TL;DR
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A Data for Progress analysis comparing surveys from 1995 and 2026 found lower reported participation in several social activities, including entertaining at home, attending club meetings and going to worship services. The organization cautions that the surveys used different methods, so the results suggest broad trends rather than precise estimates of change.
Data for Progress reported that Americans were less likely to say they had taken part in several common social activities in 2026 than respondents were in 1995, including hosting people at home, attending club meetings and going to a place of worship. The analysis compared a new survey of 1,098 U.S. adults with an earlier survey, but the organization cautioned that differences in survey methods make the results suggestive, not a precise measure of how participation changed.
The largest reported declines among the listed activities were in attending a class or seminar, down 22 percentage points; entertaining people at home, down 21 points; and attending church or another place of worship, down 20 points. Going on a picnic and attending a club meeting each fell by 19 points, as did playing cards. The report compared the share of respondents who said they had done each activity at least once in the previous 12 months.
For hosting, the comparison was 88% in 1995 and 67% in 2026. The share reporting a club meeting fell from 45% to 26%. Other declines included going out for breakfast at a restaurant, down 13 points, and doing volunteer work, down 12 points. These are percentage-point changes in the share reporting an activity, not measures of how often people did it or how much time they spent socializing.
The comparison also found increases for some activities. Reported use of the internet rose by 90 points, playing a home video game by 22 points, attending an exercise class by 14 points, going to a pop or rock concert by 13 points, and taking an airline trip for personal reasons by 5 points. The report presents these as differences between the two survey results; it does not establish that any one change caused another.
The results offer a measure of change in specific activities, beyond broad questions about loneliness or how much time people spend with others. Several of the declines involve settings where people may meet face-to-face, such as homes, clubs, worship services and restaurants. That makes the findings relevant to discussion about how Americans’ social lives have changed, while not proving that people have become lonelier or less connected in every respect.
The survey records whether someone took part in an activity at least once during a year. It does not show how regularly they attended, how many people they met, whether their relationships were close, or whether they substituted other forms of contact. The increases for internet use, concerts and exercise classes also show that the reported pattern is not a decline in every kind of activity.
For readers and policymakers, the figures are best treated as a signal about reported participation, not a direct measure of social isolation or its effects. The report does not test what drove the changes or establish consequences for health, community life or civic participation.
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How the Comparison Was Built
The analysis connects to a wider discussion of social ties in the United States. Data for Progress points to the U.S. surgeon general’s 2023 advisory, which described American loneliness as an “epidemic,” as well as earlier survey findings about time spent alone and the number of close friends people report. The American Perspectives Survey, for example, found that the share of Americans reporting five or more close friends declined from 63% in 1990 to 38% in 2021. Those findings come from separate measures and should not be treated as results of the new activity comparison.
For its new analysis, Data for Progress asked adults how many times they had participated in various activities during the previous 12 months. The questions replicated items from the DDB Needham Life Style surveys, which tracked activities from 1975 to 1999 and were cited in Robert Putnam’s 2000 book “Bowling Alone.” The report used 1995 as its comparison year because that was the earliest year with full data for all the questions included.
The two surveys were conducted differently. The 1995 DDB Needham survey used a stratified quota procedure, a commercial-list sampling frame and mail contact. Data for Progress fielded its 2026 adult sample through web-panel suppliers, using quotas and post-stratification weighting to produce a nationally representative sample. The organization says differences in sampling, survey mode and weighting may affect comparisons, including responses to questions about religion and loneliness.
“The findings below should be read as suggestive of trends, not a precise estimate of change.”
— Data for Progress report
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Limits of the Survey Comparison
The difference in survey methods is the main limitation. The two surveys used different sampling frames, modes of contact and weighting approaches, and Data for Progress notes that these factors can influence reported answers. Its analysis says the size and consistency of declines across activities are a signal of behavioral trends, but the available comparison cannot separate actual changes from effects of methodology.
The report also measures whether respondents did an activity at least once in a year, not the frequency, duration or quality of their social contact. It does not establish why participation changed, whether respondents replaced these activities with other ways of socializing, or how representative each individual result is of change over time. The findings therefore do not, on their own, show that loneliness increased or that social connections declined for every American.
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What Further Evidence Can Show
The report does not announce a follow-up survey or identify a next publication date. A clearer picture would require repeated measurement using consistent questions and comparable survey methods, alongside data on how often people socialize and what forms of contact they use. Until then, the 1995–2026 results should be read as a cross-survey comparison with stated limitations, rather than a precise account of the scale or causes of change.
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Key Questions
What did the Data for Progress analysis find?
It found lower reported participation in many measured activities in 2026 than in 1995. Examples include hosting people at home, down 21 percentage points, and attending club meetings, down 19 points.
Does the report prove that Americans are lonelier?
No. The analysis measured whether respondents had participated in selected activities at least once in the past year. It did not directly measure loneliness or establish that changes in activities caused loneliness.
How reliable is the comparison?
Data for Progress describes the results as suggestive of trends, not precise estimates. The 1995 and 2026 surveys used different sampling, contact and weighting methods, which may affect responses.
Did every activity decline?
No. Reported participation increased for several activities, including internet use, playing a home video game, attending an exercise class and going to a pop or rock concert. The report lists internet use as rising by 90 percentage points.
What time period does the report compare?
The analysis compares responses from the 1995 DDB Needham survey with a Data for Progress survey conducted in 2026. Respondents were asked whether they had taken part in each activity at least once during the previous 12 months.
Source: hn
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