Timeleft: Connecting People or Capitalising on Loneliness?

by Carmen Gray

Every Wednesday, in 300 cities across 60 countries, thousands of strangers sit down to dinner. These 20,000 strangers each week are coordinating through one app; Timeleft. From Ireland to Indonesia, this midweek social experiment is attempting to redefine and aid how we connect in an increasingly digital world. The app works similarly to a dating app; you answer a short personality quiz and are then matched with a group of seemingly compatible strangers, with whom you meet for dinner in your chosen city. The app has two locations in Ireland, Dublin and Cork, as well as many throughout England and Scotland.

Upon reading, I found myself conflicted. Is this resource a valuable addition to the lack of connection in an increasingly lonely digital world? Or, perhaps, a sad indication of the state of communication and compatibility in young people?

The demographic for the app is one consideration. The website claims a diverse range of ages and personalities but notes that the app does have a female dominance, with 60% of participants being female. Other than the gender gap, it is likely there will also be a generational gap, with young people dominating. 

To investigate further, I decided to take the personality test myself. The questions were quite varied. Many were expected questions- introverted or extroverted, religious or atheist, family views. Others felt oddly specific; one in particular asked if participants were comfortable with ‘politically incorrect humour’. Whether this was an issue they thought of in advance, or perhaps a question added in the face of a small disaster is unclear. Either way, the app claimed 96% of its participants were compatible with my answers.

The positive implications of the app are clear. People’s opinions and interests are becoming increasingly diversified, particularly due to social media exposure. Bringing together people of similar ages, who share similar beliefs and goals, could lead to increasingly necessary social connections. In 2023 it emerged that Ireland has been defined as the ‘loneliest country in Europe’ (Mulgrew, 2023), with over 20% of study respondents feeling lonely ‘all or most of the time’. The issue of loneliness can be attributed to many modern developments such as the reduction of community spaces, increasing time spent indoors for young people and even ripple effects of the pandemic.

However, there are some considerably negative implications which we can take from the existence of an app like this. Firstly, the app operates similarly to a dating app, and the general consensus on dating apps is not positive. Studies show that over half of people have a negative opinion on dating apps (Giltin, 2024). Whilst the app does differentiate itself from dating apps in some ways, the most basic aspect of connecting people based on algorithmic similarities remains the same. 

The more notable negative aspect of the app is the financial implications. A ticket to a single dinner group in Dublin it costs €14.99, before considering the cost of the dinner. A subscription service of €62.99 for 6 months is also on offer. Obviously, apps rely on money to continue operating, and expecting everything to be free of charge seems unrealistic. On the other hand, it’s hard to imagine many people being eager to spend €15 just for the chance to meet five strangers before dinner. Minimum wage in Ireland for those aged 18 is €10.80/hour (Vidyashree Nagaraju, 2025), implying that an 18-year-old would need to work for an hour and a half simply to afford the ticket to attend. The cost therefore may alienate many groups most vulnerable to loneliness, such as students, elderly people and minimum wage workers. 

While the app is free to brand itself as it chooses, it does send the implication that meaningful friendship as a luxury which can be bought.

My initial question of whether Timeleft is a sad indictment of the modern world seems to ring true. The app highlights two troubling trends: firstly, our increasing inability to connect with each other. The success of Timeleft speaks for itself, and in this way, the app’s contributions are undeniably positive. Its attempt to combat loneliness is both important and necessary in our disconnected world. However, the second trend is more concerning- the commercialisation of loneliness. Rather than fostering natural, healthy friendships, apps like Timeleft may unintentionally turn loneliness into yet another consumer experience driven by financial status and algorithmic popularity, further distancing us from the authentic human connection we are so clearly missing.

Sources:

Giltin, J. (2024). Dating apps are common, useful—and widely disliked. [online] SurveyMonkey. Available at: https://uk.surveymonkey.com/curiosity/dating-apps-and-sites-are-almost-as-common-as-they-are-disliked/.

Mulgrew, S. (2023). Ireland has the highest levels of loneliness in Europe, new study finds. [online] Independent.ie. Available at: https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/ireland-has-the-highest-levels-of-loneliness-in-europe-new-study-finds/a1717927937.html.

Vidyashree Nagaraju (2025). National Minimum Wage Update: New Rates Effective from 1 January 2025 – MRCI. [online] MRCI. Available at: https://www.mrci.ie/2025/01/06/national-minimum-wage-update-new-rates-effective-from-1-january-2025/.