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<ul class="summary-list"><li>Kids are often involved in many different extracurricular activities growing up.</li><li>Children's activities can cause unhappiness when they feel pressured to achieve specific metrics.</li></ul>Whether it's driving a child to theatre practice, karate class, or both, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kids-organized-sports-benefits-rest-resilience-2024-7">after-school activities</a> can be time-consuming for both children and parents.While after-school activities can be a great place to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/making-friends-older-age-how-make-new-connections-2024-6">make friends</a> and discover new interests, it's important that these structured activities do not completely take over a child's schedule.Erica Fener Sitkoff, a clinical child psychologist, and Peter Gray, a research professor at Boston College, spoke to Business Insider about the importance of downtime for kids — even the ones who seem to be thriving with a full schedule of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/dont-join-extracurriculars-just-to-buff-up-college-application-2023-9">extracurricular activities</a>.<h2 id="942c09ab-1fbe-431c-b469-3356ac063f9d">Check-in with your child on their feelings toward their activities</h2>It may be hard to tell if your child's activities, or even one particular activity, have become overwhelming and if they need more downtime. But being observant, checking in, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/parental-stress-is-a-public-health-crisis-2024-9">removing some of the stress</a> is a good place to start.While your child may naturally excel at their structured activities, parents need to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/parenting-expert-let-kids-fail-resilience-2024-8">remove the pressure</a> around achieving a certain level of success in their activities."There's a difference between giving kids lots of exposure to things so they can figure out what they gravitate toward and what they're good at," Fener Stikoff said. "It's another thing to have them do a lot of things and be the best at all of those things," adding that that pressure can take the joy out of activities for some kids.It's also important to check in with your child on how they're feeling about the structured activities they're already involved in. One way to do this is by noticing more subtle <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/son-heading-to-college-fall-behaving-badly-2024-7">shifts in their attitude</a> toward their activities."What I recommend to parents, is if your child isn't asking for it or doesn't remember that today's the day for such and such activity, then don't take your child to it," Gray said. "If your child wants it, that's when it's good. There's no value in putting your child into an activity they don't want."Fener Sitkoff agreed that it's important to note your <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mom-connected-kids-through-activities-interests-teenagers-2024-5">child's interest in activities</a> but recommended checking in directly with them."Continue to check in with your kid to say: Are you still liking it? What do you love about this? Is there anything you don't love about it?" Fener Sitkoff said.<h2 id="deb509f9-2333-4b0e-91f2-485504bbac91">Downtime is key to a child's overall well-being</h2>Downtime and school activities are not mutually exclusive. It's imperative that a child participating in any activity, even one they love, still find time to prioritize downtime for their overall <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-parents-set-up-their-kids-for-healthy-lives-2016-7">health and development</a>.Fener Sitkoff told Business Insider that downtime encourages creative thinking, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/let-your-kids-children-take-risks-learn-grow-2023-11">problem-solving</a>, reflection, and independence."If you think about when kids are on their own, to create their own experiences, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ways-to-raise-a-more-confident-child-2016-3">they learn confidence</a>," Fener Sitkoff said. "It's like they're driving it themselves. They learn independence and decision-making. Then, when they are with peers, having unstructured downtime, they work on their social skills of how to work collaboratively with others."Although we may think about downtime as something we should fit into a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/manage-school-calendar-pdf-with-ai-google-chatgpt-2024-8">child's schedule</a> amid their other activities, it plays a key role that should be recognized as more than an afterthought."It's funny that we even call it downtime," Gray told Business Insider. "Children are designed to be doing children's things. They're designed to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/benefits-being-only-child-playful-parenting-2024-8">play, explore</a>, and follow their interests. They're not designed to be in all these adult-directed activities. It's true we call it downtime now as if they're stepping down from all the other stuff they're doing, but it ought to be that that's childhood. It ought to be what they're primarily doing."<h2 id="8239117a-cd4b-4a0b-bf67-3a6b6dd53554">Allow your child to set the tone of what their downtime looks like</h2>We all have different ideas of what downtime looks like in practice. For some kids, downtime may mean <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tricks-get-kids-interested-reading-books-2024-8">catching up on a book</a> alone; for others, it may mean playing a new video game they've wanted to try.Fener Sitkoff recommended parents center the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/work-life-balance-financial-goals-raising-son-2024-7">idea of balance</a> when considering their involvement with their kids' downtime."When parents schedule and dictate downtime, you're not creating that sense of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/autonomy-supported-parenting-choice-within-limits-improves-wellbeing-study-2021-1#:~:text=Offering%20kids%20%22choices%20within%20limits,Insider's%20homepage%20for%20more%20stories.">agency and autonomy</a> in a young person. On the flip side, if you give no structure, then you've let a young person who hasn't had all the life experiences you've had guide themselves," Fener Sitkoff said.For example, if your child wants to spend their downtime <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kid-screen-addiction-child-psychologist-parent-tips-2024-9">using technology</a>, you might allow them to do that, but help them create guidelines for how long they will use it Stikoff recommended. This might look like allowing your child to spend 30 minutes playing a digital game rather than more than four hours.Even if you provide guidelines on how long your child will spend engaging in specific forms of downtime, Gray recommends that parents allow their children to have downtime alone or with other children, but not always in the presence of adults."Children have to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/unsupervised-play-outdoors-kids-neighborhood-benefits-2024-5">get away from adults</a>. It's not even playing if there's an adult there telling you what to do," Gray said.Structured after-school activities can definitely benefit children's lives, but prioritizing their ability to have downtime, in whatever way your child chooses, is a key aspect of their development.

Relax with the extracurricular activities — downtime is equally important for kids

