America wants to party — just softer

In 2026, quitting smoking and joining a gym are no longer enough for a new year's resolution. Young adults, addicted to their phones and exhausted with dating apps, are resolving to seek meaning and connection IRL in ways that don't include a hangover. And there are dozens of startups capitalizing on their quests for a deeper purpose. Welcome to the year of soft partying.

Last year, friendship apps and meetup groups were on the rise. People were vibing at afternoon clubbing events in cafes, coffee-and-cold-plunge sessions, group dance classes, run clubs, and Zillennial-branded churches. Some embraced the idea that being offline is the new luxury. "The hunger and the need for a deeper meaning and deeper connections is there," says Andrew Roth, founder of Offline, a platform that helps people find in-person communities and connect with brands to co-host or be part of in-person events.

Those who want to get out and meet new people are seeking new ways to do so beyond late nights at bars. Mike Vosters, founder of Matinee Social Club, which hosts early start and end dance parties for people 30 and older at iconic New York clubs like Joyface and Mr. Purple, says one of the problems with traditional clubbing is that "nightlife in general is marketed in a very shallow way." Long lines, late nights, bottle service, and the need to have the right look create an air of exclusivity, but also intimidate people. For the over 30 crowd, knowing that they can buy a ticket and dance among their peers and be home early is a shift that makes it more inclusive, and Matinee now hosts about three events each weekend in the city. "Nightlife's not dead at all," Vosters says. "I just think that nightlife needs to change."

Laura Baginski runs a similar venture, Earlybirds Club, a dance party that runs from 6 to 10 p.m. and generally attracts women, queer, trans, and non-binary people between the ages of 35 and 55. Most events across the country throughout January have already sold out. The early start and stop not only means less drinking and a full eight hours of sleep, it's also designed to be a safe space to meet new people, Baginski tells me. "Going alone doesn't feel strange, everyone is very open," Baginski says. "There's something different about dancing that really releases some tension and stress and allows you to connect with people in a different way than just sitting at a table and talking."

We have to all start retraining ourselves to be social people again.Brigette Polster, 31

Sweatpals, an app that lets people find workouts and connect with their fellow gym buffs, is also capitalizing on the rising drives for both fitness and friendship. The app has raised $16 million, and connects people to events in more than a dozen cities. "They're looking at it as a way to date, as a way to meet — not just to work out," Salar Shahini, Sweatpals founder, tells me. "Before COVID, I think it was moving towards people just doing YouTube workouts. Now it's becoming the opposite. It's very community-based, social, and people are less interested in drinking."

In 2025, 22% of American adults said they planned to participate in Dry January according to a Morning Consult poll, a new high. Gen Z already drinks less than older generations year-round. One in five adults under the age of 35 were interested in alcohol free events, according to a 2025 report from Eventbrite. Companies like Sweatpals or Coffee and Chill (a cold plunge social club) are showcasing a new way of socializing that aligns with Gen Z's sober-curious values. It's a stark contrast to what some older pundits think will fix loneliness. Scott Galloway, author of the recent book "Notes on Being a Man," believes that "the worst thing that's happened to young people is the anti-alcohol movement," as he recently told Bill Maher. "The risks to your 25-year-old liver are dwarfed by the risk of social isolation. … Get out, drink more, and make a series of bad decisions that might pay off." That advice fails to capture the interest of many Gen Zers. "Social fitness is a new social currency," says Brian Cho, cofounder at Patron, a venture capital firm that invested in Sweatpals.

People expect more from their outings. There's Lectures on Tap, which brings college professors and experts to lecture at bars. Book clubs have moved from living rooms to bars and parties. A philosophy club is stirring up debates on objective truth and animal hierarchy in New York City bars. Andrew Yeung, founder of Fibe, a think tank and tech networking community, says he believes people in their mid- to late twenties are hungry for part of the college experience they lost during the pandemic. "What they want to go to is this whole new category of leisure events around pursuing your intellectual curiosity and learning new things," Yeung says.

Luke Evans, a 33-year-old who runs a toy and game business, found he was hit with a new sense of loneliness upon relocating from outside of London to the city in 2025. He took an improv class to meet people, and has set a new goal of trying something new each month in 2026. He's eyeing a book club, a hiking club, and archery. The stigma around confessing that one feels lonely has subsided — perhaps thanks to all the attention on loneliness. When Evans put himself out there at improv, he found that "everyone's in the same boat. Everyone feels a bit relieved that, oh, I'm not the only one who was feeling this way," he tells me. "People are almost desperate to talk about it."

Brigette Polster, 31, made a commitment for 2026: no more dating apps. She's prioritizing going to bars and restaurants alone, and trying to meet people via her hobbies, which include horseback riding, flyfishing, and working out. She also wants single friends, so she started a Single Girls Night Out meetup. In just a month, Polster gained 1,500 followers on the club's Instagram account, and hosted meetups in New Jersey and Florida. "We have to all start retraining ourselves to be social people again," Polster says.

Amanda Hoover is a senior correspondent at Business Insider covering the tech industry. She writes about the biggest tech companies and trends.