As a teenager, the future can be the most daunting part of your life. Not just what you’re mom will be making for dinner, or if that one person will text you back or not. But, the big stuff. Where or if you’ll go to college. Whether you’ll live in a mansion, apartment, shack or house. Who will be in that future home with you, if anyone? What kind of job and financial status will you have? And of course, is there a possibility of a good future for you and will you be happy? 

Gen Z, along with the rest of the generations, has had a tough few years facing the crashing job market, rising home costs, and utter isolation. But, they’re fighting history all over again. The global pandemic virtually erased some of their best and most developmental school years. And it’s worth mentioning that with the rise of social media, they’re the first generation to have such extensive first-hand witnesses of the hate occuring around the world. They’ve also seen the leaders of their countries lose their honor and costing this generation any trust they had in these types of positions. Given all this, how can Gen Z stay hopeful for their future?

Well, in a survey by Yubo of over seven thousand 13-25 year olds, it turns out that a majority of Yubo’s Gen Z users are in fact, optimistic about their future. Let’s break that down. 

How does Gen Z view their financial future?

In 1980, the typical cost of a home in the US was $47,200. In the year 2,000, this number was $119,600. Given inflation rates of 2022, those amounts roughly equal to $170K and $205K, respectively. Today, the median home sales price is $428,700. It’s more difficult for a Gen Zer to buy a home than it was for their parents and their parent’s parents. Despite this, 93% of Yubo users surveyed in the US believe they will be able to afford to buy a home or an apartment in the future. The numbers may be against them, but Gen Z believes in their future. 

These sentiments are shared by our UK and France survey takers as well, despite those regions, along with the US, having some of the highest costs of living in the world. 

With nearly half of Gen Zers out of high school and facing real-world costs or looking to university, many have felt the impact of inflation. In Yubo’s survey, 80% of US users polled responded that inflation has personally affected them. In comparison, 69% of those in France and 75% of those in the UK answered they too felt the negative impacts of inflation. 

And then there’s one of the next greatest financial and future forming decisions to make at a young age: higher education. In the poll, only 36% of surveyors felt that a college degree is necessary to “be successful and achieve the life [they] want.” With college degrees typically taking 4 years at an average cost of $35,551 per year in the US, it’s no surprise that many would not want to use the time or money to receive a college degree. Interestingly, older Gen Z users between the ages of 20 and 25 were more likely to say college degrees were necessary, as compared to surveyors under 20. 

Growing up with social media, Gen Z is used to forming friendships online and using social media as a tool for authentic interaction and socializing. They also found this incredibly helpful as they had to adapt to the time they spent in isolation during the pandemic years. In Yubo’s poll, 75% of US users said they made a close friend online. 59% of surveyors said they feel more comfortable making friends online rather than in person. As Yubo is a social discovery platform designed to bring people together from all around the world, it’s no surprise our users would have such high views of online friends. But, this still shows the potential of online friendships and how Gen Z is not as limited in their social lives as previous generations may have been without the option of social media. 

Gen Z has been making their voices heard in the political realm, even with most not being old enough to run for office. In the 2022 midterm elections, Gen Z are even credited with determining results in battleground states. Gen Z’s loud emergence into American politics is likely due to the fact that they want to see change. 53% of US survey respondents said they don’t trust their government leaders to look out for their best interest. 

With 76% of surveyors saying social justice movements are important to them and 81% of respondents naming climate change as a pressing issue, it’s clear Gen Z has a connected vision of what they wish their future to be and what they wish their future leaders would fight for. It may be a surprise that the majority of Gen Z survey respondents were hopeful about their future, but that’s likely because Gen Z will never give up on the future they wish to achieve. 

As a teenager, the future can be the most daunting part of your life. Not just what you’re mom will be making for dinner or if that one person will text you back or not. But, the big stuff. Where or if you’ll go to college. Whether you’ll live in a mansion, apartment, shack or house. And of course, is there a possibility of a good future for you and will you be happy? Well, in a survey by Yubo of over seven thousand 13-25-year-olds, it turns out that a majority of Yubo’s Gen Z users are optimistic about their future. Let’s break that down. 

Gen Z's View on Their Future

Making friends can be tricky. Even just interacting with others can be stressful for some. Have you ever finished a conversation with someone  only to replay every second of that conversation over and over in your head afterwards? Or maybe even during the conversation itself, you start overthinking every word you’re saying, taking your mind away from the conversation and leaving you unable to enjoy your time with the person you’re talking to? 

Well, here are some helpful tips for what to avoid doing and what you can do instead to have a successful conversation that you won’t need to rethink later on.

It’s important to show people you care about their life, or at least what they’re talking about, but when it starts turning into you asking question after question after question without you offering anything in return, it might start to feel more like an interview than a conversation.

What to do instead: It is still important to ask questions, but in between their answers add in your own anecdotes, ways in which you can relate or a time when you experienced something similar. After all, the person you’re talking too probably wants to learn about you too.  Instead of asking where they were born, what their parents do, what their dreams are, what’s the answer for that security question on some website without giving them all but two seconds to take a breath between answers, make sure you give them the chance to ask you questions and answer them as well. 

