Meetup and Offline Club: Growing a Local Initiative to Address the Loneliness of the 21st Century with Cellular Phones
The demand for real-world interactions is growing due to societal challenges that include the increasing awareness of the adverse effects of time spent on screens, and the loneliness epidemic. Recent research by Gallup showed that 80 percent of young people under the age of 18 report feeling lonely, with 22 percent saying they have no real friends. Zero. Twelve percent of adults admitted to having no close friends in 2021, compared to just 3 percent 30 years ago. A cry of loneliness is heard in these statistics. People don’t just want followers anymore; they want real friendships.
We are reaching toward things that knit us back into the social fabric of local life. A new study by the National Lottery Community Fund shows that half of UK adults intend to participate in local volunteering activities in a few years. They say it’s important to them to be in a local community.
Meetup, the global platform that enables over 60 million people to use the internet to get off the internet and meet up in the real world, had a 19 percent rise in registrations in 2023. The latest measurement report showed that the number one reason people use the platform is to find meaningful connections in person. “Friends” is the most popular search term for events, and “Book Club” is back in the top 10.
Comedy clubs, arenas, clubs, and schools are partners in the US with Yondr to organize phone-free events. Jack White, Bob Dylan, Garth Brooks, John Mayer, Madonna, and Adele have all implemented cell phone bans at their concerts so they could stop looking out at a sea of blinking smartphones, and to help the audience to connect by disconnecting.
A group of people sit in a cafe with plush sofas and bright lighting while they play board games. There is something not visible. There is not a single phone in sight. An Offline Club event is one where members pay around $8.00 to leave their phone in a lock box and not use it for a period of time. Demand is growing quickly. The local initiative started as a local event, but has quickly grown into a global one with regular events hosted in cafés, churches, and town halls across the UK,Denmark and the Netherlands.
One More Hour: Fostering Real-Life Connections During the World by Joining a Surf Group, an Art Collective, and a Moviemaking Club
But the emotional risk was worth it, she says. The surf group was a lot of fun to be in. She felt seen by the other people in it. It felt meaningful that the instructors remembered her name.
Mendez participated in one such club, called Intersxtn Surf — a group for women of color who surf together. “I was beyond nervous the first time,” says Mendez.
This year, Hinge invested $1 million in 40 groups that meet in person in cities including Atlanta, Los Angeles, and New York. The list includes an art collective, a filmmaking club and a group that gathers to read together.
The two organizations partnered on an effort to foster real-life connections — of any kind, not just romantic. One More Hour was named after the surgeon general’s emphasis on the need to spend time with friends. Racoosin says it’s unrealistic to plan for a return to a society where people aren’t absorbed in their phones or working remotely. Yet even a small amount of time spent in real life can make a big difference for young people.
They decided to work with the Foundation for Social Connection because of it’s research and policy work to address social isolation. The group had also been studying this demographic. “We were seeing the reduction of things like social groups, clubs, engagement in clubs, third spaces for people to gather and other things,” said the executive director of the foundation.
Hinge’s concern is not just altruistic. People are more successful at dating if they have other meaningful relationships in their life, according to the company. Those who don’t have strong social circles, Penny says, end up bringing long checklists of needs to a potential partner. It can be hard to make a relationship work.
When the surgeon general issued a 2023 warning on the epidemic of loneliness and social isolation, one fact stood out: People between the ages of 15-24 spend 70% less time in person with friends than those of the same age did in 2003. This difference can reduce hours by over 1000 per year.
Genesy wasn’t sure what to do when it came to socializing as a child. The pandemic compounded things, and the 29-year-old elementary school teacher says she felt out of practice around making friends.
The surfing group has helped her make new friends. Now she spends time with these friends outside of surfing. Her success inspired her to join a running group, and she met a man she’s dating now — not a surfer.
Source: How to solve the Gen Z social isolation problem? She tried surfing and it worked
One More Hour: What Have They Learned and How Can They Help Us? A Conversation with Penny and Sherra on “One More Hour”
It’s unclear the extent to which Hinge’s efforts will pay off. There are far more members of Generation Z than they can reach. One more hour is an attempt to surface lessons learned in order to help mitigate a unique problem to this younger generation.
In an effort to evaluate the efficacy of One More Hour, Hinge polled participants about their biggest challenges in engaging in groups like these. Cost and time were both issues, but Penny says the biggest concern was around the emotional barriers — questions like ‘What if I don’t fit in?’ ‘ What if I don’t find what I’m looking for?’ In-person socializing requires different skills than online socializing, and this generation is simply out of shape, according toPenny. They just have to build some muscles.
