Phones have become the easiest place to disappear, with a quick check turning into a half-hour scroll before anyone even notices. But a growing number of people are clearly tired of living through a screen, and that shift is opening the door for apps that push attention back toward real-world plans, face-to-face contact, and events that feel more human than digital.
Run clubs, phone-free dinners, wellness meetups, and local gatherings are getting more popular because people want something that feels grounded. The appetite is not just about stepping away from social media fatigue, either, since many users are looking for ways to make technology work for them instead of letting it eat the day.
That is the bet behind NewTree Social, a startup from 29-year-old founder Maddy O’Connor. The app is built to help people discover nearby activities, RSVP, and then actually show up, using the phone as a launchpad rather than a trap.
The timing matters. Eventbrite’s 2026 Social Study found that 79% of people ages 18 to 35 in the U.S. and U.K. planned to attend more events in 2026, while 46% of Gen Z respondents said they were limiting screen time and 74% said in-person experiences mattered more than digital ones.
Those numbers may come from an events company, so some skepticism is fair, but they fit the mood on the ground. Eventbrite also says phone-free experiences on its platform grew 567% globally between 2024 and 2025, with attendance up 121%, which suggests the hunger for unplugged experiences is more than a passing mood.
O’Connor said the idea for NewTree grew out of her own life in Washington, D.C., where building a social circle did not always feel easy. Watching interest build around fitness groups, wellness events, and social clubs gave her a clear opening to shape an app around the kind of outings people already want to join.
That is a smart angle because meeting people can feel awkward when the only goal is meeting people. It feels different when a person is already interested in the class, run, or gathering, since the event itself gives everyone something to talk about before the first introduction.
NewTree works like a social feed at first glance. Users can browse local events, RSVP, and get reminders, but the layout is meant to feel more community-driven than a plain directory of listings.
O’Connor’s background in graphic design shows up in the way she talks about the product. The app is being built to feel closer to a social platform, with reviews playing a bigger role in what rises in the feed instead of just sitting quietly on a host’s profile.
Right now, the app is focused on community, fitness, and wellness events in Tampa, St. Pete, and Clearwater. Hosts can add photos and videos, while users can browse what is nearby and decide what looks worth leaving the house for.
That approach puts NewTree into a busy field, since Meetup, Eventbrite, and Facebook already help people find events. The difference is that NewTree is trying to lean harder into the feeling of a curated social space built around getting people together in person.
Still, there is a long road between a good idea and an app people use every week. NewTree is early, pre-traction, and pre-revenue, so the real test is not whether people like the concept, but whether they will actually make plans and follow through.
Safety is a big part of that test. O’Connor says she personally reviews and approves hosts during the MVP stage, and users can report content, block people, or flag problems, while hosts can remove or report attendees as well.
Even so, the platform’s own terms make clear that outside hosts run events independently and that no regular criminal background checks or identity verification are generally done on users, attendees, or organizers. That means common sense still matters, including checking the venue, looking into the host, and not treating an app as a guarantee that every stranger is safe.
Privacy deserves attention too, especially because event apps often need location data to work properly. NewTree says it collects basic account details like name, email, date of birth, and location, and can use a saved profile location or, with permission, device location.
When someone RSVPs to a free event, the host receives attendee information needed to manage the gathering. That is normal for this kind of product, but it is still worth understanding before sharing personal details or assuming an app is keeping everything locked away.
There is also a small but important age-rating wrinkle. Apple currently lists NewTree with a 13+ age rating, while the app itself says users must be at least 18 years old to create an account or use the platform.
Android support is not available yet, and the company is still figuring out its long-term business model. O’Connor has said the app will likely stay free for users while eventually offering optional premium tools for businesses and hosts, though the exact paid features have not been finalized.
What makes the whole thing interesting is not just the app itself, but the cultural shift behind it. People are still using phones constantly, but more of them are looking for tools that help turn screen time into real plans, real movement, and real conversation.
If that trend keeps building, the most useful social apps may not be the ones that keep people scrolling forever. They may be the ones that help someone find an event, close the app, walk out the door, and actually live the thing they just discovered.
