ICYMI, Gen Z is lonely af. How else could you explain us losing our minds over clubs that make you run, sweat and pant, all for a small chance at an IRL connection? Nobody loves running that much (IMO, which I get is not everyone’s opinion — some of y’all are run club freaks). According to researchers and journos the world over, Gen Z aren’t dating, having sex or making friends, and are abandoning the digital platforms that promised to solve these exact issues. And that’s a problem.
Does this mean we should all just succumb to our fates and join a run club, despite hating running? Surely not.
Especially considering 73% of Gen Z report feeling lonely some or all of the time, compounded by the frightening fact that prolonged social isolation increases your risk of early death by 32% (!!), I think we can and should do better than that. If we want to meet new people (potentially even someone we’d like to date) and avoid feeling isolated, we need to start creating opportunities IRL to bring different people from our lives together.
Enter: your hosting era.
Why hosting is the cure to digital era loneliness
Contrary to the increasingly popular sentiment across social media in recent years, it turns out that protecting your peace at all costs may not, in fact, be the most conducive path to happiness. We may be increasingly sober curious, more proudly introverted and spend our Saturday mornings in therapy rather than with our heads in the toilet, but the fact remains that we’re still more depressed than ever.
If the 1920s were the age of hedonistic, roaring parties, then the 2020s are shaping up to be the age of isolated brain rot.
All of which would be fine if it weren’t for, you know, all the depression. Which is precisely what some particularly tuned-in members of Gen Z have clocked on to and are beginning to push against by leaning back into the social clubs and parties of the past, if slightly reimagined.
This ranges from the reemergence of book clubs and regular dinner parties to new kinds of hobby based clubs, such as craft nights, swim clubs and apartment cafes. Slowly but surely, they’re clawing their way back to the sense of community that we evidently communally forgot and left in the 20th century.
One such club is Freshie Sunrise Swims, which hosts weekly morning swims (duh), followed by a coffee catch-up at Sydney’s Freshwater Beach for anyone who wants to join. Founded by Sarah Torrington in 2023, it has quickly grown into a huge community of regular and visiting members.
“The turn out has surprised me massively! The first humble swim was me, a couple of friends, and my parents (forcibly). Now we get 50+ people most weeks…” Sarah told PEDESTRIAN.TV.
When I ask what spurred her on to start a community like this, she says: “I started FSS as a way for people to connect with the community, which was open to absolutely everyone. No prerequisite to run, surf etc, like some other social clubs around, with Freshie Sunrise Swims you can just turn up as you are and become part of the community.”
Sarah’s hunch — that there was a demand for low stakes ways to connect — turned out to be right on the money, with people flocking to join. While some people join the swim club because they already know someone in it, most join completely solo, just looking to meet new people.
“People get totally out of their comfort zones to turn up to this big group all by themselves — it really goes to show that there’s a need for community and connection, and people are willing to join FSS even if it’s new and scary,” Sarah explains.
Clubs and communities like these are so valuable, and yet their existence is reflective of the growing distance between ourselves and those around us. Sarah points out that among her members a big chunk are recent expats.
I’m not surprised. The epidemic of youth loneliness seems to be especially bad in Australia and I’ve heard many an expat on TikTok, as well as in real life, comment on how segregated Aussies are with their friend groups. We don’t like to mix our circles and we aren’t great at inviting someone new into them. Our school group is our school group and once it’s formed, no one new shall penetrate.
This culture of group insulation is clearly a double edged sword, not only does it make it harder for others hoping to join in, but it also keeps ourselves in a state of patchworked connection, rather than an interwoven, continuous one.
Keeping your childhood friends close is not a crime, it’s lovely. We could, however, do ourselves a big favour by simply opening the gates ever so slightly to the possibility of new people. Be the change you want to see in the world and all that.
It all comes down to this: introduce friends of friends, let people in. Start a book club, or a supper club, host a monthly dinner party with your friends and invite new people along, turn your flat into a café once a month and invite a mix of people from different areas of your life or… god forbid… throw a party!
We need to remember that creating a web of connections out in the world is what creates the net that gives us the sense of community we do all need and the only way to widen your circle is by putting yourself out there.
Making connections is a domino effect — and so is shutting yourself off from them. You might want to rethink which way you’re falling.
Lead photo: HBO
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