Staying social in self-isolation: Finding a modern-day pen pal

Being stuck indoors can get pretty lonely at times, but thanks to the beauty of the internet, connecting with people from the comfort of your own home has never been easier!

Whether you’re using video calls, messaging online or going on virtual holidays – the internet presents plenty of opportunities to stay in touch with family and friends. And while maintaining relationships is extremely important, so is making new connections, which is where an online pen pal comes in handy!

Having a pen pal in the pre-internet era would mean penning handwritten letters, often with little gifts hidden inside, before sending them off and eagerly waiting for a response to arrive in the mail. But these days, communication can be done with the click of a button securely online!

Several websites have built their entire businesses around safely connecting people of all backgrounds however, this doesn’t mean certain precautions don’t need to be taken. When contacting pen pals outside of websites, use global messaging apps such as WhatsApp that will allow you to send free international messages, as well as protecting your personal information. Otherwise, if you’re looking to use the good-old-fashioned snail mail then perhaps set up a P.O. Box to maintain your privacy.

Global Penfriends

This free website is a registered family-run business based in Australia that got its start all the way back in 1995. It allows people to set up an online profile so other users can judge whether they’d be a good match. All personal details are withheld from the site and thanks to the internal messaging system, there is no need to give out contact details such as email or postal addresses, unless you decide you want to.

Meanwhile, profile administrators on the website are constantly trawling profiles for appropriate content to ensure it remains safe for visitors of all ages. They also have an anti-spam and anti-advertising policy for user’s protection. You can learn more about the website here.

Home Instead Senior Care

This Australian senior care home had the genius idea of encouraging the public to write to seniors who are stuck in their homes and unable to welcome visitors amid the Covid-19 crisis. Those looking to write to seniors in the home can choose to send a one-off letter or team up with a regular pen pal if they are looking to grow a real friendship.

All you have to do is register and the Home Instead team will handle all transferring of letters between the writers and the seniors. The website has even created templates for people to follow if they get stuck for ideas!  You can read all about it here.

Worldwide Snail Mail Pen Pals

This global Facebook page is a closed group that was formed in 2017 and now boasts over 20,000 members. To join, everyone must read and accept all the rules such as respecting privacy and remaining kind and courteous to everyone. If users are found not to be acting accordingly, they will be blocked by the constantly patrolling administrators.

Users are encouraged to write a short bio about themselves and see if others would like to connect, as well as sharing different letter-decorating tips and other inspirations with the like-minded group. You can join the group here.

Starts at 60

The Starts at 60 community is a great place full of likeminded over-60s – so if you want a jumping off point, try joining some of our Facebook community groups where you can easily and safely connect with other members.

The best place to start would be our Meet-ups Group which was originally made for face-to-face meetings of those aged over 60 who all live in the same area, but had to be paused due to the virus. Now however, you can use the group to see if any one is interested in having a chat online or via mail while you wait for the meetings to kick off again.

Some other groups worth checking out are our Crafters Club, Gardeners Club , Book Club and of course our Sassy Sixties Club. These are all closed groups that are closely monitored by administrators, so you will need to request to join and abide by all the rules set out by Starts at 60.