TL;DR
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A Data for Progress analysis comparing surveys from 1995 and 2026 found lower reported participation in several in-person social activities, including entertaining at home, attending club meetings and going to worship services. The organization cautions that the surveys used different methods, so the findings suggest trends rather than providing precise estimates of change.
A Data for Progress analysis finds that U.S. adults were less likely in 2026 than in 1995 to report taking part in several common social activities, including entertaining guests at home, attending club meetings and going to a place of worship. The comparison points to broad changes in social participation, but the organization says differences in the surveys’ methods mean its results should be treated as suggestive trends, not precise estimates.
The analysis compares responses from a 2026 survey of 1,098 U.S. adults with the 1995 DDB Needham Life Style survey. Respondents were asked whether they had taken part in specified activities at least once during the previous 12 months. Data for Progress said it replicated questions from the earlier survey, which tracked Americans’ activities between 1975 and 1999 and was cited in Robert Putnam’s 2000 book, “Bowling Alone.”
Among the activities with lower reported participation, entertaining people at home fell 21 percentage points, from 88% in 1995 to 67% in 2026. Reporting attendance at a club meeting fell 19 points, from 45% to 26%. The analysis also reported declines of 22 points for attending a class or seminar, 20 points for attending church or another place of worship, and 19 points each for going on a picnic and playing cards.
Other decreases included going out for breakfast at a restaurant, down 13 points, and doing volunteer work, down 12 points. Some activities moved in the opposite direction: reported use of the internet rose 90 points, playing a home video game rose 22 points, attending an exercise class rose 14 points, going to a pop or rock concert rose 13 points, and taking an airline trip for personal reasons rose five points. These are percentage-point differences in the shares reporting an activity at least once in the prior year, not measures of how often people took part.
The findings add activity-specific comparisons to broader evidence of changing social life. They suggest that the reported declines are not limited to one kind of gathering: the list spans private get-togethers, civic groups, religious services and informal outings. Those settings can provide ways to maintain relationships and participate in community life, so changes in attendance may matter to organizations and people concerned about social connection.
However, the survey does not establish why participation changed, whether people have fewer relationships overall, or how much time they spend with others. A person who did not attend a club meeting in a given year could still socialize in other ways. The results describe whether respondents reported doing particular activities at least once; they do not directly measure loneliness, social isolation or the quality of relationships.
The contrasting increases also complicate a simple account of across-the-board withdrawal. Internet use, home video gaming and exercise-class attendance rose in the comparison, while several in-person group and household activities declined. The data show changes across selected activities, not a complete picture of how Americans connect or whether one form of interaction has replaced another.
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How the 1995 Comparison Was Built
Data for Progress said earlier research had already documented shifts in social connection. It cited American Time Use Survey tracking indicating that Americans spend more time alone and less time with friends than they did two decades earlier. It also pointed to the American Perspectives Survey, which found that the share of Americans reporting five or more close friends declined from 63% in 1990 to 38% in 2021.
The organization framed its new analysis as a way to examine participation in particular activities over a longer period. It compared 2026 responses with the 1995 DDB Needham survey because, it said, 1995 was the earliest year with complete data for all the questions selected for the comparison. The earlier survey was conducted by Market Facts using mail contact and a stratified quota sampling procedure based on a frame from commercial list brokers.
The 2026 survey used web-panel suppliers, quota fielding and post-stratification weighting to seek a nationally representative adult sample. Because the studies differed in sampling frames, survey modes and weighting, their results cannot be read as if they came from one unchanged survey repeated over time. Data for Progress acknowledged that mode-related differences and social desirability effects could influence responses, including on questions about religion and loneliness.
“The findings below should be read as suggestive of trends, not a precise estimate of change.”
— Data for Progress
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Limits of the Survey Comparison
The analysis does not isolate whether the reported differences reflect actual behavioral change, differences in who responded, the move from mail to online surveys, or a combination of factors. The two samples were drawn and weighted differently, and the report says survey mode can affect answers on subjects such as religiosity and loneliness. Those limits make the precise size of each change uncertain.
The survey also asked whether respondents took part in an activity at least once during the previous year. It does not show how regularly they attended, who they went with, whether the activity was replaced by another form of socializing, or why participation changed. The figures are not measures of the total number of events or participants in the country.
Data for Progress characterized the consistency of declines across multiple measures as a signal, but the comparison alone cannot show that a single cause drove them. The supplied report does not establish the effects of changes in technology, work patterns, community institutions or other possible factors.
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What Further Tracking Can Show
The immediate next step for readers is to treat the results as one comparison alongside other measures of social connection, rather than as a definitive count of how Americans socialize. Follow-up surveys using consistent sampling, modes and question wording over time could help distinguish real changes in participation from differences tied to survey design.
The report does not announce a new survey date or a follow-up study. Further evidence would also be needed to explain the causes of the declines and the increases, and to determine whether people are shifting toward different activities or participating less overall. Until then, the 1995–2026 comparison offers a snapshot of reported participation in selected activities, with methodological caveats attached.
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Key Questions
What did the Data for Progress analysis find?
It found that the share of respondents reporting participation in several activities at least once in the prior year was lower in 2026 than in 1995. Examples include entertaining at home, down 21 percentage points, and attending a club meeting, down 19 points.
Does the report show that Americans socialize less overall?
Not by itself. It compares participation in selected activities, not total time spent socializing or the number and quality of people’s relationships. The report says its results are suggestive of trends, not precise estimates of change.
Why are the findings not a precise measure of change?
The 1995 and 2026 surveys used different sampling frames, survey modes and weighting approaches. The earlier study contacted participants by mail, while the newer study used web panels, so changes in responses may partly reflect methodological differences.
Did all activities show a decline?
No. The comparison found increases in reported internet use, home video gaming, exercise-class attendance, pop or rock concert attendance and personal airline trips. The largest listed increase was 90 percentage points for internet use.
Source: hn
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