Americans are starting to touch grass again

Younger Americans are increasingly leaning into IRL connections and experiences to combat a widespread loneliness epidemic, showing up in droves to in-person social activities across the country.

There’s a club for that

The number of connection oriented meetups has skyrocketed across the country over the past year, according to data from Eventbrite.

• The biggest gains have been seen in trivia nights (+403%), mahjong gatherings (+235%), birdwatching meetups (+131%), and plant swaps (+117%).
• Puzzle competitions also saw 151% growth over the year-long period ending July 2025, per separate Eventbrite numbers shared with Axios.

Other niche categories seeing surge in interest among younger folks include silent book clubs, birding groups, run clubs, and pottery/craft circles.

The in-person trend also extends to dating. Experiences explicitly using “meet-cute” language have grown 117% in the first half of 2026, as more younger Americans seek a sweet "How'd you meet?" amid growing burnout from traditional dating apps and rising screentime.

Zoom out: Despite the recent uptick, Americans are still spending significantly less time hanging out than they were 20 years ago, a trend that cuts across every generation. Average time spent socializing per day has fallen from 45 to 35 minutes over the last 20 years, with the steepest decline seen among 15-to-24-year-olds (from 1 hour → 35 mins per day).