I recently listened to this super interesting podcast. A youngster explained the trend in going out. A journalist initially wrote an article. Then decided to speak it out loud as well, for all of us to listen to.
The story background: A holiday village - Renesse - in the Netherlands.
A super popular beach village in the southwestern part of my tiny country, the Netherlands. Popular mostly in summer. Vacation destination for teenagers, students and families. A place with many holiday homes, campings, and whatnot. A place where the local entertainment scene thrived in the two months separating school years, in the heart of our summer. Decade(s) ago, many bars and clubs enjoyed peak times.
Today ... One club left.
One!
And even on club nights - often enough - only a handful of people show up.
Where are the people?
They are around, in town and about. On campings and the beach. But the youngsters stay away from the one club left. Those that took the effort to buy a ticket found themselves on an almost empty dance floor.
The trend is clear, not only in Renesse, but throughout the whole country. A trend I've seen happen firsthand in past years. Since COVID, young people seem to be going out much less to the traditional places where people have been going for the last twenty, thirty years. Perhaps the last fifty to a hundred years.
Bars. Clubs. Discos and Festivals.
Those places don’t seem to be as attractive anymore.
Image: Somewhere in Western Germany
She explained that during COVID, young people - school kids in particular - learned something else. They still wanted to meet each other. They still wanted to hang out. They couldn't do this in bars, clubs and at festivals, obviously. Therefore, they learned to gather and enjoy at other spots, whatever those may be. I suppose at home, or in some barn when living outside the city.
What struck me when listening to this young lady. The other reasons she gave for not going out ...
Efficiency!
Going out to said places - bars, clubs and festivals - should be efficient! It costs a lot of money these days. True, since COVID it feels like entertainment has been inflated by somewhere between 50 and 100%. "So you only spend money at these places when it feels efficient. When you feel you’re really getting something out of it. Because of that, you don’t go every week anymore. Maybe once a month. Maybe only a few times a year."
But is going out supposed to be efficient?
"... and what about hangovers?", she continued. "Who wants to go through the agony of recovering from a hangover?", she said. "Not me. And when so, it must be from something very special!" She speaks the voice of many of her generation. "A hangover isn't very efficient", she added.
Are we measuring going out and having fun, with alcohol and/or other substances, against efficiency? Where is the world turning into? Isn't the whole point to be not efficient? To let loose? To forget about our daily lives? To have fun with our friends, acquaintances and strangers? To enjoy?
I'd say, not efficient in terms of productivity, but super efficient for winding down, de-stressing, and gaining the energy to deal with our everyday lives. I even dare to say that going carpe diem mode for an evening, a night, a day (festival), or multiple thereof in places of joy avoids us needing psychologists and therapy sessions. A staggering 70% of youngsters feel depressed, some more, some less. But really? 70%! 7 out of 10. Being efficient has its price, a price these youngsters seem to be willing to pay.
I'm still amazed at how people think. Most think of alcohol hangovers. They can be bad, for sure. So do not drink too much alcohol. If you like the experience of being out-of-the-world, keep the alcohol in the bottle. Take something else. Many 'something elses' give the average person a better experience, a better feeling, without hangovers, or hangovers with a positive feeling instead of the negative ones.
Phones
The club owner in Renesse told the journalist: Often when people enter for a night, they do seem to be most interested in talking and their phones. He experimented with the sound. Whenever the music became loud, it is difficult to hear each other; Youngsters switched their attention to their screens, their phones. When he let the technician turn down the sound levels, he noticed the same people getting into conversation mode. Not all; More than some stayed glued to their phone.
The phone, eye, and glue thingy has already led to more clubs forbidding phones on the dance floor. Some even tape the phone cameras when entering the club or festival grounds. One club I've been to even removed people when they were caught more than once using a phone on the dance floor. At least five guards constantly watching the crowd, 400 people max. Whenever a screen lit up, one had to be afraid one of the guards jumping in front and give a warning, at best. Super annoying, such 'stasi'-like approach, but PERFECT in getting the peeps to enjoy the music and each other.
My advice
To the young people and all others, for all generations. Find regularly carpe diem mode. Let loose. Enjoy the moment. Forget about everything else. Reload and feel re-energised.
What do you do to wind down and re-energise?
