A recent study figured out a simple trick for making more friends online. You just have to do one thing: Join as many groups as possible.

Computer scientists at Rice University went through a bunch of data from sites like Facebook and Instagram. And after all their number crunching, the answer was just that simple. The more “groups” within a social media platform you join, the more friends you’ll make. And if the groups are about things you’re interested in, you’ll make even stronger connections.

If you’re just going for pure volume, the type of group you join doesn’t really matter.
You could join a Facebook fan club for the band Menudo even if you hate them, and your friend count should go up as long as you’re somewhat active in the group. But choosing topics you’re interested in makes more sense, obviously. Because when you get involved with something you’re interested in, you tend to meet people with similar interests.

So get those numbers up and join, join, join, join!