So, don’t ask too many questions, but also don’t talk too much? We’re not quite saying that. Avoid feeling pressured to fill every second of the conversation with interesting facts about yourself or your family’s history, what you ate today, how the weather is, or anything else that comes to your mind. People want to gain an understanding or your personality and your vibes, but you want to give the other person a chance to speak too so you can learn about their personality and their vibes. If the vibe is only talking about yourself and never allowing the other person to equally share, well, then it’s not vibing.

Instead, make sure you’re giving them the opportunity to add in their own interesting tidbits as well. And if they’re the type that doesn’t freely offer their own information, try to encourage them to share as well. Make it clear you want to know more about them, and you’re not just asking over pleasantries. 

While it’s important to share common experiences and relate to those you're talking to, be careful not to one up the other person. For example:

Potential Friend #1: “I had a horrible day yesterday.”

You: “Me too, my day was probably even worse. My fish died.”

Potential Friend #2: “I got tickets to this singer!”

You: “Cool! Oh, you’re sitting back there, I went yesterday and was just inches away from them!”

Potential Friend #3: “I’m so tired.”

You: “Me too, I stayed up really late feeding the homeless. You?”

We’ve all unintentionally done this – tried relating to them and instead ended up one-upping them intentionally. It’s okay to make that mistake, but if you keep doing it over and over, well, that person may not want to share any more information with you, and it could cost you the friendship, if there ever was one, right there. 

Let’s replay the previous conversations, but with some better answers. 

You: “I’m so sorry, do you want to talk about it?”

You: “You’ll have a great time! I saw them recently, and they were awesome.”

You: “Me too. What’d you do last night?”

This is not saying to avoid sharing your stories, but instead, be mindful of how you share them and how what you’re saying might make the other person feel. Don’t immediately discredit whatever your friend or potential friend shares with you. Let them speak, listen to them, make them feel heard, and then open it up to sharing your own stories. 

If you’re talking to someone, focus on them. Don’t do other things on your phone (unless your mom calls, that’s the only pass), take out your fidget spinner, or even a book. When you’re doing this, you’re telling them that the conversation with them is not as important as whatever else you are doing, that you need a distraction whenever you’re talking with them, or that they’re not good enough for your time.

Keep distractions on your photo to a minimum and try to avoid opening other apps or having other side conversations at the same time (again, unless it’s your mom, of course). Try your best to stay in the moment and show the other person that you’re interested in the conversation you’re having with them. 

While there’s many more “rules” that could be said, these are some common behaviors to be aware of. But, most importantly, don’t fret too much over it. Just be aware of what you say and of how you treat others. There’s no perfect strategy to creating or maintaining friendships, but caring is always the best place to start. 

Avoid Doing This To Make Friends

Oh, the holidays… full of joy, gifts, family reunions, tall tales, and quirky traditions. Before November is even over, stores begin to fill their shelves with Christmas-themed decorations overflowing with green and red ornaments, decor and trinkets. Whether or not you actually celebrate Christmas, you see it everywhere, and there is no escaping. While the first signs of Christmas can be exciting at the beginning, it can easily become too much. There are only so many times you want to hear Ariana Grande sing “Tell Me Santa”, and only so many Coca-Cola advertisement variations you can watch until they have the opposite effect. Perhaps you don’t even celebrate Christmas, maybe you celebrate Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Festivus (for the rest of us), or have your own holiday tradition you follow. Whatever the case may be, the end of December is something some people look forward to, but for others, it can be a difficult or even lonely time.

Maybe you’re dreading that inevitable family photo coming up right when your face just broke out, and you are struggling with your confidence. Or maybe you are scared of getting stuck sitting next to your crazy aunt who kind of smells and won’t stop talking the entire dinner. Or perhaps you made a lot of personal growth in a certain direction that your family might not agree with. Maybe there is some bad blood that will likely unravel at dinner. Or did you make certain diet changes, like going vegan and already mentally preparing to explain to your grandparents how you are not malnourished? There is an endless list of real anxieties, big or small, people may feel leading up to the holidays. 

Contrary to how so many people feel, the holidays are always represented in an idealistic way – where a big, happy family comes together around a warm fireplace and a beautifully decorated tree to laugh together as they open presents. This image of the holidays can make you feel pressure for your Christmas to live up to an impossible standard when actually it’s completely unrealistic (and also shot in a movie studio). Many people even spend the holidays alone or working. Maybe they moved somewhere new, are the last of their family, are in a transitional period in life, or whatever their unique story might be; they might have to spend the holidays alone or just with their pets, even when deep down they would prefer not to. If you have the space and resources, and you know someone who might be spending the holidays alone this year, even just asking if they would want to spend it with you could really cheer up the holidays. The small act of extending an invitation can go a long way, after all, they can always say no.

