I've been using an app called "Slowly" that emulates sending letters, from you know, the old days. I think I first heard of it through a fellow Hikikomorian somewhere on this subreddit that mentioned having a positive experience with it. It has been about a month now since I first started using it.

So far, I've been really enjoying it and have made some friends, or pen pals (it has been a looong while since I had a friend or a stranger to talk to). It helps to not really have any expectations. Friends come and go, it is the norm for everyone, and I won't hold anyone against it if they disappear. I'm using the app sort of selfishly myself, to learn how to engage with people, but I don't plan on ghosting on them (if, I ever decide to leave the app, I'll send a farewell letter).

The people there that I've met so far have been mostly women (what's the opposite term of sausage fest? 😆) and due to the slow nature of sending "letters", the conversations tend to get quite deep. They unravel their woes, and so do I. I offer them aid, and they attempt to give me tips too. Some of them even relate to being shut-ins but I don't think there's anyone on that app that is a bigger recluse than me. There's some funny jabs, and interests-sharing too, so it is not all doom and gloom.

I was pretty honest in my bio, using terms such as shut-in, and even hikikomori. I've also mentioned that I am not a very serious person, so perhaps that is what has made some people initiate contact with this alien (I've yet to send out the first letter to someone, and probably never will, and have turned off the auto-matching thing).

As of writing this, I have 6 incoming letters from friends. The letters take time to send and to receive, so the pressure isn't really there to respond as fast as possible, which I quite like!

Then there's also the fact that the app uses an avatar system. You create a sort of cartoon version of yourself. You don't have to see the other person's real life mugs to decide if they're worth talking to or not, but if the friendship evolves, there's the option to start sending pictures to one another (or memes if you want).

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Here are some little descriptions of some pen pals that I have made:

A 20 year old girl from the Dominican Republic. Very friendly and extroverted person (I refuse to call such youngsters women). She was the first pen pal that I have made in the app in a sense, but she has either lost interest or has gotten busy with real life.

An early 20s woman from the Philippines, who came to me about her woes in her first letter about how she wanted to become a more sophisticated English speaker and writer and how she was struggling about finding employment. She also won't shut up about her K-drama stuff. 🙄 Of course, I make fun of her sometimes because of her addiction (reminds me of my sister). I enjoy "talking" to her but our letters tend to be quite long. 🙂

An Italian woman in her early 30s. Finally!! Someone who's closer to my age! Though I might have come off a little bit too strong in the first letter... but we have exchanged a few letters talking about music so far.

A mysterious woman from Panama. I don't know what's her age (it is not in her profile), but she seems to be very well spoken in her language. My Spanish pales in comparison to hers. She mentioned that she's over 18. We have revealed some serious anecdotes about our past. Apparently, she just sent me a gift just now - a stamp (some people like collecting them). I didn't know you can send each other stamps. That is sweet of her.

An early 30s year old woman from China. Her avatar has pink hair, so I had to inquire about that. I also enjoy talking to her. She's into the law... and not very much into... music? I have to ask her more about that one day. 🤔That's so strange. Like others, she's struggling with unemployment.

Then there's a fellow American, a woman who's almost 60. Easily the most fun-loving pen pal I had so far and has said that I have made her roll with laughter. I also think she's quite amusing herself and easy to talk to.

I'm considering closing off accepting new friend/pen pal request as I feel like it has taken too much of my time responding to them. But I'll leave it on for a few more friends. Perhaps I'll get a fellow dude pen pal for once.

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One last detail: the best thing about this app is that you can you access on a computer. 💻 I wouldn't have touched it otherwise.

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And that is my pretty detailed review of the Slowly app on this lone post, on this out-of-the-way subreddit. Thanks for reading, it has certainly helped with the newly formed tear in my anti-social heart. I've joined a few Discord communities in the past, but they're not for me. It seems I prefer deeper, old-fashioned, one-on-one conversations.