Nextdoor Launches In Australia To Help Aussies Build Deeper Connections With Their Neighbours

October 30, 2018

Half of Aussies only know up to three of their neighbours

7 in 10 want to get to know their neighbours better

Majority of Aussies want to help their neighbours but don’t know who or how to help

Nextdoor, the world’s largest social media network for neighbourhoods and neighbours launches in Australia today to help people connect with their neighbours, feel more engaged in their neighbourhoods and ultimately build stronger and safer communities.

Around the world, neighbours use Nextdoor to get to know other local residents, find local resources, share tips, ask questions, exchange recommendations, list services and sell or give away items.

Unlike other social media platforms, Nextdoor restricts communication to only those people who live close to one another, with neighbourhood posts seen only by other members of your neighbourhood. Only users who are able to verify their identity and home address can sign up.

Nirav Tolia, Co-Founder, Nextdoor said: “Nextdoor is a place where neighbours can take online conversations offline to build deeper connections and stronger communities in the real world. Australians’ local pride, mateship and desire to build deeper relationships with their communities is perfectly aligned with the practical ways our platform enables richer personal connections in real life. We’re incredibly excited to be bringing our platform down under.”

Aussies craving real-world connections

The arrival of Nextdoor comes at a time when Australians are feeling less connected than ever, a feeling fuelled by the breakdown of our once cohesive local neighbourhoods.  Aussies are facing critical issues today such as loneliness, affecting more than half of all Australians, and an increased distrust in the Australian political system, and the ability to connect and build trust with our neighbours and communities has never been more important.

A recent study by Nextdoor into Australians attitudes towards their neighbours revealed that only a quarter of Australians have a really good relationship with their neighbours, with 46% only knowing up to three neighbours by name.

However, almost 7 in 10 [68%] crave stronger relationships with their neighbours to build trust [37%], feel more involved in their neighbourhood [26%] and to know that they have someone to help or support them in times of an emergency [23%].

Asking for help the biggest challenge

Nextdoor’s research also found that while Aussies are keen to build their connections with their neighbours, many are unsure how to go about doing so.

”In a society increasingly driven by digital social networking, Aussies have seemingly forgotten how to forge those all important neighbourly bonds. In fact, our research shows that more than a quarter of Aussies admit that at some point, they’ve needed a helping hand from a neighbour, but haven’t asked for it,” said Nirav Tolia.

The research found that while many Aussies are willing to help out their neighbours 48% don’t know who to help and 38% don’t know how.

  • 2 in 5 [41%] of Aussies agree they could use some help from the neighbours

  • Yet, more than a quarter [27%] of Aussies who admit to needing help say they don’t ask for it

  • 24% are even afraid to ask for help

  • And 39% don’t know where to turn when they do need help

However, help is there for those who ask, with 77% of Aussies willing to invest 2 or more hours a month of their own personal time to helping out in their neighbourhood – the equivalent of one footy match!

Nirav added: “From San Francisco to Sydney, and everywhere in between, building connections and communities is a universal human need. We know from our research that 70% of Aussies are not yet connected to their neighbours online. We look forward to seeing this change over time as Aussies come together on Nextdoor to create deeper real-life connections that help lead to safer and stronger neighbourhoods.”

How to get started on Nextdoor

Neighbours in Australia can download the app or visit nextdoor.com.au and enter their address to locate their neighbourhood. If a Nextdoor neighbourhood has already been started in their area, they can immediately verify and sign up. If a member is registered using a verified address in an area where a neighbourhood has not yet been established, they can easily become the Founding Member and bring Nextdoor to their neighbourhood. All Nextdoor websites are password protected and neighbourhood content and member information cannot be found in Google or other search engines.

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