I went toa doc for a routine checkup. they asked for my contact number. i obliged. they presented an option to check-box an option- for them to add me to their ‘community’.
wait a minute.. am i here for wellness or socializing with other patients??
I was curious, so I asked the reception. the doctor runs a pharmacy business, she says- hence the info, the community. That brings me to a puzzling trend which is slowly taking prevalence post-covid..
Everyone wants to make a community. Everyone wants to put you into one. Everyone wants to make you belong somewhere.
Every business, every app, every service, every creator- is building one, launching one, selling one.
Every startup pitch deck has a slide about building one. Every networking event somehow ends with an invitation to a WhatsApp group you’ll mute within 24 hours.
Communities have become the default answer to every human problem. Specifically after lockdowns when people saw a dystopia- a world without other humans.
Lonely? Join a community.
New to a city? Join a community.
Looking for friends? Join a community.
Trying to grow professionally? Join a community.
Like running, books, startups, dogs, coffee, badminton, productivity hacks, or obscure 18th-century naval history?
There’s a community for that too.
But here’s what no one’s asking. Do you even need these communities..
Why is everyone so obsessed with putting people into communities?
The Great Community Gold Rush
The rise of online communities makes sense.
Platforms realized that communities create engagement. Engagement creates retention. Retention creates business.
From Facebook Groups to Discord servers, Slack workspaces, Telegram channels, Reddit communities, and Meetup groups, the internet has become one giant collection of communities.
The promise is attractive:
- Meet like-minded people
- Build relationships
- Learn from others
- Feel a sense of belonging
And initially- it worked beautifully.
The problem now is that communities have become the solution before we’ve properly understood the problem.
Humans Didn’t Evolve Inside Communities
At least not the way modern platforms define them.
Most meaningful friendships don’t begin because someone joined “The Official Community of People Interested in Friendship.”
They happen naturally. You meet someone at a café. You start talking while waiting at an airport.
You discover the person next to you at an event shares your obsession with cricket.
A random conversation becomes a friendship. A friendship becomes a network or in many cases a referral.
Historically, communities emerged after connections. Today, we’re trying to reverse-engineer the process.
We’re creating communities and hoping connections happen inside them.
The Hidden Cost of Communities
Awkwardness, lots of it. The ‘I-did-it’ syndrome where you think you’ve finally kept the promise to meet new people in a new city, hangout often, trying to be open but in reality you’re apart of a Whatsapp group where intros receive no attention, plans never come to fruition and half don’t even remember they’re still a part of it.
62% Indian millenials in a recent survey confirmed the hypothesis of over-communitizing social interactions.
Most want a meaningful interaction. One conversation. One activity. One person who gets them.
The Rise of Spontaneous Social Networking
Something interesting is happening.
People are increasingly seeking real-world connections that don’t require memberships, onboarding processes, planning or community rules.
Instead of joining a group of 500 strangers, they want to meet one person nearby who shares their interests.
Instead of attending a formal meetup, they want to find someone who’s already doing the same thing they are.
This shift is creating a new category of social networking:
spontaneous socializing.
The focus isn’t on building communities first. It’s on enabling real-world interactions first. The community, if it forms, happens naturally; nobody is putting you in one.
Maybe We Don’t Need More Communities
This might sound controversial.
But perhaps people don’t need another Slack group.
Or another Discord server.
Or another WhatsApp group with 247 unread messages.
Maybe they simply need more opportunities to meet real people in real life.
At a café.
At an airport.
At a gym.
At an exhibition.
At a park.
At a bookstore.
At a random moment on a random day.
The moments that feel small often become the stories we remember.
A Different Way to Think About Social Networking
At Routs, we’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how people actually form connections.
Not in theory. Not in research papers. But in real life.
We’ve concluded that meaningful interactions often start with shared context rather than shared membership.
Two people waiting for a delayed flight. Two people attending the same exhibition.
Two people looking for someone to play badminton after work.
No community required. Just context. Just timing. Just a reason to say hello.
The future of social networking may not be about building larger communities. (it’s def not VR). It may be about making it easier for people to discover the people already around them.
Because sometimes the next friend, co-founder, mentor, travel buddy, referral or drinking partner isn’t hidden inside a community. They’re sitting three tables away.
You just don’t know it yet. 고봉 인볼렉스