Over time it seems that the holidays have made many people lose sight of what they are truly about. It has turned into a materialistic holiday that revolves around buying presents for others (and realistically yourself too). There are deals after deals after deals, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, end-of-the-year sales, you name it. It is important to remember that everyone comes from different circumstances. What is a lot for some is a little for others. It can absolutely be hard not to get a little jealous of the ridiculous gifts others might get. Especially with the internet, everyone is showing off the cool things they got, and there can be stark differences in the holiday gifts one person receives compared to another. Some get brand-new cars completely paid off, others might get an avocado (you remember the video). It can feel unfair, but that's when it’s important to look at the meaning behind the gift. Everyone is in drastically different financial situations with different financial responsibilities to uphold. So remember, it is not really about the gift itself, it's about the fact that someone went out of their way to give you something they think you would like, whether it is bought or made by hand with love. The action and intention itself is what is truly special. A good rule of thumb to keep in mind for the holidays is: you should only look at what others have to make sure they have enough. That is what the holidays are really about. Spreading cheer and being kind to one another.

It is truly that simple. We just tend to forget it because of all the holiday madness that goes on. Whatever stressors you have on your plate, just know it will be okay, it might even turn out to be fun! And remember, you never know what other people have going on, so please, be extra loving this holiday season. So whatever you are celebrating, the Yubo team wishes you a happy holiday season!

Oh the holidays… full of joy, gifts, family reunions, tall tales, and quirky traditions. Before November is even over, stores begin to fill their shelves with Christmas themed decorations overflowing with green and red ornaments, decor and trinkets. Whether or not you actually celebrate Christmas, you see it everywhere and there is no escaping. While the first signs of Christmas can be exciting at the beginning, it can easily become too much. Whatever the case may be, the end of December is something some people look forward to, but for others it can be a difficult or even lonely time.

Don't Let This Holiday Season Bring You Down

The bromance. A term used to describe two men in a close friendship. It’s a beloved and popular word, used frequently in our society. But, why do we feel such a need to use such a word to describe a male friendship? Why can’t male friendships just be friendships? The assumed need of a unique term to describe the male friendship phenomenon is in itself something to consider. 

You’re probably familiar with the “bromance.” If not, it’s defined (by actual dictionary publishers) as “a close nonsexual friendship between men.” It’s also a mixture of “brother” and “romance,” despite having no romantic intent. Bromance would be used to describe the friendship between those like Joey Tribbiani and Chandler Bing (Friends), Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee (The Lord of The Rings), and of course, Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunne (Dumb and Dumber). It’s that ultimate friendship between men other people might strive to have, or, just love watching unfold. 

While you may hear bromance used more frequently while discussing famous actor pairings or fictional characters, these definitions of what a male friendship should look like affects real life as well. Boys and men alike feel as if they can’t form those close friendships due to what others may think of them. In a 2021 poll by The Survey Center on American Life, it was revealed that American men who deem themselves to have “no close friends” have gone from 3% in 1990 to 15% in 2021. While that may seem like a small percentage, a quintuple increase is a significant indication of the issues that might be plaguing male friendship. 

Bromance had its first national appearance in the 1990s thanks to Dave Carnie, editor of the defunct American skateboarding magazine, Big Brother. He used this word to describe skateboarding friends who would have to spend a lot of time traveling and boarding together. Since then, the idea of needing to describe a male friendship as a Bromance grew in popularity thanks to movies like Superbad (2007) and I love You, Man (2009). Both these movies focused on extremely close male friendships who eventually both said, (unsurprisingly) “I love you” to each other. While connecting emotionally to each other should have been a heralded breakthrough, it instead was the punchline of a comedy movie. As displayed by Hollywood, men can’t just share their emotions freely. It always needs to be something to laugh at, and that’s a key problem of the term, bromance. 

But, why is bromance even used in the first place?

Simply put, we use the term “bromance” because of the societal pressures on men when it comes to emotions and relationships. There is no such thing as a “sismance” – or when two girls are close friends – that’s just called friendship. When a girl and a boy are friends, it’s still just friendship. But, when two boys are friends, that’s when it’s no longer a friendship and instead becomes referred to as a bromance. While it seems like just a comedic title for a friendship, there’s a lot more going on behind the scenes. Referring to male friendships as “bromances” has an impact. 

How does using “bromance” limit male friendships?

If men were to share their emotions with fellow friends, they’d be seen as unmasculine. If men were to hug or show physical signs of affection for each other, they’d be referred to as a couple. It was so outlandish in the early 2000s media that two men could be affectionately physical with each other that Friends dedicated an entire episode to men napping together and the connotations involved with that. 

As children, boys can freely experience the emotions they encounter. But, as they get older, they’re discouraged from sharing those feelings with one another. They are conditioned to connect with each other over stereotypically “masculine” activities like watching or playing sports instead of actually talking to each other about their days, how they feel, issues they’re facing or what the latest is in their lives. In 2019, Movember polled over 4,000 men across the world about the pressures to “man up.” The study found that 77% of men polled believe talking is an effective way to deal with problems, while 76% of those polled believed that talking openly can provide a positive impact on their mental health. Despite those answers, 38% of men said they avoided discussing their feelings with one another so as to not appear unmasculine. And 21% said they just do not have anyone to talk about their problems with or would rather avoid doing so.

