According to new global research by Heineken, surveying over 17,000 people across nine* countries, adults now spend an average of 5 hours and 48 minutes a day on their devices. Behind the screen:
📈 59% say their phone use has increased over the past year
📉 Time spent socializing IRL has dropped 35% over the past 24 years
🔋 51% say their social battery is drained by online communication, rising to 62% among Gen Z
😔 62% admit they sometimes feel lonely, despite being constantly connected, 75% among Gen Z
📵 64% wish they could go back to a time when people socialized without smartphones
Aiming to grant that wish, Heineken launched its new campaign — Get Social, Off Socials — with an IRL event in New York City headlined by Joe Jonas. The activation dramatized what happens when people step away from social platforms: their social feeds go quiet, but their social lives light up.
The campaign also features creators like Dude With Sign, Lil Cherry and Paul Olima, turning the irony of empty feeds into a rallying cry for presence over posting. It builds on Heineken's long-term commitment to fostering offline connection — including its Boring Phone, Forgotten Beers campaign and a GBP 39M investment to revive 62 pubs in the UK.
💡 As screen fatigue deepens and IRL nostalgia rises, brands that help people disconnect digitally and reconnect meaningfully will tap into a powerful emotional and social undercurrent — and perhaps usher in a new kind of social capital.
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