It’s an inevitable fact of life that in simply getting on with our own lives, we lose touch with many of the people we’ve known in our past, be they family, friends or one-time work colleagues. 

Perhaps you’ve had moments when the memory of someone you used to know just popped into your mind. That close childhood friend you had so much fun with. Your best mate at uni. A work colleague you got on so well with. The lovely couple you met on holiday. And there you are, wondering ‘Whatever happened to them?’, recalling the good times you had together, curious about how it would be to hear from them again.

Well, thanks to the internet, you have at your fingertips, an easy way to do just that from the comfort of your favourite armchair.

How to find old friends using the internet.

Social media sites, or platforms as they’re known in the tech trade, have opened up an entire world of easy ways to search for, and connect with, people we once knew. You may already be familiar with sites like Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn, but even if you’re not, they’re pretty user-friendly.

Let’s start with Facebook.

Here you can look for people using the ‘search for friends’ tab. Once you’ve entered all the details you have for someone, Facebook will look for attributes such as mutual friends, location and workplaces. 

If you have no joy with the name, your friend may have ‘liked’ interest groups or organisations. Maybe the person you’re searching for has an active profile on one or more of these sites.

It could be that the person you’re looking for changed their surname by marriage, but might still share their maiden name on a site.

LinkedIn.

This is a good place to search for people you used to work with using their employment history. Log in and start by searching using the companies that, to your knowledge, your friend has worked for. Enter their name in the search bar at the top of the page, then select the person from the suggestions or click see all results. You can also use filters to narrow down your search such as the person’s job title or a specific role, find people in a specific geographic area, industry or specific sector.  

And of course, there’s Google.

There could be all kinds of reasons why the person you’re searching for comes up on Google, so start by searching using information you have about them. Try the address you had for them and the job they had. Perhaps their name has been linked with an organisation, a social or sporting event or a piece of news. It could be something seemingly insignificant.

Or you may be able to find them through their children who have the same surname. (Remember to put individual search terms in quotation marks.)

How to reconnect with old friends without it being awkward.

If you do manage to find the person you’re searching for, be aware that we all change over time, often without realising it. Whatever you remember of your relationship from years gone by, there’s just a chance that an old friend might now seem like a stranger to begin with.

With this in mind, the best way to overcome any initial awkwardness is gently. Let them know how pleased you are to find them again. Show a genuine interest in what they have to say, and perhaps recall a happy shared memory.  

Reconnecting via the internet means you can take things at your own pace and savour the pleasure of your reunion.