<ul class="summary-list"><li>An Intel executive has sued, saying he was fired for complaining about a pro-Hamas boss.</li><li>He said his boss posted "horrific and troubling" praise of the deaths of Israelis and soldiers.</li></ul>An engineering executive who has served as an Israeli soldier says in a new federal lawsuit that he was fired from his job at Intel in April for complaining about his boss' "horrific and troubling" pro-Hamas social media posts.A dozen of the X posts "liked" by the boss are included in the lawsuit filed in Manhattan Tuesday. They include illustrations of members of the terror group strangling and standing on the neck of Israeli soldiers. One post praises the burning of buildings with Israeli soldiers inside."Bombing a building in which 5 Zionist soldiers were holed up and they were sent to hell," reads a December post that the lawsuit says was liked by the supervisor, named in the suit as Alaa Badr, a vice president in Seattle.Badr did not immediately respond to requests for comment.<div type="image" title="This X post from January 2024 shows Hamas soldiers below text praising a Hamas military victory." height="2731" width="2500" msid="112504859" hostid="261" sizebytes="173094"></div>The lawsuit was filed on behalf of an unnamed former executive, described in the suit as an Israeli Jewish emigre and veteran of the Israeli Defense Force now living in New York City.He says in the 47-page complaint that Badr began openly supporting Hamas and the destruction of Israel soon after the October 7, 2023 invasion."To be clear, Badr did not simply sympathize with the plight of innocent Gazans stuck in the middle of Hamas and Israel," said the lawsuit, filed by attorney Douglas Wigdor of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.wigdorlaw.com/">Wigdor LLP.</a>"Rather, he openly advocated for and celebrated the murder of Israelis like John Doe and the members of his family," who are still in Israel, the lawsuit said.The plaintiff "nearly lost his entire family to a missile strike by Hamas" earlier this year, and they had to evacuate their home, the lawsuit said.<div type="image" title="This X post from December 2023 shows soldiers looking out the windows of a concrete building below test celebrating the bombing and burning of Israeli soldiers by Hamas." height="2383" width="2500" msid="112504857" hostid="261" sizebytes="91792"></div>The plaintiff was ordered to begin working for Badr in late January, and he immediately complained about Badr's posts through an intermediary to Intel's human resources department. He spoke directly with human resources in February, the lawsuit said.Badr took down his X account in March, and the plaintiff — described in the lawsuit as "one of Intel's top employees" was dismissed from his position in early April. He was later reassigned to another position, but his pay was reduced, and his retention bonus was canceled, the suit said.<div type="image" title="This image from a December 2023 X post shows a bomb-leveled building covered in a blue tarp. Above the image is text reading &quot;Bombina a building in which 5 Zionist soldiers were holed up and they were sent to hell.&quot;" height="1596" width="1442" msid="112504860" hostid="261" sizebytes="77150"></div>"John Doe, an Israeli IDF veteran, was made to report to a man that would celebrate the death of his community, the death of his family, and frankly, the death of John Doe," the lawsuit said.The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages. A spokesperson for Intel did not immediately respond to a request for comment."While the rise in antisemitism around the world is alarming, it is inexcusable that Intel not only condones this type of behavior but retaliated against a former member of the Israel Defense Force for complaining about deeply disturbing tropes that were posted on social media by his boss," Wigdor said in a press statement Tuesday.

Israeli-born Intel executive sues, says he was fired for blowing a whistle on boss' 'horrific' pro-Hamas social media activity

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Donald Trump's media firm rose as much as 22% after the presidential hopeful hosted an event at MSG.</li><li>Trump Media is now up roughly 280% from its September low.</li></ul>Donald Trump's high-profile event at the Madison Square Garden was followed by a surge in his media stock.Shares of <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/djt-stock">Trump Media &amp; Technology Group</a> — the parent company of Truth Social — soared as much as 22%on Monday, after the former president brought his campaign to Manhattan the day before. Trump's social media firm is now up roughly 280% from a low reached on Sept. 23. It's now trading at its highest level since June.Other Trump-affiliated meme stocks — or equities popular with the retail-investor crowd that don't necessarily trade on fundamentals — also got a boost on Monday. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/rum-stock">Rumble</a>, a conservative video network, rose 12% at intraday highs. Meanwhile, Phunware, a software firm that worked on Trump's 2020 campaign, rose as much as 15%.Sunday's rally at the Madison Square Garden drew a large crowd and featured several key speakers, including Elon Musk. The event kicked off the final stretch of Trump's campaign before November's election day.Though some speakers drew condemnation for making inflammatory remarks, it had no bearing on Truth Social's share activity. In recent weeks, Trump Media has surged on <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://kalshi.com/elections">rising sentiment</a> that the Republican candidate could retake the White House.Ever since the firm went public in March, investors have treated it as a proxy for Trump's election chances, putting aside the firm's paltry fundamentals.In this context, the company's five-week rally overturns a downturn that had persisted <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-media-truth-social-stock-down-lockup-polls-2024-8">since the summer</a>. Despite its difficulty in turning a meaningful profit, Trump Media now carries a market cap of more than $9 billion.

Trump Media extends rally to 280% as MSG event spurs meme-stock activity

X (formerly Twitter) is experiencing its largest user exodus since <keyword id="6355315" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="elon-musk" source="Orion">Elon Musk</keyword> took over in 2022. The tipping point is a perfect storm of political controversy, privacy fears, and discontent with the platform’s new policies, culminating in a dramatic shift of users to alternative platforms like <keyword id="412371" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="bluesky" source="Orion">Bluesky</keyword> and <keyword id="1163500" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="threads" source="Orion">Threads</keyword>. Here’s a breakdown of the recent changes and why they’ve left users saying goodbye to X. <h2>Political backlash</h2>The day after the U.S. presidential election on November 6, X saw over 115,000 account deactivations — the most since Musk's acquisition. Many users were disillusioned by Musk's perceived alignment with newly elected President Donald Trump. Musk's vocal support for Trump during his campaign, coupled with his attendance at Republican rallies, alienated users who once trusted X as a politically neutral platform. One user, Kara Wurtz, said the election was the “final straw.” After eight years on the platform, the finance director from St. Louis decided that X was no longer delivering the content she valued. “Every time I opened it, it would throw things at me that put me in a bad mood,” she said. The political fallout didn’t just affect individuals. Prominent organisations and brands, including The Guardian and former CNN anchor Don Lemon, have also bid farewell to the platform. <h2>New terms of service spark outrage</h2>On November 15, X's updated terms of service came into effect, granting the platform a sweeping global licence to use user-generated content. This includes using posts, photos, and creative works to train artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) models. The backlash was immediate: <ul><li>Privacy Concerns: By continuing to use X, users implicitly agree to have their data — personal photos, creative work, and more — used for AI training. Artists and creators fear their intellectual property could be exploited to develop AI tools that might one day replace human creativity.</li><li>Legal Implications: Disputes over the new terms will be handled in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, home to Judge Reed O'Connor, a Tesla investor. This has raised questions about potential bias in legal proceedings related to the platform.</li></ul>Alex Fink, CEO of the AI-powered platform Otherweb, criticised X’s lack of transparency, stating, “Unlike other platforms with vague licensing terms, X removes any ambiguity about its intentions.” <h2>Changes to blocking and safety settings</h2>Safety concerns have also escalated due to alterations in X’s block feature. Users now allegedly receive notifications that even those they block can still view their posts — though they can’t interact. This tweak is particularly alarming for users who have faced harassment on the platform. Many feel their safety is compromised, prompting them to seek refuge in safer alternatives like Bluesky, which saw a surge of 500,000 new users in just one day following the policy updates. Initially developed by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, Bluesky offers customizable feeds and decentralised control, which many find refreshing. With over 16 million users (and counting), it’s quickly becoming the top choice for X refugees. Threads, Instagram’s text-based app, also surpassed 275 million monthly active users by November, with 15 million new sign-ups last month alone. For many, these platforms represent a chance to escape X’s chaos while reclaiming control over their online experience. <h2>Is Fediverse the future?</h2>Experts believe the exodus from X could mark the beginning of a new era of decentralised social networks. Bluesky, built on a protocol that enables interconnected platforms, is part of the "Fediverse," which could allow users to interact seamlessly across different apps. This shift reflects growing dissatisfaction with centralised platforms that control user data, content visibility, and privacy settings. While Musk touts record-breaking engagement on X, the cracks in the platform’s foundation are evident. Critics warn that X could become a training ground for Musk’s xAI venture, leveraging user interactions to fuel lucrative AI models. Whether X can weather this storm remains uncertain, but one thing is clear: the days of Twitter’s broad appeal as a space for open, inclusive dialogue seem to be fading fast.

