Parties without alcohol and new friendships. This is how Generation Z is having fun in 2026
Last year, friendship apps and meetup groups experienced a surge in popularity. People had fun at afternoon club parties in cafes, coffee and swimming sessions, group dance classes, running clubs and churches aimed at the Zillennial generation.
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Being offline is the new luxury
The hunger and need for deeper meaning and deeper relationships are real
says Andrew Roth, founder of Offline, a platform that helps people find live communities and connect with brands to co-host or participate in events.
Those who want to get out of the house and meet new people are looking for new ways to do so – other than late nights at bars. Mike Vosters, founder of Matinee Social Club, which organizes at iconic New York clubs such as Joyface and Mr. Purple, which starts and ends early for people in their 30s, says one of the problems with traditional clubbing is that “nightlife is generally promoted in a very shallow way.”
Long lines, late hours, tables with bottles and the need to look good create an atmosphere of exclusivity, but also intimidate people. For people in their 30s, knowing they can buy a ticket, dance among their peers and go home early makes events more inclusive — and Matinee currently hosts about three events each weekend. “Nightlife is not dead at all,” says Vosters. “I just think it needs to change.”
Laura Baginski runs a similar venture, Earlybirds Club, a 6-10 p.m. dance party that typically attracts women, queer, trans and non-binary people ages 35-55. Most events across the country in January have already sold out. Early starts and early finishes not only mean less alcohol and a full eight hours of sleep — the events are also designed as a safe space to meet new people, Baginski says. “Going alone doesn't seem strange, everyone is very open,” he adds. “There's something about dancing that really releases tension and stress and allows you to connect with people in a different way than just sitting at a table and talking.”
We all need to start relearning how to be social beings
— Brigette Polster, 31 years old
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The gym as a way to date and make friends
Sweatpals, an app that lets you find workouts and connect with other gym enthusiasts, is also benefiting from the growing need for both fitness and friendship. The app has raised $16 million and connects people with events in more than a dozen cities.
They look at it as a way to date, a way to meet people — not just exercise
– says Salar Shahini, founder of Sweatpals. “Before COVID, everything was moving towards YouTube workouts. Now it's the opposite. It's very social, social, and people are less interested in drinking.”
Young people give up alcohol. Does this promote social isolation?
In 2025, 22 percent U.S. adults said they would participate in Dry January, according to a Morning Consult poll — a record. Generation Z already drinks less than older generations year-round. One in five adults under 35 were interested in alcohol-free events, according to a 2025 Eventbrite report.
Companies such as Sweatpals or Coffee and Chill (a social club based on winter swimming) present a new way of spending time, consistent with the “sober-curious” values of Generation Z. This is a stark contrast to what some older commentators see as a cure for loneliness. Scott Galloway, author of Notes on Being a Man, believes that “the worst thing that has ever happened to young people is the anti-alcohol movement,” as he recently told Bill Maher. “The risk to a 25-year-old's liver is nothing compared to the risk of social isolation. Go out, drink more and make a series of bad decisions that could pay off.” But that advice doesn't resonate with many Gen Zers. “Social fitness is the new social currency,” says Brian Cho, co-founder of Patron, the VC fund that invested in Sweatpals.
People expect more from their outings. There is Lectures on Tap, an initiative that invites professors and experts to give lectures in bars. Book clubs moved from living rooms to bars and parties. A philosophy club sparks debates about objective truth and animal hierarchy in New York bars. Andrew Yeung, founder of Fibe, a think tank and networking community in the tech industry, believes people in their mid-to-late 20s miss some of the college experience they lost during the pandemic.
They want to participate in a completely new category of recreational events that allow them to develop intellectual curiosity and learn new things
Yeung says.
Young people are looking for a way to meet new people. And they are not alone in this
Luke Evans, a 33-year-old who runs a toy and game company, felt a new kind of loneliness after moving from London to the city in 2025. He signed up for improv classes to meet people and set a goal to try something new every month in 2026. He's considering a book club, a hiking club, and archery.
The stigma associated with admitting to loneliness has diminished—perhaps because of the growing attention paid to the topic. When Evans opened up in improv class, he discovered that “everyone was in the same situation. Everyone was relieved that they weren't the only ones who felt this way,” he says. “People are actually hungry to talk about it.”
Brigette Polster, 31, has made a resolution for 2026: no dating apps. She focuses on going out alone to bars and restaurants and meeting people through her hobbies, such as horse riding, fly fishing and training. She also wants to have single friends, so she founded the Single Girls Night Out group. In just a month, she gained 1,500 followers on the club's Instagram and organized meetings in New Jersey and Florida. “We all have to start relearning how to be social beings,” Polster says.
Amanda Hoover is Business Insider's senior technology correspondent. He writes about the largest technology companies and trends.
The above text is a translation from American edition of Business Insider
