December 31, 2025 • 21 mins
What are you doing New Year's? Apparently ... nothing. Amy and T. J. were floored to learn that TWO THIRDS of Americans don't plan to party at all on NYE, and a lot of them plan to spend the evening alone, specifically saying Netflix and social media scrolling were on the agenda.
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hey there, folks, it is December thirty, first New Year's Eve,
and don't worry if you plan on being alone tonight,
you won't be alone. Welcome to this episode of Amy
and t J Rowls. Is this one of those things
where it feels like you feel obligator or you feel
like a down or a loser, or you have fomo
(00:22):
because you don't have some big party to go to
on New.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Year's e It's supposed to be a big celebratory night
for everybody. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
I think that that's a reasonable and probably shared experienced
by a lot of folks. You feel pressure to have fun,
you feel pressure to be social, you feel pressure to
have the best night of your life. Yeah, and that's
sometimes it's so overwhelming, that pressure that people just they
(00:47):
just opt out because it's too much. They can't live
up to expectations.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Yeah, and it doesn't hell that. It certainly seems like
around you everybody's got something to do. There's a party,
and they're talking about it. You turn on TV, certainly
you see people everybody's talking about us Eve celebrations. And
then you're home alone and am I supposed to be
doing that? Am I supposed to do I have a
party to go to. I've spent more money than I've
(01:13):
wanted to do on New Year's Eve before, just because
the last minute pressure, though I guess I gotta do
something and didn't want to do at all.
Speaker 4 (01:21):
I get that.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
In fact, I will say some of my favorite moments
of New Year's Eve in the past, I ended up
typically throwing a lot of parties because that way, at
least I knew who was going to be there and
there could be a controlled environment, so to speak. But
some of my favorite New Year's Eves have been working
because I got to be a part of things as
a journalist, but I didn't actually have any of the
(01:44):
expectations where I had to have certain friends here, I
had to drink this or I had to do that.
Speaker 4 (01:48):
I was working.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
I got to be around it, but I didn't have
to actually technically participate in it.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
You were.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
It was provided for you, of course, and that thing
was provided with a lot of people tonight looking for
things and have plans and might not realize overwhelmingly if
you're not doing anything tonight and plan on not doing
anything tonight and don't plan on going to a party.
The majority of Americans are with you. The majority of Americans,
(02:15):
according to at least one of the most recent surveys
that's out there, show that robes at least sixty five
percent of people do not plan to celebrate at all tonight.
They're either gonna be a sleep by midnight, they're gonna
be watching Netflix, or they're gonna be scrolling TikTok.
Speaker 4 (02:34):
That was shocking to me.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
I know that it's there's definitely a large percentage of
people who might opt out from the parties, but hearing
that two thirds of Americans will not celebrate the evening
at all, I don't know why. Maybe it shouldn't, but
it makes me sad.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
I mean, well, some of the details and here it
will start to make sense to people as well, because
it's stuff we've been talking about in this country for years,
tied to social media and this we were just the
loneliness effect.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
What was the one?
Speaker 1 (03:04):
We were just talking loneliness epidemic, epidemic that we're having
and some people opting for it but also not knowing
even how to be social anymore. But some of this
survey we saw explained came to us from a group
called Sunny Workplace. Now they have an app that's focused
on trying to fight this epidemic of loneliness. And they
used the company that did this survey three thousand Americans.
(03:24):
That's not a small survey. Is where we're getting these answers.
The question was asked, period point blank, how do you
prefer to spend New Year's Eve? The numbers break down
this way. Rom Thirty five percent said at home watching
Netflix or some other streaming service like that was a
specific answer. They gave thirty five percent home watching Netflix.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
Yeah, they didn't say watching the New Year's Eve celebration,
watching the ball drop, watching rocking New Year's Eve. No,
they say literally watching a movie, a streaming service of
some kind, not participating, ignoring any of.
Speaker 4 (04:01):
The celebratory moments or events that are happening around the world.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
So the second most popular answer, well, twenty four percent,
when asked the question how do you prefer to spend
New Year's Eve? Said at a New Year's Eve party.
So a quarter of Americans plan to actually celebrate and
to have or throw or go out to a party.
That seeing you're sugar, Yeah, that seems low to you.
Speaker 4 (04:20):
That seems so low to me.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
I thought maybe it'd be more like forty percent, maybe
even fifty percent.
Speaker 4 (04:26):
But that's I don't know.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
I guess I'm taking what my preferences and assuming that
more people would be of like mind, and I'm massively wrong.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
But it seems like everybody's partying. When you turn on
the television, it does. Does billion people in Times Square?
