The Shyness & Social Anxiety Workbook
222MEETING NEW PEOPLE, MAKING FRIENDS,  
AND DATING
This section describes ways of improving the skills that are important for meeting 
new people and developing new relationships. The topics covered include suggestions 
for where to meet new people and ways to deal with certain stresses associated with 
 developing relationships, such as the possibility of being rejected.
Places to Meet New People
In a survey of more than 3,000 Americans, Laumann, Gagnon, Michael, and Michaels 
(1994) studied the ways and places in which people meet. Among married people, the 
ways that individuals met their spouses are shown by percentages as follows:
Way of Meeting     Percent*
Introduction by a friend    35%
Introduction by self    32%
Introduction by a family member   15%
Introduction by a coworker     6%
Introduction by a classmate      6%
Introduction by someone else    2%
Introduction by a neighbor     1%
*Note: The numbers do not add up to 100 percent because a small number of people gave multiple 
answers.
In the same survey, the places where married individuals met their spouses were 
broken down into percentages as follows:
Location of Meeting    Percent
School      23%
Work      15%
Party      10%
Place of worship (e.g., church)    8%
Bar        8%
Gym or social club      4%
Personal ad       1%
Vacation       1%
Elsewhere      30%