Reclaiming Reality: Gen-Z's Quest for Offline Human Connection

with Lia Zneimer

Lia Zneimer and I met on Zoom, but it might as well have been a living room. Lights low. Tea nearby. That kind of soft, crackly energy you get when the person across from you deeply gets what you're saying.

Lia has spent her career building brand voices and communities at companies like Scholastic, WeWork, and Teal, before stepping into her next chapter as a writer and builder of slow, rejuvenating spaces for those experiencing burnout. 

Together, we talked about a growing shift that's impossible to ignore: Gen-Z's move away from "always online" culture, and how brands can show up in a world craving a non-optimised connection. 

Here’s how it all unfolded.

Mahika:

One cultural shift that I’m seeing recently is instead of the romanticization of self-care or 'soft living' online, more people are preferring to just put their phones down altogether and go live their lives away from the screen.

This shift is happening across industries too. Fitness is less about the exact calories you’re burning and instead showing up for a yoga session at a park. Dating preferences have moved towards meeting somebody at a stand-up night or a bar event, not through their DMs or swiping on dating apps.

There’s this great creator on Substack, @Maalvika, who talks about how we’re craving messy, awkward, real human interaction again, the kind where you talk over each other, feel shy at first, but come alive inside through that. 

Gen-Z is using the online world now not as the destination, but as the means to offline life. Gathering online, but with the real goal being: 'Okay, but where are we actually going after this?'

Because that’s where true community happens.

Lia:

You’re so right about Gen-Z. I mean, think about it: making it through high school and college with smartphones, with social media constantly buzzing, it’s exhausting.

I was on a trip with my mom and her uncle. They were taking pictures of the real thing, while still standing in front of it! And I was like, “Guys, can we just look up? Can we be in the real thing?"

I think Gen-Z gets this in a way that’s really inspiring. They're like, 'I know that's not real.I want to live in the present.

I really envy that self-awareness.

Mahika:

Yeah. It's crazy how much your age of realization shapes all this. For us, so much of our coming-of-age happened through media consumption, it sculpted our identities without us even realizing it.

But I'm glad that maybe Gen-Z is rejecting that “pics or did it even happen?” notion now, we’re tired of seeing every community space turned into a marketplace.

Lia:

I definitely see shift away from oversharing for the sake of oversharing too. Content now feels more intentional: it's about storytelling, humor, documenting a real narrative, not just broadcasting every meal or thought. 

Both creators and viewers have moved away from that and being “chronically online” has shifted away from a funny quirk to a negative characteristic. 

Even with physical products: back when brand merch exploded, people were hoarding t-shirts, fanny packs, stickers. But that era’s kind of... over.

Mahika:

I spoke to a water company recently, and they had this idea I loved — a bottle with a label where you could write your goal or affirmation for the day. Before a workout, before a race. It's so simple but so personal.

Lia:

That's awesome. That's so cool. Because it’s about the customers, not you.

Mahika Singhal:

Exactly. It’s about being a little memento of their life, not another logo shouting into the void.

When brands create spaces, experiences, and even products that feel human, personal, and invitation-based, they’re not just marketing anymore. They’re making real life a little bigger, a little warmer.

Talking to Lia felt like a reminder that the real world: the slightly awkward, beautiful, spontaneous real world, is what Gen-Z is chasing.

Not another platform. Not another app. Not another brand shout.

The brands that will resonate most with this generation aren't the ones who shout louder online. They're the ones who: 

• Design experiences that bridge online and offline worlds - use digital platforms as a starting point for real-world connections rather than the end destination.

• Facilitate genuine community gatherings enabling connections without making everything about sales.

• Embrace "smaller but deeper" engagement strategies - focus on meaningful relationships with core customers rather than reaching millions superficially.

• Position as understanding the "digital fatigue" many young people experience, and offer genuine respite from always-on culture.