Offline Clubs bring paid digital‑detox meetups to cities across Europe

The "Offline Club" franchise, founded five years ago by three Dutch entrepreneurs in Amsterdam, offers paid gatherings where participants deliberately leave their smartphones behind. Membership fees range from about €25 per month in Amsterdam to donation‑based contributions for events such as the Cologne "Reading Rave".

Events span board‑game afternoons, nature walks, multi‑day digital‑detox retreats and informal gatherings on rooftop terraces. Organisers say the aim is to reconnect people face‑to‑face and combat the loneliness reported by many members of Generation Z, who average three days a week online according to a 2025 Postbank digital study. Communications scholars note that participants seek authentic, analog interactions rather than a full “digital detox”.