Friendship is an essential part of life, regardless of gender, and we should all be encouraging friendships no matter who they’re with or what they look like.

The bromance. A term used to describe two men in a close friendship. It’s a beloved and popular word, used frequently in our society. But, why do we feel such a need to use such a word to describe a male friendship? Why can’t male friendships just be friendships? The assumed need of a unique term to describe the male friendship phenomenon is in itself something to consider.

Why do we use the term, bromance?

2022 has been an amazing roller coaster for Yubo, a year full of challenges but more importantly, full of big achievements. The app has evolved significantly, releasing new updates and features with three main focuses: making the app safer than ever before, creating tailored exclusive features for users to find friends more easily, and finally, diversifying our user experience on livestreams.

We updated our reporting system. Although our reporting process has always been simple and accessible for our users in allowing them to communicate concerns about suspicious or harmful behaviors, user profiles or situations they experience on the app, we have improved the tool further to make it more effective for our Safety Specialists. This enables Yubo’s safety team to address any issues that are flagged by our users and take appropriate actions much faster than ever before. 

Users are now able to share more information and submit a longer message explaining any troubles they are facing on the app. Users can also now add up to four media files to their reports in order to provide our Safety Specialists with more context and help them to better understand the problem.

Our users’ safety is our number one concern, and it is important to Yubo that every user has sufficient agency to acknowledge how they are feeling and report any profiles or behaviors that are harmful or make them uncomfortable. 

We introduced a new age verification system in partnership with digital identity provider Yoti. Thanks to this new feature, Yubo has officially become the first social media platform to age-verify 100% of its users all over the world, with all users successfully verified in less than 3 months. With comprehensive age verification, Yubo can help ensure that everyone on the app is the age they say they are and give users confidence in who they are interacting with online. It also helps to prevent fake profiles, bots and people with bad intentions from accessing the platform, and to ensure users are socializing with others in their similar age group with a higher level of accuracy.

Making Yubo as safe an environment as possible where users feel empowered to interact online is of key importance to Yubo. This is why we give our users control of who they decide to and also why we allow them to block or report any users they are having problems with. 

We developed an audio moderation technology for livestreams, released for our English-speaking users in the US, UK, Australia and Canada. In partnership with Hive, a new machine learning AI was released that tackles challenges of real-time audio analysis. The AI records and automatically transcribes 10-second snippets of audio in livestreams of 10 or more people. The text is scanned by the algorithm instantly and only transcripts containing words or phrases that violate Yubo’s Community Guidelines are flagged for review by Yubo’s safety specialists. Transcripts with no suspected violations are not reviewed nor kept. As this technology continues to improve, it will help Yubo detect hate speech, bullying and harassment, violence and self-harm. 

We created an “Elite Pack” that our users can purchase for access to exclusive new features. This pack is an extension of the “Power Pack,”it  which provides users with unlimited swipes, a boost (to maximize the visibility of your lives), a turbo (to make your profile more visible in swipes) and a spotlight (to highlight your profile by putting it at the top of other users screens) each week. On top of that, with the “Elite Pack”, users are now able to send DMs to other users before they become friends, appear first in swipes for anyone they like and have access to their swipe history.

NEW to Yubo: Elite Power Pack

We expanded our “Pixels” collections, with more than 313 pixels released this year. Launched in 2021, Pixels are collectible digital art representing characters, emotions or personalities that users can purchase within the app. Users can collect as many Pixels as they’d like to add on their profile or send as a gift to their friends. Each new collection is created in collaboration with artists from all over the world – from Ulises Mendicutty’s futurist pink portraits, Velvet Kid’s anime-inspired creations to Lili Bellons’ watercolor illustrations, this year has been rich in creation for Yubo. 

All of these paid features allow our users to personalize their profiles and diversify their app experience. Yubo plans to continue providing its users with valuable and creative offerings with amazing new partnerships to be revealed soon. 

We revamped our live feed. In order for our users to have a more tailored experience from a content perspective, our new feed has been designed this year to adapt to each specific user. The feed now takes into account what a user likes, who they are friends with or what they are looking for on Yubo. The layout has been redesigned, segmented into categories of interests scrollable horizontally, all while still being able to browse the next categories vertically.

The Lives with your friends are also now prioritized on the feed to help our users continue to build strong friendships by, for instance, participating in recurrent lives with people that share similar interests, passions or cultures.

We recently released new interactive lenses, available using Snap’s Camera Kit tool. In addition to more than 30 filters already integrated on the app, our users now have the possibility to play games and challenge their friends through interactive, exclusive and fun lenses. For example, Yubo recently introduced a filter game called “Pixel Muncher,” where the goal is to catch as many falling Pixels on the screen as possible with your opened mouth on camera. The biggest scorers win! In “Fish Frenzy,” you have to take your fish as far as possible by opening your mouth to make him swim slower or faster while avoiding obstacles in your way. The longer you hold, the higher your score will be. 

