NEW RAGE FOR OFFLINE

Pushing back an epidemic of digitised loneliness, Gen Z is connecting with real people through mystery walks, blindfolded conversations, fake weddings and dinner with strangers

- By SONALI ACHARJEE

As the twenty-first century blues spread their malaise, Gen Z (persons born between 1996 and 2010) is mounting a fightback. The descending steps into the abyss are well-delineated—a strenuous professional life leaving little time for other people, a compensatory immersion in social media to connect, yet the gradual drifting apart of friends, resulting in a creeping loneliness. Preeti Mehra, a 28-year-old management consultant, opted for a remedy. On a humid Thursday in Gurugram, she walked into a small Sector 29 café. The invite promised 'dinner with strangers', a curated supper seating you next to people you've never met—the antidote to late nights, early flights and Zoom fatigue. Friends had scattered—to jobs, marriages, childcare—and chats felt hollow. What Preeti wanted was laughter across a table and the warmth of a shared meal.

Her impulse reflects a wider shift. A NIMHANS (National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences) study published in August finds that the biggest emotional anxiety for 18- to 25-year-olds is about losing close friendships. Now, Gen Z, that most connected cohort, is logging out to log back into real life. The craving for in-person contact is reshaping friendships, and urbane events that throw strangers together are the toast of Indian towns. "There's a desperate need for connection that likes and filters can't meet. Young people are creating intentional offline spaces because presence itself is reassurance," says Delhi-based psychologist Dr Upasana Chaddha.