Just about everyone is signed up for some form of social media these days; it’s a way for them to connect with friends and relatives and find other people with similar interests. Even if you have all kinds of “Facebook friends”, though, how many of them do you actually know? The interactions on most social networks don’t typically go beyond sporadic text chats; even if you have the option to use video calls, that isn’t really a feature that gets used except between people who already know each other in real life. There are millions of potential new friends online, but most social networking sites aren’t set up to allow real friendships to flourish. What’s the solution? Instead of trying to make something happen with only text chats at your disposal, you could use a social networking site like Fruzo, which actually focuses on webcam chatting as a way to meet new people. When you can talk to strangers directly instead of just browsing profiles, you can both figure out if there’s a connection right away. As it happens, meeting people isn’t all you can do with webcam chats; they’re also great for bonding with the people you’ve met online. How does this work, you ask? Just keep reading to find out – once you get the hang of it, you’ll wonder why you didn’t try it out sooner! After the introduction, it’s time to get to know each other a little better. What comes to mind when you think of webcam chatting? Whatever your answer was, it probably revolved around talking – and that’s a pretty good place to start. If you’re at the beginning of an online friendship, think of webcam chats as your crash course for getting to know the other person. What kind of music do they listen to when they feel happy, sad, or angry? Are they a dog person or a cat person? Have they ever shaved their own head on a dare? Sure, you could talk about the same things over a text chat, but it just isn’t the same. With a webcam chat, you’ll be able to read their body language, feel their enthusiasm, and establish an actual connection with your new friend. Once you’re ready to branch out, it’s time to get creative! Webcam chats aren’t just for talking – as long as you can take your device along, you could get up to all kinds of awesome stuff. Is the pride and joy of your DIY career sitting out in the garage? You could webcam chat as you work on it, maybe even taking suggestions from your friend. Do you both have a deep-cleaning project you’ve been putting off? It won’t be nearly as unpleasant if you can conquer those closets while webcam chatting. If building some shelving or cleaning a closet doesn’t sound appealing, what about a movie night? Yes, that’s also an option if you want to webcam chat with an online friend. You might not be able to sit on the same couch, but you’ll still be watching the same film together. If you really want to make it feel authentic, coordinate your pizza order – hopefully you’ll both feel the same about the pineapple-on-pizza debate! As you meet someone for the first time online, webcam chats can show you what you’re dealing with almost instantly. Have you ever looked at someone’s profile pictures, and left still wondering what they looked like? Not because the photos were blurry or incomplete, but because of all the special effects and extreme camera perspectives. It’s one thing if someone knows what their best side is, but if one week’s worth of pictures seems to show two different people depending on which photo you look at, there’s probably some behind-the-scenes magic going on. If you decide to go online to meet new friends, you’ll end up meeting a ton of people along the way. This is one area where webcam chats really help you out; unless the person you’re talking with is wearing actual prosthetics, you’ll know that they aren’t misrepresenting themselves using filters or decade-old photos. You may get a few people who really know their angles, but that’s impossible to keep up 100% of the time. The point is, webcam chats help keep people a little more honest. Enough of what other people look like on webcam chats – what will you be projecting to them? In other words, how can you communicate your personality and intentions via clothing choice, background, and lighting? Assuming that your camera quality is already decent, these are the three main variables that you should pay a little attention to before you start webcam chatting. Clothing choice – This is a key part of your personal appearance, so don’t be afraid to wear something expressive. Crop tops or comfortable old sweaters, custom overalls or your favourite pair of second-hand jeans – if you’re wearing something that makes you feel good, this will come across in the webcam chat. Background – The standards aren’t high, to begin with, so don’t feel bad if your house isn’t a Martha Stewart paradise. A good minimum is to make sure there aren’t any huge messes within view; if you can make it look cool, that’s even better. Lighting – Even the most put-together wardrobe and background won’t really matter if the lighting is too harsh, too dim, or coming in from a terrible angle. Natural light is ideal, but if all you have is indoor lighting, experiment with what you have until you get a good result. You don’t want to meet people looking like the grinch just because you chose the wrong light source. Go ahead and spend the time getting it right beforehand, so you won’t have the frustration of bad lighting during subsequent webcam chats. Break out the webcam, it’s time to make new friends! Are you ready to expand your social life? Get out there and start meeting people – you’ll be amazed at how many friends you can make online! Also read: How to use Share Play to enjoy PlayStation 5 games with your friends? For the latest gadget and tech news, and gadget reviews, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. For newest tech & gadget videos subscribe to our YouTube Channel. You can also stay up to date with the Gadget Bridge Android App.