In a world where social media often feels performative and overwhelming young people are turning away from big platforms like Facebook, TikTok, and Snapchat. Instead they are moving toward something  more private and community-oriented: hobby apps. 

Apps like AllTrails (for hiking), Strava (for fitness), Airbuds (for social music listening), and Letterboxd (for film lovers), and social apps like Maven (follow interests not influencers) are thriving. They’re offering users a chance to connect over real interests, not just content. According to a recent report, 67% of individuals globally are making a greater effort to meet new people, and hobby apps are helping them do it, through shared passions, not shared clout.

It’s a sharp contrast to what social media has become. As Culted points out, hobbies once turned into another way to boost personal branding. It wasn’t enough to enjoy something. You had to prove it online. Hiking wasn’t about the trail; it was about the selfie at the summit. Reading wasn’t about the book; it was about the perfectly curated “currently reading” post.

Hobby apps are less about showing off and more about showing up. Strava, once purely a fitness tracker, introduced direct messaging in late 2023. What happened next? People started using it to find workout buddies and sometimes even romantic partners. Meanwhile, Letterboxd is seeing online film conversations spill into the real world, with young cinephiles joining film clubs and selling out art house screenings.

These smaller, passion-led communities feel more human. They mimic how we naturally form connections: not through thousands of followers, but through shared moments in smaller groups. They’re also a rebellion against the corporate, algorithm-driven feeds of the bigger platforms. At social medium Maven, for example, they don’t have likes (and therefore don’t count them) and you don’t follow other people’s accounts.  Instead, you follow interests, and your feed is a reflection of the interests you follow. 

In a time when loneliness is widespread and digital fatigue is real, users are searching for more than likes they’re searching for meaning. They’re finding it in shared hikes, movie nights, runs, and playlists.

Maybe the future of social media isn’t about growing an audience. It’s about finding your people and living your passions, online and offline.

Jasmine Cho, author of the 2024 book “Get A Hobby’ defines “hobby” expansively: “any sort of activity that grounds you in joy, can help you cope with sorrow, and can help you escape from life’s burdens.”