Mass X-odus: What are the controversial changes on X that are driving users away?

<keyword id="19897919" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="social-media" source="keywords">Social media</keyword> platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook have established safeguards to combat <keyword id="23571068" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="bot-accounts" source="keywords">bot accounts</keyword>, including policies and technical mechanisms. However, the effectiveness of these measures is increasingly being questioned as AI-driven bots evolve and find ways to bypass restrictions. <h2>AI bot evolution</h2>While <keyword id="21559036" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="AI-bots" source="keywords">AI bots</keyword> can serve legitimate purposes like marketing and customer service, some are designed to manipulate public discussions, incite hate speech, and spread <keyword id="19933162" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="misinformation" source="keywords">misinformation</keyword>. Research from the University of Notre Dame investigated the bot policies of platforms like LinkedIn, <keyword id="19932634" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="tiktok" source="keywords">TikTok</keyword>, and X, testing how well these platforms enforced their rules. The findings were troubling. "Despite what their policy says or the technical bot mechanisms they have, it was very easy to get a bot up and working on X. They aren't effectively enforcing their policies," said Paul Brenner, a Director at Notre Dame. Even interns, who had only a high school-level education and minimal training, were able to launch the test bots using technology that is readily available to the public, Brenner explained. Their bots were created using commonly-available AI tools such as <keyword id="19918823" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="OpenAI" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="OpenAI" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="OpenAI">OpenAI</keyword>'s GPT-4o and DALL-E 3, and the tests were run on LinkedIn, Mastodon, Reddit, TikTok, X, Facebook, Instagram and Threads. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="114283439" title="Security threats to AI models are giving rise to a new crop of startups" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>As per the tests, none of these platforms had sufficient safeguards to keep the bots out. Researchers successfully published benign test posts from bots across all platforms, with X and Reddit posing minimal challenges. While <keyword id="19911549" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="meta" source="keywords">Meta</keyword> platforms proved somewhat more challenging due to stronger enforcement mechanisms, they ultimately could still be bypassed — even by relatively inexperienced folk. <h2>Why does it matter?</h2>In India — and the rest of the world, for that matter — the rise of AI-driven bots has significant implications for public discourse, particularly in the political arena. Research has indicated that a substantial portion of misinformation circulating during electoral periods can often be traced back to automated accounts. Many experts emphasise that the pervasive influence of these accounts can negatively shape public perception and discussion, and is often used to target certain sensitive groups and stoke communal tension. As platforms struggle to keep pace with the evolving tactics of malicious bots, the need for stronger regulations becomes increasingly evident. Considering that AI is evolving at a rapid pace that makes it supremely difficult to tell bots apart from real human accounts — even for the tech-savvy — Brenner argues for US legislation that mandates platforms to identify human versus bot accounts. Similar measures are needed in India, where the lack of accountability for social media platforms allows harmful bot activity to proliferate. <h2>What needs to be done?</h2>Addressing the bot problem requires a multitude of different solutions. For starters, enhanced technology, such as more sophisticated AI detection systems, could help platforms identify and mitigate bot activity more effectively. Recent advancements in machine learning are paving the way for tools that can better analyse user behavior and detect anomalies that indicate bot activity. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="114250696" title="AI labs are fragmenting because of ego clashes and commercial pressures. It&amp;#39;s about to drive a wave of new startups." mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>However, it is almost just as necessary to educate users about identifying bots and understanding online discourse. To platforms can implement user-friendly tools that highlight potentially automated accounts, empowering users to make more informed decisions about whom to engage with. Legislation could also play a pivotal role in shaping how social media platforms handle bot accounts. By requiring transparency about bot activity and holding companies accountable for enforcement, policymakers can create an environment where genuine discourse thrives and misinformation is curtailed. In India, the proposed <keyword id="19955205" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Digital-India-Act" source="keywords">Digital India Act</keyword> could be an avenue for strengthening regulations around <keyword id="19979951" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="digital-platforms" source="keywords">digital platforms</keyword> and enhancing user safety. While platforms like X and Facebook have made strides in developing detection methods, the sophistication of AI-driven bots continues to outpace current safeguards. This situation requires urgent attention from both tech companies and policymakers to ensure a safer social media environment. The findings of this research has been published on a pre-print server and can be accessed <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.18931">here</a>.

Even high school interns were able to use common AI tools to bypass security and launch bots on X, Facebook and other social media: report

