“Swap screen time for real time” – that’s the motto of The Offline Club, a company based in the Netherlands that aims to promote offline social interactions. Founded by three Gen Z friends – 27-year-old Ilya Kneppelhout, 27-year-old Valentijn Klok, and 28-year-old Jordy van Bennekom – the club advocates for embracing real-life experiences over virtual ones.
Kneppelhout, originally from Amsterdam, studied business administration and journalism at Wagner College in New York before returning to the Netherlands, while Klok, a former chef, holds a degree in business and economics. Together with van Bennekom, they seek to change people’s perspectives on technology.
“We believe that real life holds more value than virtual life,” Kneppelhout told the Epoch Times, “Our time on this planet is fleeting. We shouldn’t spend it behind screens but in the real world, engaging with real people because our memories at the end of life won’t be text messages or Instagram posts, but interactions with actual individuals.”
Inspired by Bill Gates’ “think week,” van Bennekom shared his plan to take a break from his phone for a few days in mid-2021, leading to a transformative experience. Kneppelhout, who typically spent a lot of time online, followed suit, detoxing digitally with remarkable results – feeling relaxed, calm, and creatively inspired after a long time.
Building on the success of their digital detox, van Bennekom and Kneppelhout launched the “Offline Getaway,” where groups of 10-12 people immerse themselves in offline experiences in nature. After hosting the first getaway in October 2022, they expanded their events in 2023.
Participants spend a tranquil weekend in nature, free from digital distractions, with Klok, leveraging his background as a chef, preparing healthy and tasty meals. While the Offline Getaway garnered success, organizing such events required significant financial and time investment, leading to the birth of The Offline Club.
“We want to make it accessible to a wider audience, especially in fast-paced urban areas where people rarely disconnect or slow down,” Kneppelhout said.
Although named a club, The Offline Club isn’t a physical location but organizes “digital detox meetups” in existing cafes. Led by two hosts, gatherings typically run for 2-3 hours, offering quiet “me time” and social interactions, where attendees can journal, read, chat, and make new friends with items brought from home.
While still in its infancy with the first event in February, The Offline Club quickly gained momentum, organizing over 15 events across four cities in the Netherlands, amassing a fan following of over 200,000 in just six weeks.
For many, The Offline Club represents an innovative way to meet new people without the pressure, fostering natural conversations. Attendees, initially shy at the start of activities, often bid farewell to newfound friends with reluctance by the end of each session.
With varied attendees of ages ranging from 25 to 45, including singles, couples, and even older individuals finding nostalgia in the club activities, it creates a sense of connection reminiscent of bygone Dutch eras.
Kneppelhout recalled an elderly participant expressing how seeing everyone reading made her heart sing. Through their work, the trio aims to spark a “counter-movement,” uniting people and promoting genuine social interactions, a movement that seems to be blossoming.
“People really love it,” Kneppelhout added, “We’ve received such warm and positive responses.”
Operating the business isn’t without its challenges, with Kneppelhout juggling full-time work alongside managing The Offline Club. Finding a delicate balance in promoting online without compromising their mission, they opted for Instagram as a platform given the digital detox nature of their service.
Within a week of launching an Instagram account, two videos from The Offline Club went viral online, accumulating 125,000 followers within a month. Managing the influx of messages on Instagram posed a challenge for Kneppelhout, who typically avoids using the platform on his phone.
Describing tech addiction as the “new smoking,” Kneppelhout acknowledges its allure, having had a phone since age 11, recognizing its negative impact on his life and fostering a firm stance against it.
Offering three digital detox tips for those seeking to reduce screen time – turning off notifications, using a traditional alarm clock instead of the phone, and leaving the phone at home more often – The future seems promising for offline retreats and unplugging as people increasingly realize the impacts of screen time.
The young team aims to create a “counter-movement” in a time marked by loneliness and fatigue, providing a space for those struggling to rest and reconnect with their authentic selves in a world inundated with social media distractions engineered to captivate and steal time.
“We are now lost in an ocean of disruptions caused by social media applications meticulously crafted and designed by Silicon Valley engineers to grab our attention, occupy, and steal our time,” Kneppelhout remarked.
Through their efforts, the trio endeavors to bring people together and foster genuine human interactions in a world overrun by digital noise, championing the motto: “Swap screen time for real time.”