@Sparrow It's terribly hard work. I have found friends in the last years via common interests, e.g. over at birdsite or here on Mastodon. Also, I've worked to deepen the connection w/ ppl I knew when I noticed we "clicked". Sometimes it worked out, sometimes it didn't.
Also I made some friends that formerly were friends of friends. That's generally the easiest way, I think. If it's available.
That makes sense.
Making friends through common interests or hobbies seems like a good choice, because then at the very least you're doing something enjoyable.
Friends of friends have panned out well in the past, but that still takes a lot of work in terms of planning or going to regular social meetings. Not impossible to do, just a lot of work to plan for.
My ability to make friends on the internet has varied over the years. From age 11-15 I met loads of friends online, but for 16-24 most of my time has been spent offline. Lately I'm picking up those skills again.
Being based in the bay area helps. There tend to be a lot of queer geeks based in this area. I just need to meet them. :P