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Bluesky is surging in popularity, and it credits it all to Brazil.</li><li>The platform gained 2 million new users within days of X being banned in Brazil.</li></ul>Bluesky, the social media platform and aspiring Twitter alternative, has taken Brazil by storm within days of the country banning Elon Musk's X.The US-based platform <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://bsky.app/profile/bsky.app/post/3l2ye7wjt662c">said on Friday</a> that half a million new users had joined the platform — just one day after Brazil forced X to shut down in the country.By Monday, that number had increased to 2 million new users, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://bsky.app/profile/bsky.app/post/3l36zm4e6ee2w">Bluesky wrote in a post</a>. Bluesky is crediting Brazil for its sudden surge in users."Brazil, you're setting new all-time highs for activity on Bluesky!" the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://bsky.app/profile/bsky.app/post/3l2xndrs3oh2t">company wrote in a post </a>on its platform.The decentralized platform appears to be soaking up users with X and Musk locked in a feud with Brazil's government.Brazilian Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/brazil-judge-orders-elon-musk-x-stop-operations-2024-8">ordered the country to block access to X last week</a> because the Musk-owned platform refuses to pay over $3 million in fines and enforce content moderation.And Musk — a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/free-speech-absolutist-elon-musk-censors-employees-critics-2022-3#:~:text=Elon%20Musk%20referred%20to%20himself,employees%20for%20disagreeing%20with%20him.">self-proclaimed "free-speech absolutist"</a> — has been slamming de Moraes on X, calling him a "so-called 'justice,'" a "scumbag," and an "evil dictator cosplaying as a judge." More seriously, Musk has accused de Moraes, without evidence, of "repeatedly and directly violat[ing] the laws of Brazil that he swore to uphold!" and of engaging "in serious, repeated &amp; deliberate interference" in the 2022 election that defeated far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro.Another of Musk's companies, satellite broadband firm <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/brazil-starlink-sanctions-amid-feud-elon-musk-x-2024-9">Starlink, has been caught up in the feud</a>.De Moraes ordered the freeze of Starlink's finances to use as possible payment for the fines X owes the Brazilian government, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/starlink-says-its-complying-with-order-block-access-x-brazil-2024-09-03/">Reuters reported</a>.On Monday, Starlink told Brazil's telecom regulator Anatel that it would not obey the country's order to block access to X, Reuters reported. But by Tuesday, Starlink had changed its tune, announcing in a post on X that it would comply with the order."Regardless of the illegal treatment of Starlink in freezing of our assets, we are complying with the order to block access to X in Brazil," <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://x.com/Starlink/status/1831053118265843722">Starlink wrote</a>. "We continue to pursue all legal avenues, as are others who agree that @alexandre's recent orders violate the Brazilian constitution."Bluesky was <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://bsky.social/about/blog/2-7-2022-overview">initially created within Twitter with the help of founder</a> and then-CEO Jack Dorsey but has since launched as an independent company.Like X, the platform allows users to post, like, share, direct message, create lists and user profiles. But unlike X, it is a decentralized network that lets users sign up for their own third-party content moderation, set up their own servers to run the app, and customize how their feeds appear to them.On Tuesday, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://bsky.app/profile/jaz.bsky.social/post/3l3a2i4bbv42k">Bluesky provided more numbers</a> showing just how much it had grown in the previous 96 hours, compared to a 96-hour period just one week prior.In the most recent 96-hour period, Bluesky said the platform had received 104.6 million likes compared to 13 million the same period a week before, 100.8 million follows compared to 1.4 million the week before, 11 million reposts compared to 1.3 million the week before, and 2.11 million new users compared to just 26,000 the week before."This really drives home how insane the increase in activity around here has been," Bluesky wrote in the post.

The hot social media platform after Brazil's X ban: Bluesky 

<ul class="summary-list"><li>New social-networking and dating startups are coming onto the scene.</li><li>VCs and angel investors are funding some of these promising startups.</li></ul>A new generation of consumer-<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/founders-disrupting-social-media-networking-landscape-new-apps-2024-1">social startups</a> is emerging.From social networks focused on getting people to meet IRL to dating apps taking on Tinder or Hinge, some startups are disrupting the digital social scene.Founders of these startups are tackling problems like <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/irl-social-startups-combat-loneliness-among-millennials-gen-z-2024-5">loneliness</a>, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-favorite-dating-app-fatigue-tokyo-america-birth-rate-2024-7">dating app fatigue</a>, and general <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/social-media-dead-instagram-tiktok-bereal-replaced-group-chats-messaging-2023-8">dissatisfaction</a> with the current social-media incumbents.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/founders-disrupting-social-media-networking-landscape-new-apps-2024-1">Meet the founders behind 18 new social startups</a>Some founders come from Big Tech backgrounds, like the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/retro-anti-instagram-app-built-by-ex-meta-staffers-2024-5">Instagram-heavy team</a> behind photo-sharing app Retro, or the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ex-google-employees-building-maps-app-pampam-ai-creators-social-2024-8">ex-Google employees </a>building the social-mapping app PamPam. Meanwhile, Gen-Z founders are also throwing their hats in the ring to build the next big thing, like Isabella Epstein's <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-founder-building-social-network-kndrd-combat-loneliness-friends-2024-2">IRL-focused app Kndrd </a>or Tiffany "TZ" Zhong's <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/noplace-app-takes-over-apple-charts-myspace-twitter-for-genz-2024-7">Noplace app</a>.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-friends-quit-healthcare-jobs-built-dating-app-together-2024-9">Dating apps</a> are also "very disruptable in this moment," founder of Daybreak Ventures Rex Woodbury <a target="_blank" rel="" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/daybreak-ventures-sees-potential-creator-economy-shopping-ai-startups-2024-7">told Business Insider.</a><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-dating-startups-and-apps-disrupting-the-industry-2024-8">Meet the founders of 11 startups competing with dating app giants like Tinder</a><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/vc-investors-funding-new-social-media-startups-networks-2024-2">Investors are taking notice</a>.For instance, the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/startup-shifting-social-to-real-life-funding-raise-app-launch-2024-2">IRL-social app 222,</a> which matches strangers over dinner or activities with a personality quiz, raised a $2.5 million seed round from venture capital firms like 1517 Fund, General Catalyst, and Best Nights VC."We're entering this new wave of social where people are trying to revert back to what people really use these platforms for to begin with — which is connection," Maitree Mervana Parekh, a principal at Acrew Capital, told Business Insider.Some funds — like <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/intuition-targets-early-stage-consumer-startups-with-fund-2024-4">French firm Intuition VC</a>, which launched this year — have made tackling loneliness part of their investment theses.It's not yet clear how many of these investments will pan out. Some of the startups are pre-revenue, while others are experimenting with <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-new-social-media-startups-monetizing-scaling-their-apps-2024-3">monetization methods</a>, with many leaning into freemium models."Founders have to be honest with themselves," said Marlon Nichols, a founding partner at <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/top-vc-firms-funding-creator-economy-startups-next-phase-2024-6#ma-c-venture-capital-continues-to-invest-in-startups-that-help-creators-get-paid-8">Mac Venture Capital</a>. "Some of them aren't really venture-scale or venture-type investments. We're looking for the next big thing, the next category leader."<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/vc-investors-funding-new-social-media-startups-networks-2024-2">Meet 7 VC investors eyeing new social startups</a>BI spoke with several social-media and dating app founders about how they are raising capital — including the pitch decks they used to raise millions of dollars.<h2 id="aed25306-9565-4296-9abb-c8f7ed9808bf">Read the pitch decks that helped 6 social-networking and dating startups fundraise millions of dollars:</h2>Note: Pitch decks are sorted by investment stage and size of round.<h3 id="8d3b0b35-e42e-40af-b9d1-5266341542e2">Series A</h3><ul><li><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/posh-raises-series-a-help-make-plans-friends-pitch-deck-2024-7">Posh, an event-based social network based in New York City: $22 million Series A (12 pages)</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/read-the-pitch-deck-for-social-audio-startup-spoon-radio-2021-10">Spoon Radio, a social-audio startup: $17 million Series A (15 pages)</a></li><li><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pitch-deck-irl-social-startup-pie-raises-andy-dunn-bonobos-2024-10">Pie, an IRL social startup founded by Bonobos' Andy Dunn: $11.5 million Series A (31 pages)</a></li><li><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pitch-deck-social-calendar-app-howbout-goodwater-capital-consumer-fund-2024-10">Howbout, a social-calendar app to help people make plans with friends: $8 million (12 pages)</a></li></ul><h3 id="d5f69303-0fd1-43a5-a4ad-6fe4f94d849c">Seed</h3><ul><li><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pitch-deck-first-rounds-on-me-dating-app-raises-seed-2024-8">First Round's On Me, a dating app that prioritizes making plans over swiping and DMs: $3 million seed (16 pages)</a></li><li><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/read-pitch-deck-new-social-media-web3-platform-seam-seed-2023-12">Seam Social, a Web3-inspired social network that lets users make mini-apps: $2.5 million (10 pages)</a></li></ul>

