According to a new Data for Progress survey of 1,098 U.S. adults, Americans’ involvement in a range of traditional social activities has declined sharply since the mid‑1990s. The survey replicates questions from the DDB Needham Life Style surveys that tracked participation from 1975‑1999, allowing a direct comparison with the 1995 wave, the earliest year with complete data for all items. Respondents were asked whether they had engaged in each activity at least once in the previous 12 months.
The results show double‑digit percentage‑point drops for many activities. Entertaining people in the home fell from 88 % in 1995 to 67 % in 2026, a decline of 22 points. Attendance at a class or seminar dropped by the same margin, from an unspecified baseline to a 22‑point lower figure. Church or place‑of‑worship attendance slipped from 74 % to 54 %, a 20‑point decrease. Going on a picnic declined from 58 % to 39 % (‑19 points), as did attendance at club meetings (‑19 points, from 45 % to 26 %). Playing cards also fell by 19 points. Going out to breakfast at a restaurant decreased by 13 points, and volunteer work by 12 points.
In contrast, several activities rose markedly. Use of the internet for personal purposes increased by 90 points, playing a home video game rose by 22 points, attending an exercise class went up by 14 points, going to a pop or rock concert increased by 13 points, and taking an airline trip for personal reasons rose by 5 points.
The authors caution that the two surveys employed different methodologies—mail‑based quota sampling for the DDB Needham study versus web‑panel recruitment with post‑stratification weighting for the Data for Progress effort—so the figures should be interpreted as suggestive of broader trends rather than precise measurements. Nonetheless, the consistency of declines across multiple social domains aligns with earlier findings from the American Time Use Survey and the American Perspectives Survey, which reported fewer close friends and more time spent alone. The Data for Progress analysis adds granular detail, showing that Americans are spending less time in specific communal settings such as homes, churches, picnic sites, clubs and restaurants, even as digital and individual pursuits grow.