers, etc.
- prevent loneliness and isolation
- has zero fake users accounts and zero fake news
- and our sworn duty is to protects our users’ privacy: We do not sell user data nor track user behavior outside our platform at all
Increasing the Quality of Life
We want to make the world a better place by filling a growing need for direct socializing outside social media – connecting people in friendships that are human, profound, and meaningful. LifeBonder is a digital space (mesaverse) focused on building social bonds in real life, as close, interpersonal connections, or as part of a wider LifeBonder community of user-initiated groups. Our platform makes it easy for people to find genuine connections regardless of whether they’re introverts, extroverts, or anything in between.
Providing Value for Social Media Users
The main reason for young adults leaving social media, or their dissatisfaction with social media, is the lack of valuable content, the negative impact and the time wasted scrolling through an endless feed. LifeBonder will lead a social media revolution by bringing user needs into the core business – and keeping advertiser needs at the periphery instead. Developed around mutual interests and topics in the same geolocation, LifeBonder makes it easy for people to connect with like-minded people in a deeper reality through shared spaces, values, and goals.
Social Impact Startup
Last but not least – LifeBonder is a direct social impact startup contributing to UN Goal 3: Good health and well-being. Our safe digital network app will provide an innovative and sustainable alternative to existing social media platforms, that will make a long-term positive impact in society and improving the quality of life for young adults. This is our promise to you!
Jesper Simonsen
I am the founder of LifeBonder and my mission is to create a social media platform that lives up to the promise of what social media can be: A tool to facilitate human connections in real life rather than replacing them online. I want to make the world a better place by filling a growing need for direct socializing outside social media while fighting he negative impact of social media - reconnecting people in friendships that are human, profound and meaningful.