New dating apps and social-networking startups are emerging. Read the pitch decks 6 used to raise millions of dollars.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Reddit saw a 50% increase in daily active users in the second quarter, outpacing competitors.</li><li>The platform's growth contrasts with X's 1.6% and Meta's 7% increases in the same period.</li></ul><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reddit-cofounder-top-4-tips-startup-success-alexis-ohanian-masterclass-2024-6">Reddit</a> may be one of the only social media companies seeing tons of new people sign up.The forum-based platform saw a 51% increase in daily active users globally and a 59% increase in the US in the second quarter of the year, a stark difference from some of its competitors.X said daily active users<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.ft.com/content/1829abb6-d8d0-4d67-9b1b-628f583b3291"> grew 1.6%</a> in the same period, the FT reported. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/social-media-dead-instagram-tiktok-bereal-replaced-group-chats-messaging-2023-8">Meta's platforms ,</a>which include Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, reported an increase of 7%, per the company's second-quarter earnings. Even TikTok, which dominated the social media race since 2018, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-growth-collapsed-life-getting-in-way-2024-3">saw user growth collapse</a> to 0% at the end of 2023 — and the privately-held company has not reported user numbers since then.Reddit is growing fast — but it's comparatively small. The platform had 342 million active users, while Meta had 3.3 billion users, the companies said in their earnings reports this quarter.Daily active users are a measure of how much people want to engage with a platform. It's an important metric for social media companies because more users typically translates to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/uber-ads-reaches-1-billion-annual-revenue-run-rate-2024-8">more advertising money.</a>Reddit, which went public in March, reported its second round of earnings as a listed company on Tuesday. The company made $281 million in revenue, a 54% year-on-year increase, which it attributed to advertising revenue growth and licensing deals with OpenAI and Google."User growth has continued to climb," said Steve Huffman, Reddit's co-Founder and CEO, on a Tuesday earnings call. "More and more people are coming to Reddit to explore their interests, engage in conversations and find their communities."<h2 id="613bd80b-6dac-475e-96d1-68e34c6bffc8">User-generated push</h2>One of the drivers of Reddit's success, while the rest of Big Tech <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tiktok-growth-collapsed-life-getting-in-way-2024-3">struggles to win user attention</a>, is that people are treating the platform like a search engine."Users run over 1 billion search queries a month on Reddit today," Huffman said in the earnings call.Reddit also <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reddit-traffic-surges-from-google-search-2024-6">beat every other social media platform</a> in terms of monthly traffic in the past year. Reddit's desktop and mobile website visits shot up by 39% year-over-year in May, while Facebook had an 8% decline.Reddit's licensing partnership with OpenAI is expected to encourage more Reddit content on ChatGPT as well.And existing search engines' Reddit links are also driving user growth.In August, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-reddit-is-taking-over-google-right-now-2024-4">Google rolled out a big search</a> update that seemed to propel user-generated content, after years of noticing users add "Reddit" to the end of their search words. The update gave Reddit, and another forum-based platform Quora, more visibility on Google."Our research has shown that people often want to learn from others' experiences with a topic, so we've continued to make it easier to find helpful perspectives on Search when it's relevant to a query," a Google spokesperson <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-reddit-is-taking-over-google-right-now-2024-4">previously told Business Insider.</a>In February, Google and Reddit also signed a licensing deal allowing the search giant to train its AI models based on the forum's content.

People are still piling into at least one social media network

<ul class="summary-list"><li>As a high school educator, I saw that parents of younger kids are more involved in school.</li><li>Knowing parents personally makes it easier for me to share more about their kids with them.</li></ul>When I was a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/librarian-shares-tips-to-encourage-kids-to-read-for-pleasure-2022-7">high school educator</a>, I got a surprising phone call from a parent one morning. They asked, "How can I volunteer and help the school?" I was speechless — I'd never heard someone ask to volunteer at the high school level before. It's more common for the parents of younger children to volunteer, but secondary educators appreciate help just as much. When I'm friendly with students' parents, it's easier for me to reach and support the kids.We educators work hard to make school a great experience for kids <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/former-teacher-used-dread-back-to-school-limited-budgets-unhelpful-2022-8">despite limited resources</a> and staffing, so volunteers make a difference — and not just the PTA members who generously donate hundreds of hours. It's just as meaningful for a student's family to hang artwork, serve snacks at finals, or plant a garden over a single afternoon.<h2 id="750d8b06-e636-4fb0-8a81-2d81203b03db">Parents are more involved when kids are little</h2>When I know a kid's parent personally, I often email to share anecdotes about their student's growing confidence and moments when they were <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/barbie-dolls-celebrities-inspiring-women-2021-8">role models to others</a>. Parents always love hearing positive news.I've also reached out to parent volunteers when I had concerns about their kids. The <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/secrets-destroy-trust-relationship-therapist-advice-2024-1">trusting relationship</a> we built through working on mundane school tasks — washing down tables and shelving books — made me feel comfortable reaching out directly rather than going through a guidance counselor. Teens need all the adults they can get rallying around them at school, even their parents.But I don't see many parents in school <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/middle-school-social-worker-shares-what-she-wishes-parents-knew-2022-11">hallways in middle and high school</a>. In preschools and elementary schools, parents pop in to read a story, host birthday parties, or chaperone trips. Family involvement dwindles every year after 5th grade, and by high school, I only see parents discussing serious stuff like grades and college admissions.<h2 id="93313d91-b2e1-42a8-a17c-adc86ce931f7">It helps me connect with the families</h2>When that very first parent volunteer called me on the phone and asked how she could help, I asked what her skills were. "I can plant a window garden," she said. It turned out that her daughter, Joni, was also a longtime volunteer at the library. Parents who generously volunteer often encourage their kids to do the same.Joni had served as library intern since 9th grade, and devoted many hours to helping peers at the circulation desk. "Joni talks about you all the time," said her mom. "I just had to meet you and see the library she was so excited about."The day Joni's mom planted the window garden, Joni barely spoke with her, but they exchanged smiles from across the room. A busy 11th grader, Joni continued her usual Friday afternoon routine of helping at the circulation desk and doing physics homework. I could see so much love and pride in Joni's mom's face when she glanced across the library and saw her daughter helping her peers in such a professional manner.Teens want to feel ownership of their school and social lives, so it's probably best that parents back off a bit. But when they do volunteer, they send the message that higher education isn't just a means to an end — but it's also a caring community built around lifelong learning. Some parents who usher at plays or poetry readings enjoy it so much, they say they want to go back to high school again."It's really cool of you to volunteer, Dad," one boy said to his father, a carpenter whom I called in to repair a bookcase, "Just don't make a habit of it, OK?"

