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When I do a search for internet pen pals, the same few sites come up and when I join them I find that the majority of the people on there are using them just as they would a dating website. I merely want to email or message with people from other English-speaking countries about common interests. I have no desire to meet or skype with them and I am certainly not looking for romance, flirting, or cyber-sex! Can anyone suggest websites I could try that would NOT be misconstrued as dating sites. (I am past middle age and have more common interests with men than women - but this still doesn't mean I'm seeking a relationship)
When I do a search for internet pen pals, the same few sites come up and when I join them I find that the majority of the people on there are using them just as they would a dating website. I merely want to email or message with people from other English-speaking countries about common interests. I have no desire to meet or skype with them and I am certainly not looking for romance, flirting, or cyber-sex! Can anyone suggest websites I could try that would NOT be misconstrued as dating sites. (I am past middle age and have more common interests with men than women - but this still doesn't mean I'm seeking a relationship)
I think you need to approach this differently. Instead of searching for a penpal, search for and join groups that share common interests. The motivation for joining that group is the key but it also provides the common basis for conversation. For example, if you enjoy keeping saltwater fish, find a hobby forum that deals with keeping them. The people you "meet" share that interest, not a vaguely social one. You can weed out the dating/meetup aspects. Someone there may well end up becoming a penpal over time. This has worked for me. I have a couple of penpals overseas that I know I'll probably never meet in person, but over the years what started out as a simple interest became a great friendship.
Penpals were originally via letters, of course. There was something intriguing and romantic (in the non-sexual sense) about connecting with a strangers, especially if it was in a distant country you might never see, and when that country's lifestyle might be completely alien. I suppose that magic is now gone. We can easily know more about countries, via the internet, and emails have erased the time-lag that had people longing for letters.
You don't mention the websites you tried, but these days I suspect, as Allison says, that common interests would send people to specialized forums, not to penpals. If you're interested in poodles or ballet or scuba-diving, I imagine there are specialized forums for all of that.
When I do a search for internet pen pals, the same few sites come up and when I join them I find that the majority of the people on there are using them just as they would a dating website. I merely want to email or message with people from other English-speaking countries about common interests. I have no desire to meet or skype with them and I am certainly not looking for romance, flirting, or cyber-sex! Can anyone suggest websites I could try that would NOT be misconstrued as dating sites. (I am past middle age and have more common interests with men than women - but this still doesn't mean I'm seeking a relationship)
You might try for-real pen pals...people who write actual letters on paper and send them via the post office. There's very little of that flirting nonsense going on.
When I do a search for internet pen pals, the same few sites come up and when I join them I find that the majority of the people on there are using them just as they would a dating website. I merely want to email or message with people from other English-speaking countries about common interests. I have no desire to meet or skype with them and I am certainly not looking for romance, flirting, or cyber-sex! Can anyone suggest websites I could try that would NOT be misconstrued as dating sites. (I am past middle age and have more common interests with men than women - but this still doesn't mean I'm seeking a relationship)
I have a cyber pen pal. I wasn’t looking for one, but we met on an online forum and then we started sending each other direct messages. We write each other almost every day, and I always look forward to her messages. I have had cyber pen pals in the past, and I didn’t go looking for them either. We just bonded over a shared interest and probably met on a website/forum about that topic.
Nowadays everyone is suspicious of others, especially on the internet.
Don't take it personally. People might think you are trying to sell something
or a scam or foreigner or do not want to spend the time writing. I'd like to find a cyber
pal for my hobby. I have given up.
. Years ago I found two people in Canada
who wrote me very long nice letters (not romantic) then they stopped.
umm...make a thread here asking to be your pen pal. I'm sure you can find a few here
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