See Eara's out there doing her thing in Los Angeles.
You have to have Lucy Hale down in New Orleans, right,
we see these parties on TV. Everybody's out, everybody's partying.
I will tell you now that I think about it.
When I grew up, my parents weren't doing New Year's celebrations.
It might be a thing that really, so many people
(04:56):
in the country are home with family, But some of
the these answers seemed to suggest something different. This doesn't
sound like and they're I was saying this was all singles.
But I guess do families really parents go out and leave.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
The kids at home.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
I have memories, but I was always with like cousins.
We were usually somewhere for the holidays around my grandparents.
So I remember early on sometimes my parents going out
with their siblings and we cousins would be at home
with the grandparents and we'd get little hats and little
horns and that kind of thing. But as a family,
I remember my parents definitely going out, so I think
(05:32):
maybe that was I was imprinted I saw them going out.
I remember being a kid being excited seeing my mom
put on a dress and thinking it was the coolest
thing ever, and watching them go out in a date night.
And they didn't do it often, so it was exciting
to me to see them do that. I remember thinking
about how fun it was going to be and how
cool it was going to be. When I was a
certain age forty eight.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
I still never seen mamma get dressed up.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
Okay, okay. The question how do you prefer to spend
New Year's Eve? The third most popular answer twenty percent
said a sleep by midnight.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
That would not kind of get.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
Oh, that makes when you're not even acknowledging the new year,
you're just sleeping.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
I did.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
I'm going to sleep tonight and tomorrow.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
It'll be you only sleep four to five hours a night,
but you're gonna sleep through midnight.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
No, I'm not going to.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
But I get how people would just what's the big deal?
This isn't my thing?
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Right?
Speaker 1 (06:24):
I equated to what would it be for you? Not
not Halloween? Maybe Halloween's not so popular, but that's a
night that people like to go out and get dressed up.
It's a big thing, certainly here in New York.
Speaker 4 (06:36):
You know what, I don't like Santa Con. There's the
one time where it's.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Not okay, you're muddying the waters. Now, let me get
back on track. The how do you prefer to spend
New Year's Eve? The fourth most popular answer was ten
percent saying they want to scroll social media. That's okay,
that might be the one I would shake my head
out and say, that's that's unfortunate to hear.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
That actually breaks my heart because that means they want
to be adjacent. They want to see what other people
are doing, but for whatever reason, they don't have plans
and the fact that they're planning to scroll social media
that they actually were able to answer saying this is
what I'm going to do. It's not a default, or
I don't have anything else to do, so maybe I'll
just check this out.
Speaker 4 (07:20):
They actually have an intention.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
I will be scrolling social media to celebrate or to
bring in the new year. That breaks my heart because
that's about not participating.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
Yeah, what do we do? I mean, it's look, this
is the group to put this out? Does focus on loneliness.
I mean, I guess so many people would say, Hey,
this is what I want to do. What's the big deal?
There's nothing unfortunate or sad. Why don't I have to
be a part of that thing or that thing? Why
are you putting pressure on me to be a part
of this whatever it is. I'm sure truly plenty of
(07:52):
folks out there like, what's the big deal? I just
don't want to go out? And then there is a
part of the argument and the debates that will continue
for youes, is that social media is doing something to
us and sending us the wrong direction. And even on
the most social, actual social of events that we kind
(08:13):
of have, people don't want to be a part of it.
Speaker 4 (08:17):
People don't want to be a part of it.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
I agree with that, and that's of course everyone's right.
But I guess it's one of those things I tell
my kids that I know is annoying. You don't know
what you don't know, And I think if you've grown
up knowing, you can just.
Speaker 4 (08:32):
Feel less alone and feel.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
Connected by looking at other people on social media, maybe
you're texting them, maybe you're commenting whatever. So you feel
like you're a part of things, but you're missing out
on actual human physical connection, and there is something so
valuable to that.
Speaker 4 (08:48):
That is lifeblood.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
Babies can't survive if they aren't held in touch and
interacted with. As as teenagers, as young adults, as older adults,
we all still need that, and I think we dismiss
our need for that, we dismiss the actual sustenance that
that gives us that's a part of human existence, by
thinking we're kind of doing it. We're not putting ourselves
(09:11):
at risk, we're not putting ourselves out there. We're not.
I think it's scary to go out maybe sometimes and
face potential rejection or feeling like maybe you're not a
part of things as much as you'd like to be.
So you just withdraw from it all and say, well,
I've got this one little thing in my hand and
I'll feel slightly connected. But it's sad because you miss
out on what life is all about.