I'm a high school educator. I wish parents stayed active through school events. 

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Elizabeth McCoy, 61, struggles financially and worries Social Security won't be enough in retirement.</li><li>Medical bills depleted her savings. She and her husband may have to use their 401(k) earlier than planned.</li></ul>Elizabeth McCoy constantly thinks about money. The 61-year-old and her husband are struggling to make ends meet in central Indiana, and she said <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/social-security-no-savings-snap-benefits-debt-boomers-experiences-2024-6">Social Security checks</a> won't be enough to live on as they age.McCoy said she began receiving monthly Social Security Disability checks about 10 years ago, which are currently $1,620. After a decades-long career in the retail and real estate industries, she hoped she would feel more comfortable in retirement.She expects her SSDI payments will increase by a couple hundred dollars each month once she turns 62 — when she becomes eligible for traditional Social Security — but her budget will be tight. Her husband will also start collecting Social Security once he retires from his full-time job at a home improvement store, she said, although that may not happen anytime soon. To keep the couple <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/retirement-crisis-social-security-pensions-student-loan-debt-2024-3">financially afloat</a>, he will have to "work until he just can't," McCoy said.Despite their best savings efforts, McCoy said medical bills and a high cost of living depleted her household finances. She's worried she'll need to dip into the couple's <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/investing/what-is-401k">401(k) account</a> early — running the risk that they <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/social-security-retirement-savings-middle-class-outlive-benefits-income-expenses-2024-8">outlive what's in the bank</a>."We're doing the best," she said. "But to live on Social Security — which is coming very quickly for both of us — is scary."Americans like McCoy are facing major financial decisions in their golden years: how much to save, how much to spend, and whether their income will be enough to pay their bills. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-x-baby-boomers-savings-cant-afford-retirement-2024-4">A fifth of US adults over 50</a> reported having no retirement savings, and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/retirement-savings-social-security-baby-boomers-without-savings-401k-poverty-2024-8">Social Security often isn't enough</a> to cover the full cost of essentials. Business Insider has heard from <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/older-americans-regret-retirement-savings-taking-social-security-early-investments-2024-10">over 1,000 baby boomers</a> grappling with similar retirement challenges.<div type="image" title="An older woman taking a selfie" height="1212" width="945" msid="114913187" hostid="261" sizebytes="45888"></div><h2 id="374a2081-8dfe-454c-b5bd-83c2796b3feb">McCoy said unexpected medical bills derailed her retirement savings</h2>McCoy said her expenses — housing, groceries, utilities, medical care, and more — can feel "frightening." She does some part-time graphic design work, but her monthly income must stay <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.ssa.gov/oact/cola/sga.html">below $1,550</a> to qualify for SSDI. And, once she and her husband both fully retire, she estimates they will be living on less than $3,000 a month from Social Security — an amount that is slightly above <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/poverty-line-leaves-behind-low-income-americans-snap-medicare-wic-2024-6">the federal poverty line</a>, and too high for most forms of government assistance.The <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/housing-crisis-homeowners-struggling-mortgage-interest-rates-insurance-home-equity-2024-6">mortgage</a> on McCoy's Indiana home is one of her top expenses, and she said she will be paying it off "until we're old-old." Her 26-year-old son also lives in the house, she said. He has a full-time job, but local rent is expensive and McCoy said she wants to help him save money. Living with parents is <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-living-with-parents-save-money-housing-crisis-cost-2024-2">increasingly common </a>for early-career Gen Zers contending with <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/states-rent-going-up-fastest-slowest-cost-burdened-homeowner-expenses-2024-9">skyrocketing rent prices</a>.Although McCoy said she and her husband have shared 401(k) funds — housed in her husband's account — she is <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boomer-lives-on-social-security-scared-use-401k-retired-teacher-2024-8">hesitant to use the money</a> too early. They worked hard to ensure they would be financially comfortable in her golden years, and McCoy hoped she wouldn't have to open their 401(k) until <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/retirement-savings-401k-pension-real-estate-investments-baby-boomers-2024-6">well into retirement</a>.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/retirement-savings-medical-costs-baby-boomers-paying-for-cancer-treatment-2024-9">Medical bills</a> derailed that plan. McCoy said unexpected surgeries and hospital care for herself and her husband depleted their wealth. The couple has some insurance through her husband's job, but <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/medicare-changes-increase-costs-deductibles-prescription-drugs-premiums-copays-2024-10">out-of-pocket costs are steep</a>, McCoy said. Without dipping into her 401(k), she's worried future medical bills could bankrupt her."A really great life financially can quickly go away," she said. "And then you find yourself in your 60s, and you're scrambling to get savings back."McCoy added that her limited budget has taken <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boomers-living-social-security-government-aid-snap-loneliness-crisis-isolation-2024-8#:~:text=One%20in%20five%20adults%20don,told%20BI%20they%20feel%20isolated.">a toll on her social life</a>. Friends and neighbors often want to gather for meals at restaurants, an activity McCoy said she can't afford. It feels lonely, she said.For hopeful retirees, McCoy advised building a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/investing/retirement-planning">robust wealth portfolio</a> in cash and investments. She wishes she had been frugal with her spending when she was young, and she said others should consider saving money in <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/investing/best-roth-ira-accounts">Roth IRA accounts</a>, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/investing/mutual-funds">mutual funds</a>, and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cd-rates-certificate-deposit-high-interest-where-to-invest-now-2024-10">CDs</a>, alongside a 401(k)."My biggest advice to anybody is to be careful and be mindful that things can happen to you," she said. "Life can be tough, and you've got to be prepared."Are you an older adult struggling with finances in retirement? Are you open to sharing your experience with parenting, savings, or your career? Reach out to this reporter at <a target="_blank" class="" href="mailto:allisonkelly@businessinsider.com">allisonkelly@businessinsider.com</a>.

