Gen Z is over dating apps. This 403% surge reveals what they’re doing instead
In 50 years or so, quite a few Gen Zers are going to be telling their grandkids that they met while birdwatching. At least, that’s according to the latest study from the events marketplace Eventbrite. The platform’s research found that Gen Zers are increasingly looking to find love IRL, and they’re doing it at the kinds of hobby-based events that might’ve once been the purview of older…
In a surprising shift, Generation Z is abandoning dating apps in favor of finding love through niche hobbies, according to a study by event marketplace Eventbrite. The research, comparing data from January to June 2025 and the same period in 2026, revealed a significant surge in hobby-based events that are increasingly becoming a place for potential romance.
Events such as trivia nights, mahjong gatherings, plant swaps, terrarium workshops, pilates socials, and birdwatching meetups saw a staggering 403% to 131% increase in popularity year-over-year. Andrea Parodi, Eventbrite's general manager, stated that traditional dating and hobbies are now blending, leading people to explore new pastimes and stay open to unexpected connections.
This trend aligns with Gen Z's widespread fatigue from dating apps, with 65% of dating apps downloaded in 2024 being deleted within a month, and 77% of Gen Zers meeting their partners in person. The desire for a digital detox and the appeal of analog hobbies like knitting, gardening, and scrapbooking are driving this change, with young singles increasingly engaging in activities like birdwatching and pilates socials to potentially find love in the most unexpected of places.
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