We’ve moved forward in integrating more product features and updates on Android. It’s now possible for our Android users to screenshare content during their Live, making the experience more engaging and participative. This has been highly requested by our users for a while as it allows them to share pictures, videos, music or any other content they want their new friends to relate to or experience with them. 

The new Live feed has also been implemented on Android, and iterations are still running to adapt the initial version to users’ needs and preferences. Early 2023, we will also integrate the YouTube player, already available on iOS, as a new exciting feature for our Android audience. 

Yubo's 2022 product updates recap

Gratitude: the quality of being thankful; a readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness

The year is already coming to a close and we know a lot has happened. Life is full of the good, the bad, and the -non-literal- ugly, it's safe to say that life likes to dish out a good mix of the three (sometimes all at once). When prompted to look back on 2022, as with most years recently, the initial reaction probably tends to be something along the lines of “oof.”

We understand th is reaction, but while every year has its difficult times and unfortunate events, there is also a lot of good that happens as well. It’s all about how you frame it. It's easy for negative things to come to mind first, especially when you’re already feeling downbad. However, that shouldn’t cast a dark cloud over the entire year, it might be quite the opposite actually. Let's go back to the word at the top of the page: gratitude. Gratitude is the act of being thankful, it is the warm appreciation you feel when looking at the great things in your life and that life in general has to offer, and it often leaves people in a much better mood. While people were busy posting that they are #grateful they did not always feel that way. Again, gratitude is an emotion. Fortunately, it is pretty easy to move towards feeling grateful, because all you need to do is count your blessings.

“It’s the little things in life.” You’ve definitely heard that before and likely rolled youtube eyes. But time will teach you that it has always been the little things in life. A lot of people want to make it big and watch the sunset from the back of their yacht. Well a yacht costs a lot of money and you can watch the sunset for free from a bench or from your window. Perspective. That's pretty incredible when you think about it right? Life is full of the little things and acknowledging them can make life at least a little better.

There are fun little tricks you can do that will remind you of all the amazing things you have in your life. For example, every time you feel cold water, whether that be from washing your hands, the rain, or the shower, list three things you are grateful for. It doesn’t always need to be grand – most of life isn’t – it just needs to be genuine.

Another aspect of life many seem to take for granted are relationships. That bond you share with other people: be it your family, friends, classmates, or even just that person you always run into but don’t really know. All of those connections are special because out of the millions of people and places in the world, you and that other person happen to be in the same place at the same time, and have this shared experience together. That’s technically a statistical miracle, but because it happens every day we tend to take it for granted. We even take our friends for granted, blowing them off to order takeout and binge a TV show (although sometimes that is peak existence). We should be incredibly grateful for our friends, they are the family we choose or so happened upon. Knowing somebody will be there to make you laugh, smile, support your crazy ideas, and be a shoulder for you to lean on is really incredible. Even knowing that you would happily do that for one of your friends is plenty to be thankful for. If there is somebody you owe a quick thank you to, maybe now is a good time to tell them.

We also wanted to take the time to say thank you. Seriously, this isn’t an obligatory “we’d like to thank our valued customers” type of thank you, we are genuinely thankful for you. If you just like reading our blogs, enjoy our Instagram page, or love our app, we appreciate it. Not everyone has the privilege of having people support their dreams (our dream being to help people create new friendships and connections online) and when over 60 million people continue to support Yubo’s vision, it is pretty hard not to be grateful for that. Every single team and member of Yubo is thankful for our users. You make our jobs fun, challenging, and genuinely rewarding.

With Thanksgiving coming up tomorrow, if you celebrate, we would like to wish you a happy turkey day (to the vegans too). There is something special about when family and/or friends come together simply to share a meal and their time with each other. We also hope that you will continue to focus on all the little things life has to offer past Thanksgiving, every day is full of them.

Thank You

Everyone has heard the age old expression, “opposites attract.” Whether you’re talking about The Beauty and the Beast, Ron Weasley and Hermione, Wall-E and Eve, or Shikamaru and Temari; opposites attract is one of the oldest tropes in fiction. But, does the same idea apply to platonic relationships? Do similar interests matter when making friends? Yes, and no. 

Similar Hobbies & Interests Make it Easier to Make Friends

If you research how to make friends, most articles such as this one, will tell you a key component to making friends is through joining something. Whether it’s a club, organization, or even a fandom, the key is to be with like-minded individuals who share similar interests to you.

For example, if you’re a major anime fan, head over to an anime convention! As described in a cosplayer thread, conventions are “the easiest way to make new friends… it's easy to just chat with people.” Any fan of anything absolutely loves to talk about their theories, reviews, ideas, or just their love of that topic! It’s easy to start off any conversation, or soon-to-be friendship, with an opener about your common interest. In a recent survey directed towards Americans about friendship, 51% of surveyors said they have activity friends, meaning those that they participate in different activities with whether it be hobbies, sports, or anything else social. 