A retiree says $1,620 monthly Social Security isn't enough to live on, but she's worried about draining her savings too early

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Peloton drew backlash after introducing a $95 activation fee for used bikes.</li><li>The company said the money ensures new members receive a "high-quality onboarding experience."</li></ul><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cody-rigsby-love-isnt-enough-dating-2023-5">Peloton</a> has sparked outrage from customers after announcing a new $95 activation fee for anyone in the US or Canada buying a secondhand bike.The activation fee includes a $25 spare parts credit, a 50% off coupon for up to three pairs of Peloton cycling shoes and a Peloton Bike mat, and a virtual onboarding session.But a stream of users across social media have criticized the move following the announcement on Thursday. One Reddit user, who said they had been with the company just about since their inception, called it "outrageous.""The value of the bikes have already been trashed they have just made them even less valuable," the user <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.reddit.com/r/pelotoncycle/comments/1eytwtz/comment/ljimbpx/?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=web3x&amp;utm_name=web3xcss&amp;utm_term=1&amp;utm_content=share_button">wrote</a>, adding that there used to be nothing like Peloton "but there are options now," seemingly referring to competitors in the market.The company said in a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://investor.onepeloton.com/static-files/7598c64a-bc5d-43c0-84a4-7016549587d3">letter to shareholders</a> that it wants to "ensure these new Members receive the same high-quality onboarding experience Peloton is known for."Peloton views "the secondary market as an important channel" and will continue to improve members' experience, it continued. Its secondary market drove 16% year-over-year growth in the company's paid subscriptions in the fourth quarter.Now, the company can use those secondhand sales as a further source of revenue.Some who oppose the new fee say it would decrease sales of used bikes and increase owners' costs."It'll get to the point where people selling their equipment will offer to cover the activation fee to incentivize potential buyers," A Reddit user <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.reddit.com/r/pelotoncycle/comments/1eytwtz/comment/ljgzjdd/?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=web3x&amp;utm_name=web3xcss&amp;utm_term=1&amp;utm_content=share_button">posted</a>. "So ultimately (eventually) the original owner will be the one eating the cost."Others have <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.facebook.com/PeloBuddy/posts/pfbid02rmHkSr7kCyTJeL7645r2d8XVQszbyuQPN9CVU8G9KhSYuwtDbbC5mVWdFW7TRWYnl">called</a> the move "greedy," according to an unofficial Peloton news forum on Facebook.Longtime Peloton user Sarah Haeck told Business Insider that the bike helped her lose 100 pounds. She even traveled to New York from Washington to take her 1,000th ride in a live studio last December. She criticized the move to add the fee when customers already pay a subscription."It makes me sad to see it become more of a money grab for those trying to improve their health," Haeck said.A standard Peloton bike costs $1,445, and an upgraded model costs $2,495. The company sells used Pelotons for $1,145 for a standard model or $1,995 for the Bike+. Meanwhile, secondhand sales start at around half of that, but they still require a subscription, which costs $12.99 or $24 a month.The decision comes amid Peloton's ongoing effort to reverse a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/peloton-company-history-rise-fall-2022-2">major share decline following success during the pandemic</a>. In the last couple of years, the company has gone through multiple rounds of job cuts, a massive recall, and two CEOs.For the first time in years, though, Peloton has shown signs of improvement. Its fourth-quarter revenue hit $644 million, it said on Thursday, an increase of 0.2%. That marks revenue growth for the first time since 2022. The company also narrowed its net loss.In its shareholder letter, it said its progress reflects its "continued focus on aligning our costs with the size of our business." Peloton announced a restructuring plan in May to cut costs.Peloton did not respond to a request for comment.

Peloton fans are angry about a new 'Activation Fee' for anyone buying a used bike on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist

