Being offline is the hottest thing to post online

Plus, some of my favorite corners from around the internet.

Apr 09, 2025

The CraftNook space within Dream Boutique, and my materials for the collage I made there. I stayed off my phone, except to take these pictures for my Instagram.

Last year, I posted a TikTok about the rise of "no phone summer" videos. The phrase was often overlaid on neatly styled flat lays of flip phones, film cameras, and other nostalgic tech.

Around the same time, I saw Twitter commentary framing this content as evidence of a broader Gen Z rejection of social media. That interpretation wasn’t completely off-base—many people, especially Gen Zers, were reflecting on the negative impacts of social media and trying to be more intentional with their screen time. But this commentary frustrated me.

"Gen Z is going full Luddite and completely ditching smartphones and social media… according to these videos they posted on TikTok," I joked on Twitter. Sure, plenty of people were logging off. But I wondered how much overlap there was between them and the people meticulously arranging their tech for a TikTok flat lay.

I don’t want to sound too much like the "we should improve society somewhat" meme, because obviously, people are going to talk about being less online…online. Social media remains a key arena for discourse about cultural, technological, and social issues. That said, I want to make two points.

First, being offline has become an aesthetic language that, in turn, thrives online.

Printed books and magazines have become curated visual objects on Instagram. Likewise, photos taken on film cameras make their way to Instagram via photo dumps or separate film-focused accounts. These accounts—run by individuals or social groups, like sororities—are often linked in the bios of users’ main profiles.

Second, getting offline is often facilitated by social media itself. IRL clubs rely on Instagram and TikTok to catch the attention of new members and keep existing ones informed.

The Offline Club, which hosts phone-free events like reading parties and "creative cafés" where attendees can doodle, knit, or simply hang out, has a robust online presence—with more than 500,000 Instagram followers. Videos of the club’s events in cities like Amsterdam, London, and Paris have racked up millions of views, drawing even more interest and participation.

In addition to hosting events, The Offline Club created the “Offline Connection Deck” in partnership with Vertellis, a company that creates conversation starter decks.

Brooklyn-based RecCreate Collective, which hosts events like cake decorating, knitting, and zine-making, also has an eye-catching Instagram presence. There, participants can see highlights of past events and sign up for upcoming ones through the link in bio.

I found RecCreate, as well as two other spaces—ThirdSpace and CraftNook (which is run out of Haricot Vert’s Dreamworld Boutique)—through Instagram. Even after attending their collaging events, I still rely on their Instagram feeds to keep updated on future happenings.

City Girls Who Walk, a New York-based walking club, has cultivated an entire IRL and digital ecosystem. With over 80,000 Instagram followers, the club also offers merchandise, a Discord server, and a newsletter, in addition to a calendar full of walks as well as book clubs and volunteering opportunities.

Apps can also serve as an online tool to get people offline—before pulling them right back online.

The group chat app Geneva, acquired by Bumble in the summer of 2024, has described itself as "the online place to find your offline people."

Geneva’s Instagram—although quiet since February 2024—is full of imagery of blue skies and green grass, as well as tote bags that read "online to offline" (or "offline to online," depending on the side).

Another app, Corner, which builds a "personalized map that shows you places based on your taste," encourages users to "get off your phone and go outside." It reminds me of other location-based apps—not just Foursquare, but also Geocaching apps, Pokémon Go, and Randonautica.

“Corner helps you spend less time planning and scrolling so you can spend more time exploring, sharing, and doing what matters with the people you care about,” reads the app’s description in the App Store.

Niche internet corners

A few years ago I used to post a "niche internet corner of the day" on Twitter—highlighting weird websites, oddly specific social media accounts, or other internet rabbit holes I liked. I figured I’d bring it here.

So, here’s a couple I’ve stumbled across lately (some more niche than others):

Shellstagram and sea glass finds: A community of Instagram accounts that act as virtual shell and sea glass collections, where users photograph and share unique beachcombed finds.

Many in the sea glass and seashell Instagram community also make and sell art out of their finds.

If you click on the tagged tab on Instagram’s own profile, you’ll find creative versions of the logo that people have made out of yarn, fruit, coffee, baking ingredients, and more.