Digital Detox: Find a Hobby, Get a Life
July 2026
Millennials and Gen Zers are increasingly engaging in "grandma hobbies" such as needlepoint, knitting, mahjong, gardening, pottery, origami, and even birdwatching in order to unplug from technology and reconnect with creativity. These activities are gaining popularity as they provide a break from constant digital distractions to bring back real life social connections.
Instead of mindlessly scrolling on devices, young Americans are adopting activities that allow them to unwind and be more productive at the same time. They are gathering together (in person!) and congregating with people who love the same hobbies. Some are even profiting off of their passions.
Clara Sherman co-founded the company So Bam Fun to “reinvigorate” the game of mahjong with a younger generation. Thirty-four year old Kristie Landing created Verse & Sip, a platform for poets and poetry lovers, where she also posts videos of letter writing, letter locking (the paper becomes the envelope), wax seals, and origami, among other paper crafts. Isaiah Scott, a birdwatcher, artist, and content creator, founded the nonprofit Rookery and Roots Conservancy.
Emma MacTaggart, 26, founded the needlepoint business What’s the Stitch and runs popular social media profiles of the same name. After seeing growing interest in her content, she began to build up her business and now sells needlepoint canvases, accessories and digital designs. Twenty-seven year-old Anna Weare turned her interest in age-old blacksmithing and farriering (making horse shoes), into the thriving business AnvilAnna. She says people are weary of getting poorly-made products that are not durable. The waitlist to score her “coveted one-piece spurs” is about a year long.
A sense of community is being fostered among millennials and Gen Zers centered around their new-found grandma hobbies. It’s not clear if this slight escape from technology, and taking life a bit slower, is a temporary fad or not, but it certainly is a step in the right direction.
July 2026
Millennials and Gen Zers are increasingly engaging in "grandma hobbies" such as needlepoint, knitting, mahjong, gardening, pottery, origami, and even birdwatching in order to unplug from technology and reconnect with creativity. These activities are gaining popularity as they provide a break from constant digital distractions to bring back real life social connections.
Instead of mindlessly scrolling on devices, young Americans are adopting activities that allow them to unwind and be more productive at the same time. They are gathering together (in person!) and congregating with people who love the same hobbies. Some are even profiting off of their passions.
Clara Sherman co-founded the company So Bam Fun to “reinvigorate” the game of mahjong with a younger generation. Thirty-four year old Kristie Landing created Verse & Sip, a platform for poets and poetry lovers, where she also posts videos of letter writing, letter locking (the paper becomes the envelope), wax seals, and origami, among other paper crafts. Isaiah Scott, a birdwatcher, artist, and content creator, founded the nonprofit Rookery and Roots Conservancy.
Emma MacTaggart, 26, founded the needlepoint business What’s the Stitch and runs popular social media profiles of the same name. After seeing growing interest in her content, she began to build up her business and now sells needlepoint canvases, accessories and digital designs. Twenty-seven year-old Anna Weare turned her interest in age-old blacksmithing and farriering (making horse shoes), into the thriving business AnvilAnna. She says people are weary of getting poorly-made products that are not durable. The waitlist to score her “coveted one-piece spurs” is about a year long.
A sense of community is being fostered among millennials and Gen Zers centered around their new-found grandma hobbies. It’s not clear if this slight escape from technology, and taking life a bit slower, is a temporary fad or not, but it certainly is a step in the right direction.