When Julia Nagel-Mayberry moved to Chicago in 2022, she knew only a handful of people. She was 22, had just finished college, and quickly discovered that making friends in a new city was much harder than it had been in school. When she told a coworker about her predicament, he lit up. "I have the perfect thing for you," she recalled him saying. That's when she learned about the Electric Athletic Club, a nationwide run and fitness club.The next day after work, Nagel-Mayberry made her way to the run club's local meeting point. "I was so anxious," she told me. During the 3-mile run, people chatted with each other, and one runner kept pace with her. Afterward, the 15 runners, all in their 20s and 30s, congregated at a bar."No one was really talking about work. We talked about everything else under the sun," she said. Despite her initial anxieties, Nagel-Mayberry kept showing up every week. "Some of my best friends I've made in Chicago have been through my run club," she said.Over sweaty postrun beers, Nagel-Mayberry discovered something that has become a lost art for many people. In a 2024 study titled "The American Friendship Project," 51% of surveyed Americans said they found it difficult to make new friends. In a 1990 Gallup survey, one-third of Americans reported having 10 or more friends. In 2021, only 13% in an American Survey Center poll said they had that many friends; 12% said they had none at all."Much of our life is organized in a way that points us towards isolated or solitary activities when we have spare time," Sheila Liming, the author of "Hanging Out: The Radical Power of Killing Time," said. That isolation has prompted a slate of fearmongering about <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/there-is-no-loneliness-epidemic-mental-health-2024-4">the loneliness crisis</a>.But while some young people are whiling away their hours at home, many Gen Zers have had enough of their own company. In every part of their lives, the internet-native "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-most-accomplished-loneliest-generation-blame-parents-fault-2022-4">loneliest generation</a>" is making an effort to step outside their comfort zones and create their own "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/loneliness-epidemic-decline-in-third-places-friends-parks-community-2023-9">third spaces</a>" separate from work and home. Gen Z is <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-women-forming-book-clubs-to-combat-loneliness-2024-3">driving up book-club attendance</a>, fueling a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-brands-are-sponsoring-irl-running-clubs-amid-popularity-rise-2024-7">surge in running clubs</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-loves-gym-weightlifting-workout-fitness-trends-planet-fitness-2024-8">flooding gyms and workout classes</a>, and shilling out for social clubs — all in the name of making friends. Given the pandemic stole some of their prime years for socializing, Gen Z is going out with a vengeance and flipping the script on the loneliness crisis.Michelle Kong, 26, fell in love with chess after a friend introduced her to the game two years ago. Unable to find enough friends to play with her, she started playing online — but that wasn't ideal. "I quickly realized that I still need human contact. I cannot just sit at home and play chess alone by myself," she told me. Kong started looking for chess clubs near her in Los Angeles, but they were all for older men or younger children. "I was honestly very surprised that it was not catered towards people that are in their 20s and 30s," she said. Kong decided to take matters into her own hands.She started by livestreaming her <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sexism-cheating-nightclubs-internet-inside-dark-heart-modern-chess-toxic-2024-5">chess games</a> on TikTok, where she would share details about in-person meetups. At the first one, only Kong's friend, who came along for moral support, showed up. But over the next few weeks, people started coming. After eight months, she was averaging 80 attendees per event and had to move to larger warehouse venues to fit everyone. On Valentine's Day, she hosted a chess-themed dating event and drew a crowd of 150. Now, roughly 300 people between 21 and 35 attend LA Chess Club each Thursday evening. Kong ended up quitting her job to focus on the club full time. The event is priced at $60 for men and free for women, with the aim to balance out the gender distribution. At first, Kong made the events more programmed, but she quickly realized that people simply wanted a space to connect. "People want to come, have a good time, drink, listen to music, and socialize. It's like a big soiree," she said. "Someone told me that they always have an afterglow after coming to chess. That was honestly the nicest thing I've ever heard."Kong said about half the people who come each week are entirely new to chess. "A lot of people say they come for the chess and they stay for the community," she said, adding: "Some people have been coming every single week for the past year and a half."The eagerness to socialize after years of pandemic lockdowns is nothing new. After the double whammy of World War I and the influenza pandemic in the 1910s, people were ready to get out and have a good time. Cities built movie theatres and dance halls. Many women, dubbed "flappers," cut their hair short and danced all night. The social and economic boom of the 1920s earned the decade the title "Roaring '20s."Fast-forward 100 years, and people are again hankering to get outside the house, but the spaces and social institutions that make that easy have fallen off. "When we don't have access to those kinds of events or gatherings in our life, there is a sense of isolation that builds," Liming said. "One of the things that comes along with that sense of isolation is decreased empathy and decreased patience with our fellow human beings in society."<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf">Research</a> has found that people embedded in associations in their communities — whether they're bowling leagues or book clubs — are better able to weather poverty and unemployment; they are more likely to be educated and less likely to commit crimes. Fortunately, Gen Zers understand this better than anyone.Across the US, young people are organizing their own third spaces and meetups. In New York City, five friends in their late 20s founded Reading Rhythms — which bills itself as "not a book club" but "a reading party" — in May 2023. They now host events monthly across six locations in the city, aptly titled "chapters," with two more coming later this year.At the events, attendees bring their own reading material and settle into 30 minutes of uninterrupted reading, followed by a 15-minute one-on-one discussion with a stranger, the book serving as an icebreaker. Then there's another 30 minutes of reading, with a final group discussion."We started this as a fun project with friends, and we're quickly realizing that we are tapping into something much, much bigger, which is this collective societal need for us to get off our phones and back into the real world and connect," Ben Bradbury, one of the cofounders, told me. According to Eventbrite, book-club listings were up 24% in 2023 from the prior year, and themed book clubs, such as queer book clubs, saw an 82% increase in attendance. In the UK, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2024/feb/29/uk-in-the-midst-of-a-boom-in-book-clubs-as-gen-zs-hobbies-change">book-club listings</a> on the site jumped 350% from 2019 to 2023.Maya Aristimuño also wanted to tap into this need for socializing. The 22-year-old founder of the marketing agency Maristi Creative hosts a series of pop-up dinner parties for creatives in New York. She said brands typically sponsor entire dinners in return for content. But for events that aren't fully sponsored, she sells tickets to cover the expenses. "I've been to a lot of random events in New York and they're very impersonal," she told me. "The intention behind the events I'm trying to curate is really just to break that and be real. Let's have a real conversation over a good meal."Those with money to spare are turning to members-only clubs to make friends. Clubs like Soho House, Casa Cipriani, and the San Vicente Bungalows serve as social spaces for cash-rich professionals who are willing to pay a premium for exclusivity and access. In a survey by GGA Partners, over 60% of private clubs said they increased their membership in the US in 2022. Perhaps the most well known, Soho House, said it increased its membership from fewer than 112,000 in 2021 to over 176,000 in 2023.Others are showing up to gyms and fitness classes in droves. The fitness chain Orangetheory <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-loneliness-spends-money-to-make-friends-2023-9">grew its Gen Z member base by 200%</a> from the beginning of 2019 to August 2023, its chief technology officer previously told Business Insider. And two-thirds of Gen Zers said in a 2023 Les Mills survey that <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-loves-gym-weightlifting-workout-fitness-trends-planet-fitness-2024-8">socializing was something they were looking for in a gym</a>.Compared with two decades ago, people under 30 <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/death-casual-fringe-friendships-gen-z-sad-jobs-alone-2024-2">report having far fewer friends</a>. And in a report last year, the surgeon general cited a study that found young adults were almost twice as likely to report feeling lonely as those over 65. As a result, many are fighting back against the lingering isolation of the pandemic and reinventing the social landscape in the process. In 2019, all the 10 most-attended events listed on Meetup were tech or professional events. By 2022, half the top 10 events were focused on meeting friends or prospective partners. With new kinds of clubs popping up in every major city, young people are paving the way out of the loneliness crisis.After attending her run club every week, twice a week, for almost an entire year, Nagel-Mayberry was ready to try something new in June last year. A friend suggested she join a book club with 12 other girls. "The first book club was on a Wednesday, so I wasn't able to go to my run club," she told me. On her way to the event, she ran into some friends from her run club. She told them where she was going — and that she was nervous about it. "They were like, 'Don't be. You're going to have so much fun. Tell us about it when we see you next week,'" she said.Nagel-Mayberry still attends the book club each month. Between her various clubs and activities, she no longer has any time to be lonely.<a target="_blank" rel="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/eve-upton-clark">Eve Upton-Clark</a> is a features writer covering culture and society.

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