Birding, silent book club, Mahjong and more: America's meetup explosion
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Axios
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Americans, particularly millennials and Gen Z, are abandoning their screens and gathering in person for activities from birdwatching to silent book clubs, driven by a widespread loneliness crisis. Event platforms report staggering growth in in-person meetups focused on soft socializing and genuine human connection.
Birding, silent book club, Mahjong and more: America's meetup explosion
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*Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Stock: Getty Images*
Young people raised on swiping, DMing and streaming are doing something bold: going out.
**Why it matters:** Amid a loneliness epidemic, millennials and Gen Zers are craving IRL connection — enough to show up for meetups built around activities once considered solitary, or "grandma hobbies."
**The latest:** They're leaving the house to play chess, birdwatch and read in silence together.
* "It's very easy to sit inside and rot just by yourself," Cole Robinson, president of the Audubon on Campus Trinity University chapter, tells Axios San Antonio.
* But activities like birding can help you "feel a little less lonely," the 20-year-old says.
**"Soft socializing"** experiences — where you're with other people but networking is not the main focus — have taken off, per Eventbrite.
**By the numbers:** There were 151% more puzzle competitions from August 2024 to July 2025, compared to the preceding 12 months, according to Eventbrite numbers (separate from the below "singles" data) shared with Axios.
* And mahjong\-focused events are up 94% earlier this year compared to last, according to Evite data shared with Axios.
*Data: Eventbrite; Chart: Brad Jennings/Axios; Note: U.S. Eventbrite data for in-person, publicly listed events including connection-oriented language in their descriptions.*
**The big picture:** The trend extends to finding love, too. Americans are seeking romantic connection at so-called "meet-cute" events — settings meant to spark a sweet "How'd you meet?" story, away from apps.
* The meetups can revolve around trivia, Powerpoint presentations, crafts and even exercise.
**Meanwhile,** platonic dinner parties with strangers have also gained traction.
* Axios just launched our own dinner series, bringing readers together for our new Axios Social Club starting in Charlotte, Chicago, Kansas City and San Antonio.
**"Everybody's been stuck** behind their phones for the past two decades, and it's not good for humanity," writer Stuart Schuffman — who recently launched an IRL dinner club for his Broke-Ass Stuart readers — tells Axios San Francisco.
* People "want more connection and less doomscrolling," he says.
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4 hours ago - Health
America's meetup explosion
* Carly Mallenbaum
*
*
*
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see more of our stories on Google.
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!Illustration of a bunch of navigation icons exploding out from the center of the image.
*Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Stock: Getty Images*
Young people raised on swiping, DMing and streaming are doing something bold: going out.
**Why it matters:** Amid a loneliness epidemic, millennials and Gen Zers are craving IRL connection — enough to show up for meetups built around activities once considered solitary, or "grandma hobbies."
**The latest:** They're leaving the house to play chess, birdwatch and read in silence together.
* "It's very easy to sit inside and rot just by yourself," Cole Robinson, president of the Audubon on Campus Trinity University chapter, tells Axios San Antonio.
* But activities like birding can help you "feel a little less lonely," the 20-year-old says.
**"Soft socializing"** experiences — where you're with other people but networking is not the main focus — have taken off, per Eventbrite.
**By the numbers:** There were 151% more puzzle competitions from August 2024 to July 2025, compared to the preceding 12 months, according to Eventbrite numbers (separate from the below "singles" data) shared with Axios.
* And mahjong\-focused events are up 94% earlier this year compared to last, according to Evite data shared with Axios.
*Data: Eventbrite; Chart: Brad Jennings/Axios; Note: U.S. Eventbrite data for in-person, publicly listed events including connection-oriented language in their descriptions.*
**The big picture:** The trend extends to finding love, too. Americans are seeking romantic connection at so-called "meet-cute" events — settings meant to spark a sweet "How'd you meet?" story, away from apps.
* The meetups can revolve around trivia, Powerpoint presentations, crafts and even exercise.
**Meanwhile,** platonic dinner parties with strangers have also gained traction.
* Axios just launched our own dinner series, bringing readers together for our new Axios Social Club starting in Charlotte, Chicago, Kansas City and San Antonio.
**"Everybody's been stuck** behind their phones for the past two decades, and it's not good for humanity," writer Stuart Schuffman — who recently launched an IRL dinner club for his Broke-Ass Stuart readers — tells Axios San Francisco.
* People "want more connection and less doomscrolling," he says.
*
*
*
Add Axios on Google
What to read next
*
*
*
*
*
*
Smarter, faster on what matters.
Explore Axios Newsletters
* About Axios
* Advertise with us
* Careers
* Contact us
* Newsletters
* Axios Live
* Axios HQ
* Privacy policy
* Terms of use
*
Axios Homepage
Axios Media Inc., 2026
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Tags:#التواصل الاجتماعي#الصحة النفسية#الوحدة والعزلة#أسلوب الحياة#الاتجاهات الثقافية#الشباب الأمريكي
Source: Axios
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