More than 150 young adults attended an evening out organised by The Offline Club in London. They each paid £9.50 ($11.97) for the chance to switch off their phones and make in-person human connections. \”We are the technology generation, but we’re tired of it. We want to reconnect with the real world,\” said Bianca Bolum. According to the UK’s telecoms regulator Ofcom, young Brits aged between 25 and 34 spend an average of four hours and three minutes a day glued to their smartphones. The first Offline Club was launched in Amsterdam by Ilya Kneppelhout and two friends, and has since opened branches in Paris, Barcelona and Dubai. The club has been inspired by book clubs such as Reading Rhythms in New York or the Silent Book Club where people gather to read together. Some influencers, ever present on social media, are leading the way, with French woman Lena Mahfouf announcing to her millions of followers she was taking a break from her phone.