Making friends by absolutely fangirling over a concept doesn’t just have to be something that happens in real life either. Thanks to social media, and of course, the internet, people from all over the world can meet those with similar interests to them! Online friends may be a bit more rare than real-life friends with 39% of surveyors from the previously mentioned survey saying they have friends that they purely only interact with on the internet, and never in person. But, these bonds can be twice as strong. 

You might have noticed this yourself, but humans tend to be more confident online than in person. Of course, this might make you think of internet trolls, who have confidence because they’re able to hide, but for this instance, we’re taking a look at a more positive side of internet interactions. So, what are the reasons behind the boosted confidence and how does it help you make friends?

When introducing yourself to someone online with a known interest similar to yours, you can get straight to the point of discussing your passions. No more wasting time with the obligatory (and boring) greetings. Plus, talking about a shared interest instantly brings a level of excitement to the conversation that you both share. You’ll feed off each other's energy and thanks to the safety of your screen, you don’t need to think of strong responses right away. You have time to read what they said, process it, think of what to say, and send a worthy reply. Just because you need some more time online (usually) to add to a conversation, doesn’t make the conversation any less genuine. 

At Yubo, we want to make meeting and making new friends as simple as possible. That’s why we added the add by tag feature to be the ultimate icebreaker. 

What are tags on Yubo? Yubo tags are interest-based signs that can be added to any user’s profile. Users can add as many tags as they’d like! All they have to do is go to their profile, click “tags,” and then pick their favorite tags from any of our 18 categories:

TV & Podcasts, Games, Music, Movies, Sports, Food, Languages, Schools (higher education only), Places, Manga & Anime, Lifestyle, Activities, Pronouns, Brands, People, Books, Spirituality, and of course, Yubo.

And then, if a user would like to add someone else with the same tags, all they have to do is open up their profile, click on the said tag, and then they’ll see a list of those who all have the same tag in their own profile. Watch a full tutorial and explanation of the add-by-tag feature below!

Find your Friends on Yubo with Add by Tags

Are Friendships Stronger because of similar interests?

Having similar interests can definitely make friendships easier to form and maintain. If the two of you are into the same musician, you can listen to their music together. If you’re both obsessed with the same tv show or book, you can read it or watch it at the same time. If you’re into basketball, you can discuss strategy or the game that’s on. Having similar interests or hobbies can help ensure you never run out of something to connect on or talk about with that friend. 

Do you need to share interests to be friends?

No. While having similar hobbies or interests can make friendships easier, it does not reflect the quality of your friendship at all. Opposites attract doesn't just apply to romantic pairings on the screen, but also to your friends in real life. Many friends have stark differences that end up complementing each other. When making a friend, or evaluating a current friendship, all that truly matters, is how they make you feel. 

Do Similar Interests Matter When Making Friends?

Yes, Yubo does not cost anything. It’s a free app to download from the Appstore or Google Pay Store. All Yubo’s main features are free to use.

One thing that makes Yubo unique when compared to other social apps, is our freemium model. We provide our users with the option to purchase bonus features to enhance their experience on the app, similar to what is often seen across gaming culture. Again, Yubo and all of its core features are completely free to use, but some users who want a bit more out of their Yubo experience might want some of the bonus features offered.

Is Yubo Free?

YuBucks are Yubo’s in-app currency that allow users to purchase things like Pixels and Boosts from our in-app store. There are a variety of YuBuck bundles users have the option to purchase, offering different quantities to better fit their wants. We noticed that our community often tops up their YuBucks balance quite often, so we introduced a YuBucks subscription which gives users 3,500 YuBucks every week at a discount rate. You cannot send YuBucks to other people, but you can send your friends Pixels!

Pixels are Yubo’s in-app digital collectables. At the time of writing this Yubo has released 13 editions of Pixels! Each new Pixel edition is done by a different artist that Yubo collaborates with in order to deliver fresh and amazing Pixels every time. Most Pixel collections are limited editions, which means that they are only available for a limited time. Others have made it to our Pixel Hall of Fame and are around forever. For example, the Zodiac Pixel collection will always be available because our users like sending friends their zodiac signs on their birthdays. And of course, there are other classics like Dabocado and Rhinomillion that we just don’t have the heart to get rid of.

You might be wondering, what does a Boost do on Yubo? Well, a Boost promotes the livestream you are in, making it more visible on the livestream page so other people are more likely to see it and join you and your friends. When our community tries to host games or funny conversations that pair better with a large audience, they will boost their live in order to get more engagement.

You have the option to do a single boost or you could go big and do a 30x boost! Other lives might be boosted as well, so it is good to know that the live with the most Boosts is the top live and the rest follow in Boost order. Many boosted lives going on at the same time may cause a Boost war, where users will try and out-boost other lives to claim first. But there's a catch (literally). Boosts only last for two minutes and then they expire. This is where the phrase, “catch the Boost” came from. If you hopped in a boosted live, you definitely heard it.

