Americans are hanging out less. KC feels it too.
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Americans of every generation are spending less time hanging out than they were 20 years ago, per new American Time Use Survey data.
Why it matters: It's a fundamental shift in how we live, with implications for everything from what we believe to how long we live.
By the numbers: Average daily time spent socializing has fallen from 45 to 35 minutes over the last two decades.
- The decline is steepest among young people. Those aged 15 to 24 went from an hour a day with others to 35 minutes.
- Closer to home, about 39% of Kansas City residents live alone, per a Chamber of Commerce analysis.
Between the lines: Sociologists point to trends Substack writer Derek Thompson dubbed "The Anti-Social Century" in the Atlantic: smartphones, persistent remote work and homes so comfortable there's less reason to leave.
- Teens average 4.8 hours a day on apps like TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat, according to Gallup.
- The places we gather are disappearing too. A 2025 CUBoulder report found widespread closures of hangout spots like libraries, coffee shops and museums, and churches are shuttering at unprecedented rates.
The intrigue: Some Kansas Citians are building against the current.
- The Quarter Life Club bets the cure for Gen Z loneliness is the thing that scares twenty-somethings most: walking into a room of strangers alone.
What we're watching: Whether a summer that packed KC's patios, plazas and watch parties leaves behind any lasting habit of showing up, or whether the anti-social century resumes now that the confetti's swept.