They are putting down their devices
Who would have thought they’d take up knitting, fishing, or pottery? These hobbies, often associated with the retired, are back in fashion among Zoomers who are nothing if not paradoxical! Hyper-connected, Gen Z are really getting into offline activities.
The turning point came during lockdown: Constantly online, many Zoomers felt the need to – momentarily – switch off and set aside their devices, and be really in the present. In 2022, the percentage of Zoomers unable to go without their phones and social networks for a half day was down to 12%, compared to 42% two years earlier. These manual activities help them to:
- Reduce their anxiety. Olympic diver Tom Daley knits to cope with the stress of high-level competitions.
- Have some time on their own. Gen Z are very much a community; manual and creative work is a chance to be alone at last.
- Get away from the screens and take pleasure in making something with their hands.
- Contribute to sustainable development by learning to build or repair something.
- Take a time out. Often impatient, Zoomers also appreciate taking time out, watching the flowers grow, or keeping an eye on their fishing rod.
Generation Z are not lacking in resources: they knows how to find or reinvent ways of coping with difficult times.
To go further
“Génération Z : les loisirs de retraités sont devenus cool”
by Laure Coromines, (L’ADN, September 2022).
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