With the Power Pack you get a free Boost, Turbo, and Spotlight every week and unlimited swipes, plus the ability to see who swiped on you.

Spotlight puts your profile at the top of users home screens, making it easier than ever to form new connections. As soon as they click on your spotlighted profile, they can send you a message, so you better be ready to talk!

Turbo makes your profile a priority in the swipe section. After activating Turbo, your profile will be the first one to appear in everyone's swipes – talk about getting noticed. There are time options for Turbo as well. If you have the Power Pack or the Elite Pack, which we will get to next, you get a free Turbo every week that lasts five minutes. But, if you have some extra YuBucks lying around, you can use those to increase the time duration to up to two and a half hours! 

While the Power Pack is definitely powerful, a little pun intended, the Elite Pack is the all access pass to Yubo. Elite Pack owners get everything the Power Pack has to offer plus a few more features, like: sending messages before you become friends, appearing first in swipes to everyone you swipe right one, and being able to see your swipe history. 

Again, every core feature of Yubo is completely free. The Power Pack, Elite Pack, Pixels, and YuBucks are for those who are willing to spend a little to get more out of Yubo. Please enjoy our app responsibly. Occasionally, Yubo hosts fun “competitions” or giveaways on Instagram and Twitter where you can win awesome Pixels or even the Power or Elite Packs for free!

Yubo does not cost anything. It’s a free app to download from the Appstore or Google Pay Store. All Yubo’s main features are free to use. One thing that makes Yubo unique when compared to other social apps, is our freemium model. We provide our users with the option to purchase bonus features to enhance their experience on the app, similar to what is often seen across gaming culture. Follow the Yubo team as they present all the paid features that can enhance your Yubo experience.

Is Yubo free?

Generation Z is leading to be the most influential generation of all time. They’re a generation of people who grew up witnessing injustices on social media, who went through a global pandemic during what was supposed to be the best years of their life, who can amplify their voices with a simple tweet, and who are excitedly changing traditional norms of society. 

Today’s Midterm elections in the United States are the first time we as a nation will be able to see the true impact of Gen Z on U.S. politics. To better understand Gen Z and their crossover with politics, we sent out a poll to over two thousand Yubo users of voting age in the United States asking for their views on the upcoming election and American politics.

Gen Zers (typically) are those born from 1997 to 2012, and currently counts for those of ten to twenty-five years of age. In the United States, Gen Z is the most racially diverse generation thus far with only 52% of Gen Zers being white, while their predecessors, Millennials, were 61% white. They also happen to be on track to be the highest educated generation we’ve seen, already enrolling a higher percentage of Gen Zers into college than Millennials had respectively. This sets Generation Z to not only be a more informed group, but a group who better represents all people within the United States.

Will Generation Z Vote in the upcoming elections?

Out of over 2,000 Gen Z users polled, 69.8% of surveyors said yes to voting in the upcoming election. By 2024, Millennials and Gen Z are estimated to account for the largest percentage of U.S. voters, giving them a real opportunity to make changes. But, what type of changes may these be?

What topics matter most to Gen Z when voting?

50% of surveyors said the Economy was the most important topic to them. This was followed by social justice at 43%, healthcare at 42%, and employment at 32%. Taxation, education and climate change all had similar numbers near 30%. Foreign policy/relations and international trade were the least picked options. 

Gen Z’s concerns match what their generation has gone through. Many have graduated from high school, expecting to move out, only to be hit with the high costs of homes, rent and interests rates, plus a worldwide pandemic affecting employment. Due to the increase of social media, Gen Zers are more aware of social justice issues than ever. In a study done by Reach3, they found that 77% of those asked, said TikTok helped them learn more about social justice, as well as politics. An early display of the power social media has on politics can be seen with one of the past presidential candidate’s rallies receiving over 1 million RSVPs, just for less than nineteen thousand supporters to show up in person. What caused this fakeout? Young supporters of a Korean Pop band wanting to make their idols proud by taking a stand for what they believed in. All communication was done strictly through social media. 

Surprisingly, when we polled our users asking if they share their political opinions on social media, 61% of users said no while 72% of users said they believed sharing political opinions on social media has an impact. 

How does Gen Z determine who to vote for?

We know the topics most important to Gen Z, but now, how do they pick a candidate? Well, in our Yubo poll, 68% of surveyors said they would choose a candidate based on their specific ideas and plans while only 17% said they would choose a candidate based on their party alone. Gen Z is seeking a candidate who truly represents their beliefs, instead of just representing a party they’re supposed to align with. They’re ready to move on from the traditional style of politics, and truly focus on the individual who can shape the country into the view they want to see. 

When asked if American politics are outdated, 64% of respondents answered yes with 55% of them blaming this on the two-party system, electoral college, winner-take-all voting, and the requirements to vote. 25% of poll takers, however, believed the two-party system is the key reason American politics are outdated. 

