Featured image: Olivia Taberner

In an era when digital communities reign supreme, it’s easy to lose sight of, and appreciation for, the simple joys of existence. The smell of freshly mown grass, the feeling of sunlight warming your face, the comforting sound of birds chirping – these small grounding moments have been overshadowed by the blue light from our screens. Social media promised to bring us together, but many of us are feeling more alone than ever. Through endless, mindless scrolling, digital communities are taking over our real life connections, filtering out the world beyond our screens.

For Gen Z, the so-called ‘‘loneliest generation,’’ this sense of isolation is stark. Youth organisation ShoutOut UK reports that nine million people in the UK are “chronically lonely” – and the figures are rising. Women in their 20s in particular face unique challenges when it comes to forming and maintaining friendships in the modern world. Societal pressures, life transitions, post-university relocations, early career demands and the stigma surrounding loneliness often make it difficult to build authentic connections.

Jessica Bennett, a 23-year-old Animal Behaviour and Conservation student at Manchester Met knows this feeling all too well. The endless scrolling of perfectly-curated lives on Instagram left her feeling more disconnected than ever. “Society has unfortunately made having few or no friends something to be ashamed of, as if there’s something wrong with you. Either you must be ‘weird’ or ‘annoying.’”

Her experience is far from unique. With Gen Z averaging more than six hours of screen time per day, according to Ofcom’s Online Nation report, it’s clear that much of our socialising is happening online rather than through face-to-face interactions. Screen time has become part of the fabric of  everyday life for most, making real-world connection increasingly rare. Yet Bennett found an antidote in CLIQ – a social networking app designed specifically to build safe, real-world connections.

Co-founded by Nicola Gunby, CLIQ was created in response to the lack of safe and authentic spaces for women to meet. What began as a digital platform quickly evolved into something more meaningful. “As a female myself, I knew how important it is to create safe spaces for women,” Gunby explains. “A lot of the platforms out there that we are using aren’t safe for us to meet people on; they haven’t been designed with us in mind.”

The app allows users to create female-only spaces, with privacy settings that restrict access to keep men out. “If I want to create a female running club on CLIQ, I can set my privacy settings to just ‘female-only’, and the same with events and personal profiles. The need for female communities and events is growing really organically on CLIQ, and I’m so proud of this. Now, it’s about expanding the demographic while still keeping women safe.”

Bennett credits CLIQ with helping her find her people.Through the app, she connected with Girlhood, a Manchester-based community group for women, and began attending their Sunday morning ‘Girls Who Walk’ meet-ups. “Discovering the Girlhood community [through CLIQ] was like finding something I didn’t even know I was looking for,” she says. “When you find an activity that matches your interests, you naturally connect with other women who are motivated by the same things. “I’ve been on several walks now, and I love it.”

For Bennett, this was more than just a social outing – it was a shift in how she experienced the city as a woman. “For one event, we started with an ice-breaker by ordering a drink in a cute café. We walked through Peel Park and back to the café – all while feeling confident in the city because we were walking as a big group.”

This sense of safety in numbers is no small thing. In the past year, violence against women has been declared “a national emergency”. According to a study conducted in 2024 by Mitie and WalkSafe, 44% of women say they feel unsafe when walking in the dark. Many also feel vulnerable even during daylight hours while commuting to work. This highlights the growing need for safe spaces where women can feel secure and supported. Gunby, who regularly attends CLIQ events herself, says the demand for female-only spaces is clear: “The surge in violence against women has made female communities more important than ever. Community is needed for everyone – it’s essential to our human biology – but for women in particular, it’s also about safety.

“We want to know that when we are in a community we are safe and that our voices can be heard by people who are similar to us. We want to be in spaces that we know men can’t access, which is why safety on CLIQ is such a big thing.”

The platform’s community-building ethos extends beyond just socialising; it also creates opportunities for shared experiences. Earlier this year, Bennett attended a Girlhood event with Manchester City Football Club. “We had a pizza party with friendship bracelet-making in one of the Etihad Stadium hospitality restaurants,” she says. The group then sat together to watch the Women’s Super League derby – Manchester City versus Manchester United. “It was an evening that the childhood me would have dreamt of: football, making friends and supporting women in sport. I came away with a phone full of new friend’s numbers, lots of pictures and the feeling of female empowerment,” says Bennett.

“As women we should feel comfortable to walk when and where we choose without looking over our shoulder, without always staying in the open or in monitored areas and always having an escape plan. Organised groups, such as Girlhood, provide safety in numbers – showing the power of women supporting women.”

A study by the National Library of Medicine found that friendships and connections between women are related to individual resources, meaning friendships may provide individuals with a perspective on themselves. What this means is that, the stronger a woman’s friendships, the higher their self-esteem, hope and social support becomes.

Bennett adds: “It can feel intimidating to attend any social event at first, but with Girlhood you can go with a friend or be welcomed on your own. If I’m being honest, I actually followed ‘Girlhood’ online for quite a few months before I had the confidence to attend my first event.

“Social media has become a big social competition. People feel the pressure to prove their life is packed with activities, achievements and relationships. This is why I have found using CLIQ so amazing – it breaks those barriers.”

Follow @findyourcliq on Instagram.