Finding former classmates online has become a popular trend in the past decade as people look to reconnect with old friends and reminisce about their school days. With social media and other online platforms constantly being updated and having new users, it is now easier than ever to track down long-lost classmates.
Linking up together and catching up on old times is extremely simple as you no longer have to track people the old-fashioned way. That being said, you should keep a few things in mind when searching for former classmates online. You will need to know some degree of information to get started. Here is how you can find your old classmates using the internet.
Platform identification
The first crucial step in finding former classmates online is identifying the platforms they are most likely to use. You can typically avoid lesser-known social media as they will likely not use them. Some popular social media sites for connecting with old friends include Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
If you are capable enough, you can even find them on Snapchat. It is a good idea to start your search by creating an account on one or more of these platforms and searching for your classmates by name, school, or location.
Details
You need to know the full name, location, and any other identifying information about the classmates you are searching for.
This information can help you narrow your search results and increase the chances of finding the right person. With the vast amount of online information, it can be easy to become overwhelmed and miss important details that could lead to finding the person you are looking for.
However, if you only know your classmates’ names, it is a good idea to use people search sites. Some examples are Nuwber, TruthFinder, and PeopleFinders. All you need to do is enter a person’s full name in the search bar, and you will see whether there is information about them or you will need to find other methods.
By having as much relevant information about your classmates as possible, you can focus your search and avoid sifting through countless irrelevant results. This also leads to our next step.
How should you put this information to use
If you have all this information at your fingertips, you need to ensure you can use it as efficiently as possible. In this section, we will go in-depth on the best way you can utilize the information you have.
Legal Name
Most social media platforms will have a search bar that you can use to find your old, out-of-touch friends. Having the full name is one of the most effective ways to find someone online. You may be able to find your classmates by searching for their names and other relevant information. You can send them a friend request or a message to reconnect if you find them.
This is a straightforward way to begin your search. You can also use a search engine like Google or Bing to search for your friend’s full name. Try adding other relevant information, such as their location, school, or workplace, to narrow down the results; however, they can also be used differently. Note that many people may have similar names, so you must ensure that you have found the right person.
Town, Country & Address
If you remember the town you grew up in together, you can also use that as a search point on Facebook or any other social media site. Upon searching for the name of the friend you are looking for, you will likely find dozens of people with the same name. You can easily filter out all irrelevant people by using the name of the town and the country. You can also use their house address if you know it to search for them.
Verification
With the information you have obtained, you now need to verify the identity of your potential match. You can check their profile picture, personal information, and any other data they have shared online. You can also use tools like Google Images to search for additional information.
Checking their profile can help make sure that you have the right person. This step is important, as you don’t want to reach out to the wrong person. Here are a few pieces of information you can use to verify that the person you have found is your classmate.
School
Once you have their general location down and have a candidate, you can use the school that you attended together. Websites like LinkedIn have dedicated sections where they place a person’s school or work history.
You can use this to your advantage to confirm if you both attended the same place of education. You can also see the time period they attended that specific school. This can be even more helpful as you can cross reference whether or not you both were there at the same time.
Photo comparisons
If you have an old photo, you can compare it to their profile picture and see if they are the same person. Note that this may not be very fruitful as they may have changed drastically if you have not met them for very long. If it has been only a few years, this is a great way to check if you have found the right person. If it has been longer, it may be better to stick to text-based information.
Knowing additional information about your former classmates is crucial when trying to find them online. It helps narrow search results, verifies identity, and makes it easier to reconnect with the people you studied together. So, before you start your search, be sure to gather all the relevant information about the people you need and take the time to verify their identity. But if you only know your classmates’ names, there are people who search websites that can help you.
Your former classmates will appreciate your efforts. If you do find at least some of them, you will be able to reconnect with the rest. It might also be a good idea to gather all together and recall good old school days.