How Can You Be More Involved in Politics?

You don’t need to have thousands of followers to make a difference, all you need is to use your voice. First and foremost, go out and vote! After that, you can post your beliefs to whichever social media platform you may have. If you’d prefer to stand for what you believe in more physically, then volunteer for a campaign or attend peaceful protests throughout your community. You can join a nonprofit organization to spread their message or donate to your favorite NGO. However you chose to be a part of the change is up to you, and no matter how small the action may seem, it only needs to impact a single individual to ignite change. 

Generation Z is leading to be the most influential generation of all time. They’re a generation of people who grew up witnessing injustices on social media, who went through a global pandemic during what was supposed to be the best years of their life, who can amplify their voices with a simple tweet, and who are excitedly changing traditional norms of society. 
On the occasion of the Midterm elections in the United States and to better understand Gen Z and their crossover with politics, Yubo sent out a poll to over two thousand Yubo users of voting age in the United States asking for their views on the upcoming election and American politics.

Gen Z and Voting

Let’s be honest, despite being an extremely toxic behavior, trolling is harmful! Nowadays, everyone has crossed paths with a troll on social media, not only do they tend to be irritating, but what’s most impressive is their dedication to cruelty by creating drama and negativity online. You’ve probably wondered, how do these trolls find the time and energy to connect online and feel the need to purposely provoke or attack individuals. It’s difficult to understand their why, and sometimes, to detect it. Most trolls on social media do not have a precise purpose or plan, except for making sure they trap you into a conversation or situation you don’t want to be a part of.

What’s the typical behavior of a troll?

Trolling is essentially posting hateful or inappropriate content that targets others purposely or commenting virulently to someone else’s post. In most cases, trolling reaches a point where it can be considered as online bullying or harassment. They look to get a response, whether it’s forcing a reaction or emotionally affecting you, and then they keep pushing in that direction until it becomes impossible for you to not respond and engage into a never-ending and painful debate.

That type of behavior is difficult to combat and manage for social media platforms, governments and authorities as trolls create multiple accounts a week, jump from one to another with an obviously fake name and no location. For this reason, the trolls feel increasingly powerful and untouchable as they can’t be held accountable for their actions online.

Not all trolls are bad trolls though. Some are just trying to have some fun. They goof around and make jokes that don’t attack anyone. But, they still can be irritating for continuously spamming certain posts, by sharing hundreds of memes a day for instance. 

Being confronted with trolls online every day can end up affecting your self-esteem and mental health, especially if you are directly targeted or criticized by a crowd. Indeed, another typical behavior is to act as a group. Repetition is what can make it unbearable for you to ignore and when it reaches a point where you can’t ignore it any further. Online hate is not only criticisms about your looks, choices or personality. Online hate can include hateful comments about race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, and everything that makes you “you”. 

Long term, it’s tricky to keep a distance mentally with negative and absurd comments. This type of online activity can result in depression, helplessness and anxiety for its victims. That’s why it’s so important not to let trolling last and to address it right away by an adult or specialists that can support you in dealing with the trolls and how you respond to them

There are many resources online, we provide some useful links on our website.

There is no magical solution to remove trolling, of course, and most of the useful tips rely on you to follow them in order to deal with trolls efficiently. But there are a couple of things you can do to protect yourself from these behaviors.

First and foremost, and I know it seems easy to say, but just ignore them. Follow this famous quote, “Silence is better than unnecessary drama”. Don’t play their game, be better than them. The main fuel that feeds their harmful comments is your response. If you become a participant in the conversation, then they will see it as the perfect opportunity to ridicule you until you break. You can also help protect others. If everyone ignored the trolls, then, they would no longer have that entertainment value gained from trolling and they might consider investing their time into something else -- at least that’s our hope for the future.

Another tip is to find the right balance between monitoring your social media accounts to make sure it doesn’t escalate and knowing when to step away. When it becomes overwhelming, just close the app, put your phone away, talk to some of your friends, watch a Netflix show, take care of yourself until the wave of anxiety or potential anger has passed. The good thing about the internet is that there is such a flow of information and messages circulating every day that they will quickly jump into another drama starter and leave you alone. You can safely delete their comments, block them, and move on to a positive mindset right away. In addition, every social media has a support team you can report the trolls to, and of course, if you ever feel threatened, contact the police. 

How To Mute Words and Report on Yubo

Another useful thing to remember is that you can record or screenshot any negative comments or DMs you receive before they get deleted so that you keep actual proof of what happened, which would later be useful to try and catch perpetrators.

Even if their reaction can be unpredictable, before posting anything, look at it twice and make sure you anticipate the kind of replies you might get. Don’t forget you can delete your posts or comments at all times if you have doubts. 

Let’s be honest, despite being an extremely toxic behavior, trolling is harmful! Nowadays, everyone has crossed paths with a troll on social media, not only do they tend to be irritating, but what’s most impressive is their dedication to cruelty by creating drama and negativity online.

Yubo's Take

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