A new Murmuration survey of 7,449 U.S. adults, conducted with support from The Walton Family Foundation, finds that nearly three in four Americans (73%) say spending in-person time with friends and family has become more important to them over the last year, while a majority (55%) have seriously considered quitting social media.
The survey, which includes an oversample of nearly 3,900 Gen Z adults, finds that the shift is sharpest among the generation that grew up online: nearly two-thirds of Gen Z adults (64%) have seriously considered quitting social media—more than any other generation—and 44% have deleted a social media app from their phone.
The findings, published in Murmuration's Life in the Digital Age report, suggest that as people try to put down their phone, they’re challenged to find places to connect in person: Nearly six in ten adults (59%) say affordable places to spend time are harder to find than they used to be, and more than a third say the same about places to meet people casually (35%).
"We spend our time listening to Americans at scale, and what we're hearing is clear: as more of life moves online — from doctor's appointments to parking meters — people are reaching for more life outside their screens," said Sarah Stamper, Murmuration's Chief Research Officer. “Our research finds that 81% of adults have already taken steps to reduce their screen time, and what they’re looking for - is where to go next.”
A Country Turning Toward the Tangible
Throughout the survey, respondents report an increasing reorientation toward in-person and analog lifestyles. Over the last year, majorities say spending time outdoors (59%) and cooking, gardening, or making things by hand (54%) have become more important to them. More than four in ten (44%) say the same about spending time away from phones and screens, and 38% are prioritizing reading physical books, newspapers, and magazines.
Simultaneously, our increasingly digital life is wearing on people:
- Nearly two-thirds of adults (64%) say everyday life requires more mental effort than it should at least a few times a week—37% say it weighs heavier every day.
- Half (50%) say finding trustworthy information has become harder over the last few years.
- 51% say they are less confident than they were in 2024 in their ability to tell what online information is real.
Online life is also straining respondents' sense of self: 74% believe social media encourages people to perform or curate a version of themselves rather than be authentic, and a majority (52%) say they feel more like their authentic selves offline. When asked what keeps them coming back to social platforms, nearly half of adults (46%) name habit or boredom.
The Generation Raised Online is Leading an Analog Revival
From the oversample of 3,874 Gen Z adults (ages 18–30), the research finds that Gen Z adults are the generation more likely to want more in-person experiences and to say time away from screens and community activities have grown in importance.
Young adults also report they are actively building habits away from their screens. They are at or near the top of every generation in reporting that offline behaviors have grown in importance over the last year: visiting local businesses, libraries, and farmers' markets (40%), attending community events (36%), volunteering (30%), and writing by hand (29%).
Notably, Gen Z's increasing interest in an analog lifestyle is not a rejection of the internet. Young adults are the most likely generation to say online interactions lead to meaningful real-world relationships and the most likely to say online life makes people more understanding of those different from them. The data indicates discernment: the most digitally fluent Americans extract the most real-world value from the internet - and are also the most deliberate about stepping away from it.
In tandem, Gen Z is also hitting the infrastructure wall the hardest. More than six in ten (61%) say affordable places to spend time are harder to find than they used to be—along with places to meet people casually (43%) and screen-free gathering spaces (42%).
That balance is what Americans of every age say they are looking for - when asked what a healthy relationship with technology looks like, only 5% describe little or no technology at all.
After decades of headlong tech growth and our nation’s accelerated digital adoption, these findings suggest the country may be reaching a turning point that often follows saturation: with daily life chronically online, how much of our time and attention do we really want it to spend on a screen?
Americans appear to know what they’re looking for - the question is where they'll find it.
Read the full report here.
Methodology
With support from The Walton Family Foundation, Murmuration surveyed 7,449 adults in the United States online from July 29 to August 10, 2026, including an oversample of 3,874 Gen Z adults (ages 18–30). Results are weighted by age, race, gender, education, and party identification to be representative of U.S. adults. The survey has a margin of error of ±1.4% at the 95% confidence level, accounting for the design effect.
About Murmuration: Murmuration is a non-profit that organizes a network of partners and equips them with the insights, tools, and services needed to help communities build and activate the power to transform America into a nation where everyone thrives.
About The Walton Family Foundation: The Walton Family Foundation is, at its core, a family-led foundation. Three generations of the descendants of our founders, Sam and Helen Walton, and their spouses, work together to lead the Foundation and create access to opportunity for people and communities. We work in three areas: improving K-12 education, protecting rivers and oceans and the communities they support, and investing in our home region of Northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas-Mississippi Delta.
Data from Murmuration's Life in the Digital Age report.
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