How to Find People Online and Stay in Touch with Friends and Family
If you want to know how to find people online, you are probably looking for contact information for someone you’ve lost touch with. Maybe you’re searching for long-lost friends from your youth, relatives you’ve never met, or past business associates who might have new opportunities for you.
Whatever the reason, it can be difficult to locate people from your past. Advancements in technology have made us a more mobile society. We move for our jobs, our families, and our personal travels. So how do you find people you’ve grown apart from?
In this article, we’ll show you a number of ways to find someone by just a name. Soon, you’ll be able to get in touch with just about anyone!
Who Can Be Found Online?
Long-Lost Friends
Many of us move away from home at a young age and, as we get older, begin to remember friendships we didn’t have the time to maintain. One major problem that complicates online searches for friends from our youth is that many women get married and change their names. So some of the resources provided in this article will be more accurate than others.
Relatives
In addition to locating long-lost friends, you can conduct an online search to locate family members. DNA test kits have become quite popular. Now that direct-to-consumer genetic testing kits are widely available (and affordable), millions of people have been curious to find out who they really are.
A common misconception about DNA test kits is that the results provide information about your ancestors. In reality, the tests compare your DNA to the DNA of the millions of other consumers who have participated. This means that DNA tests are a good way to find out where you have relatives alive today.
There is a series of steps you can take to find biological relatives from your DNA test results. Once you have a name, you can search for them online to contact them, get more information, and extend your family! (Or maybe you want to find out who a person really is before reaching out!)
Business Associates
If you want to get in touch with someone that you used to work with, you might have to look online especially if you aren’t sure where the person currently works. Or, maybe you come across someone who you’d like to work for or partner with. Look online to find contact information so that you can explore potential business opportunities!
Networked individualism, according to author Barry Wellman, refers to the fact that individuals seek out a variety of people, networks, and resources for help in different situations. Because of the internet, we are no longer dependent on one, limited, local social network.
Online activity is not limited to socializing; it’s also important to seeking information, giving and receiving advice, and making important decisions. Therefore, it’s important to know how to find people. It makes sense to try to stay in contact with past and potential business associates. The more experts you have in your contact list, the more resources you have available to you in any particular time of need.
New Acquaintances
Finding someone online can be a good way to verify someone’s identity. You might want to find out a little bit more about who a person is before getting invested. This is especially important if you use online dating sites.
But no matter where you meet new people, you might want to consider checking them out online just to be safe. Make sure you know what kinds of people you are dealing with before hiring them, dating them, bringing them into your home, etc. If you know how to find people, you are better able to protect yourself, your home, your business, and your loved ones.
What Online Resources are Available to Find People
There are many online resources you can use to find people online. Some of these resources you might have already tried with no luck. Hopefully you will find some ideas here that you haven’t yet considered.
Search Engines
Searching someone’s name using a search engine can be effective if the name is uncommon. Otherwise, you will have to sift through many results and maybe not be completely sure that you have the correct person. However, it’s worth a try, and it doesn’t cost anything.
Social Media
You can also try to search social media. Social Searcher actually makes this really easy. You can enter someone’s phone number or name to find which social media platforms where the subject is present. This is a more focused, specific search than a general search engine search.
Reverse Image Search
If you have a picture of someone, you can try to find information about the subject by conducting a reverse image search. You can use google images or other websites specifically designed to look up images. Results include details of any websites or other images related to the image you are searching.
Public Records
There are a number of databases you can search to find specific information about an individual. For example, if you want to know if someone is married, you can search marriage records. It is completely legal for you to search public records such as alumni websites, death records, marriage records, divorce records, court records, inmate records, etc.
People Search Sites
Finally, there are websites designed specifically for finding people. These people search or people finder websites typically charge a fee for the results. However, the minimal fee is often worth it to guarantee accurate results.
Good, accurate people search sites pay to get access to a number of databases. When you pay for your results, you are actually paying for accurate, verified, up-to-date information. So be wary of “free” people search services.
How to Find People Online Using People Search
People search is a useful tool because you can search using any information you have. Maybe you have a name that you want to verify. Maybe you have a phone number. You can even search using an address.
All you have to do is indicate what information you need, enter the information you have, search, and pay! If no results are available, you are not charged. And there are no subscription or membership fees. This way, you only pay for the data you need when you need it.
Results of people search include name, address, phone number, and email address if available. You could also potentially get a list of aliases, an address history, line type of phone numbers, date of birth, and names of relatives associated with your subject.
If your subject is on the grid, he or she can probably be found online. And as you can see, there is a lot of information you can discover. So whatever your need is for locating someone, you have a number of options.
Reasons to Use People Search
People search is the easiest, quickest, and most accurate way to find people. Manual searches can take time, and depending on how well you know the person, it might be difficult to guarantee accuracy. Free database search services do not pay for updated access, so if you go this route you risk getting out-of-date, incorrect information. With the internet right at your fingertips, it’s easier than ever to stay in touch with friends and family. A quick online search is also a good way to protect yourself from fraudsters and criminals. Whether you need to find people for personal or professional reasons, everything you need is online. Try Searchbug’s people finder today and see for yourself!
