Why Gen Z Is Choosing Hobby Groups, Run Clubs and Book Clubs Over Dating Apps to Find Love
Dating apps once promised endless options, but a growing share of Gen Z says the swipe is over. Burned out by passive scrolling and shallow chemistry, younger adults are trading Tinder, Hinge and Bumble for run clubs, book clubs and other hobby-based spaces where romance grows out of shared activity rather than a profile photo.
The shift is showing up in surveys, in app data and in the rise of platforms built around interests instead of icebreakers. Here’s what’s driving the change and where people are meeting instead.
Why Gen Z Is Over Dating Apps
Gen Z’s frustration with dating apps is not a vague vibe — it’s documented. A 2024 survey by Forbes found that more than 75% of Gen Z users feel burnt out by dating apps because they struggle to find genuine connections despite spending significant time on them. The complaints are consistent: the experience feels passive, repetitive and performative, and the chemistry rarely survives the jump from chat to real life.
That fatigue is pushing younger adults toward spaces where conversation has a built-in reason to happen. Instead of optimizing a profile, they are showing up to a 5K, a knitting circle or a Tuesday night book discussion — and meeting people the old-fashioned way.
How Book Clubs Became a Dating Scene
Book clubs have emerged as one of the clearest examples of hobby-based dating in action. A 2025 survey of 2,000 Americans conducted by Talker Research and commissioned by ThriftBooks found that 23% of book club members had met someone they were romantically interested in through their reading group. Men were significantly more likely than women to report meeting a romantic interest there — 38% compared with 16%.
The same survey found that 44% of respondents would rather meet a romantic partner at book club than on a dating app. Gen X (45%) and Gen Z (47%) were the most likely to prefer a book club meet-cute over app-based dating.
Barbara Hagen, vice president of marketing at ThriftBooks, said: “Not only are reading groups having a significant impact on readers’ romantic lives and friendships, they’re also hugely beneficial for book club members’ mental health.”
She added, “In the survey, we found that readers are meeting in-person, online, in hybrid in-person and online settings and even on social forums. They’re also reading a diverse span of literature from recently-released titles to the classics and making friends and romantic connections along the way.”
Activities and Community Groups Are the New Tinder
Running has become arguably the loudest example of the trend. Data from platforms like Strava shows club participation has surged over the last two years, with some communities seeing major growth. Research by LADbible Group found that around 72% of Gen Z report joining run clubs specifically to meet new people, and many describe them as a replacement for dating apps because the interaction feels more direct and less performative.
The migration is not limited to running and reading. Interest-based platforms are scaling fast: knitting social network Ravelry has more than 9 million users, while Goodreads has more than 150 million members. From cycling groups and bird-watching meetups to intramural sports and hiking clubs, organized group activities are increasingly replacing swipe culture with face-to-face connection — and these communities are doubling as dating pools without marketing themselves that way.
Where to Look If You Want to Try It
For anyone curious about ditching the apps, several platforms have built audiences around specific hobbies and interests:
- Strava: Running, cycling and hiking communities.
- RacketPal / Reclub: Casual sports like pickleball, volleyball and hiking.
- Activitybees: Find partners, groups or coaches for specific activities.
- Hobbytwin: Connect with people to learn or teach skills.
- Silent Book Club: Read together with optional chats.
- StoryGraph / Fable: Social reading communities.
- Ravelry: Community site for knitters and crocheters.
- Meetup: Find local hobby and interest groups.
- Eventbrite: Workshops and social events.
- Palls: Matches you with people and activities based on your interests.
The common thread: the connection starts with what you do, not how you look in a profile photo.
This article was created by content specialists using various tools, including AI.
