I’ve used HelloTalk years ago when I was learning Russian. I thought it was a great resource because there were tons of people seriously learning English and also very interested in making English speaking friends. Switching my language to Japanese however has been a different story.
I don’t ever get DMs from people randomly, and the ones I reach out to have been seemingly uninterested in language exchange or making new friends. I don’t even get that much engagement when I ask questions or write a new post. I don’t know if I’m doing something wrong (maybe I’m being too forward and weird)? I’m a guy and have stuck to PMing other dudes because I figure most woman already have a full message queue. Maybe I’m a bit too old for the app considering that I’m getting pretty close to 30 (man that’s weird to say)? Maybe the app has just changed in the years that have passed. I really don’t know.
2 comments
The app favors vip subscribers
I used it a year ago. Still have it but haven’t used it in a while.
Make sure you’re posting in the right category. I got heaps of replies in some and not other categories. And also heaps of messages. I even had to put on my account that I’m not looking for friends or conversation because people wanted it.
Comparatively with other languages? Japanese people don’t really say hi in the street out of courtesy to not annoy you or something. Could it be similar? A cultural difference to not annoy you with a message? Just brainstorming.
Where are you from? I’m in Australia so basically same time zone. Obviously less people will reply or see it if you’re posting in the middle of the night. By the time it’s morning all the same time zone messages flood out the overnight ones.