More young people prefer to socialise at home rather than clubbing or going to the pub

More young people aged between 18 and 28 prefer to socialise at home or at a friend’s house rather than clubbing or going to a bar or pub. 

The research also revealed that travelling abroad and personal growth are the top two things young people between 18 and 28 are looking forward to this year. 

It's among the findings conducted by regional youth radio station Beat 102 103 and SPARK, as part of My So-Called Beat Life.
 
The project was developed to understand young people’s attitudes, behaviours, and thoughts as we come out of the Covid-19 pandemic, and get ‘back to normal’. 
 
Young people in the South East and nationwide were asked questions about themselves, their experiences, radio and phone habits, and politics. The results are based on data collected from Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford, Wexford, and Tipperary, and the rest of the Republic of Ireland. 
 
My So-Called Beat Life heard from a sample of 500 18 to 28-year-olds in the Republic of Ireland, in Spring 2024.

• More people (50%) would prefer to socialise at home or at a friend’s house rather than going to a bar or club (34%) or clubbing (19%) 
• Half of respondents would chose to go for a coffee or a casual meal as a way to socialise with their friends, while 39% would like to go a restaurant 
• Just 19% would opt to go clubbing as a way to socialise, while 22% would choose online gaming as a way to stay in touch with friends.
• Almost half (47%) said that they would choose an activity
• Going to a pub or a bar came in sixth place as young people’s preferred way to socialise as just 34% say they would like to a pub or bar to socialise
• Group chats and social media came in seventh place with just 32% choosing online engagement as their preferred way to socialise
• 3 in 10 respondents would prefer to exercise or play sports with the friends and family 

The research also revealed that travelling abroad, personal growth and spending time with family and friends are the top three things young people between 18 and 28 are looking forward to this year. 

• Women are more likely to look forward to personal growth (55%), travelling abroad (55%) and going to bars & pubs (21%) 
• Men are less likely to look forward to these things this year compared to women 
• Gen Z are more likely to look forward to hobbies 
• 37% of respondents said that they were looking forward to trying new things

Research Executive of the SPARK project My So-Called Beat Life and Waterford native Anne O’Dwyer says: “Young people can’t really afford to go out to pubs/bars and clubs on a regular basis anymore. However, that’s not stopping them from socialising or making them not want to socialise, it just means they’re finding new and preferred ways of doing so.
 
“Most people are now opting to visit each other’s houses, go for a casual meal, or do an activity which is really nice to see. It’s simple things and they allow actual quality time and interaction rather than trying to shout at each other on a crowded dance floor (nothing wrong with that either)!.
 
“Going through what people are looking forward to this year, it's clear that people are finding joy in the more day-to-day aspects of life rather than big life events. It’s great that people are looking forward to their personal growth, travelling abroad, hobbies etc. and not putting pressure on themselves to tick off all these major milestones while they’re young.”
 
Beat 102 103 mini-series ‘Living Your Best Life’ airs Wednesday 10th of July. This series focuses on these key findings for people aged 18 to 28 post-covid.