Home scrolling social media on Friday night instead of going out?

27 August 2026

Possibly, just possibly, related to the previous post.

Recent research by Neal Caren, a professor at the University of North Carolina, has found people in the United States are not going out as much as they once did on a Friday night.

Instead they are choosing to stay home more often than not. The pandemic played some part, but “the growing availability of screen-based alternatives” may be what is driving the trend.

I would be interested to see if this is also the case in Australia. If “screen-based alternatives” are indeed the cause, then I’d think a few more people locally now stay home on a Friday night.

It’s purely anecdotal, but bars nearby are often filled to overflowing on Saturday nights (to be expected), almost empty Sunday night (to be expected), with some closed on Monday night (possibly to be expected). But people seem to be out on Saturday evening, around here anyway.

I can’t speak much for Friday night, as I seldom seem to be near any bars for some reason — has a lot of course to do with not being the biggest drinker — but I’m guessing Fridays would still be about as busy as Saturdays. Or for now at least.

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