Speaker 4 (09:33):
Human connection.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
You know, some of the quotes, I'm going to save
a few, and maybe the biggest one that they put
out from the scientists, they use and some of the
people affiliated with the group that put this out, But
I wanted to jump into one of them because you
just made me think of it. New Year's Eve used
to bring us together. Now it just brings us back
to the algorithm.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
Now.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
I know it's kind of a catchy thing in the
way they phrased it, but that is true something that
used to you. If you are something that used to
be so communal and fun and an opportunity to be
social that you might not have the rest of the year.
We're opting for something else that like, we prefer it.
Speaker 4 (10:16):
It's safer, babe.
Speaker 3 (10:18):
You're not gonna be rejected, You're not gonna have a
bad night, no one's gonna say something to you you
didn't like. No, you're you're you're literally withdrawing to protect yourself.
I mean, that is kind of the mindset. I would
imagine that there's something about that, and your drops is crazy.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
I know our kids when they go into a room
and the doors closed and they're on the phone for
so long we've gone and forced like nope.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
Come out, Yeah you have to.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
But to think, I don't know how that isn't depressing
to sit in a room alone all day, thinking you're
socially interacting and you ain't seen a human being all day. Yeah,
that's so. Who knows how this is going to go
for a lot of people tonight. But it was surprising
to Sea spec thickly that folks were naming social media
(11:02):
now men versus women. I guess that's a fairly significant
statistical gift. It is twenty seven versus twenty.
Speaker 3 (11:08):
Yeah, twenty seven percent of men say they're going to
go out tonight, but only twenty percent of women say
they're going to go out tonight. That is interesting to me.
I wouldn't have guessed that. I would have thought it
was the opposite.
Speaker 2 (11:19):
Yeah, guys gonna be disappointed tonight.
Speaker 4 (11:23):
Well, actually, women, did you hear that you might want
to go out?
Speaker 3 (11:26):
There's a big disparity between men versus women.
Speaker 4 (11:29):
That doesn't happen often. This could be your lady's night
if you like it's good.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
The other thing here, I guess maybe not a surprise either.
Which generation was the biggest partying generation? And given that
your girls sit plainly squarely in this generation, we get it.
Speaker 3 (11:46):
Yeah, gen Z thirty six percent of Gen z Ers
or Zoomers plan to go out to a party tonight.
And that makes that does make a lot of sense.
That's the age. You've got folks who are in your
late teens or I guess mid teens, all the way
to your late twenties. And yes, that does tend to
be the party decade. But see, I've my party decade
has continued. I what I do like a party. I
(12:11):
do like socially interacting and I do I feel fueled
by it.
Speaker 4 (12:16):
But I know some people feel oppressed by it.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
Sometimes it is overwhelming, and some of these larger gatherings
can be a lot I get that.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
Yeah, I'm just not you know how we are. If
I had my choice on New Year's e if I
would not be going out to a party. I want
a nice dinner out somewhere, maybe, but I don't want
to be in the middle of a whole bunch of stuff.
And lord knows, I don't want to be in a
position to have to interact socially with strangers, with strangers
(12:46):
and sometimes even with people. No, no, no, not that.
But I'm saying, you know what parties feel like. I
have an obligation to entertain too often. You know I
would I will sit in the corner with a drink
by myself and just looking at the room. I love
that party, but what always happens Folks come over.
Speaker 4 (13:09):
They want to talk to you. Yes, that's part of it.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
Yeah, so I you know what, Maybe I would have
said I want to scroll social media.
Speaker 3 (13:17):
You would not.
Speaker 4 (13:18):
I've never seen you scroll social media.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
Well, folks, stay here.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
I mentioned the quotes that came along with it, and
some of these quotes that came along with the survey
from some of the doctors, the psychologists who have been
looking at this stuff. We're so poignant and hard hitting.
We wrote down a few that we absolutely want to share,
and please we want you to take these with you
on this New Year's Eve.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
Stay here. We'll share when we come back.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
We continue here on Amy and TJ talking about what's
some of So many of you apparently planned to do tonight.
Sixty five percent, according to this survey, do not planned
to be at a party at all. Most just planned
to be at home streaming something. Others planned to be
on social media. Others planned to be a sleep at
that time, But those were the majority of the answers. Robe,
(14:12):
you just reminded me of something in the break there
I told you about it earlier, just a funny little story.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Excuse me.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
A little question that they threw in there about if
you prefer to go out to a New Year's party
or prefer to go to a dentist. You would think
the number was lower, but one in four actually said
they would they would rather go to the dentists than
go to a to New Year's Eve party.
Speaker 3 (14:36):
So that's that's twenty five percent of Americans would rather
go to the dentist than attend a New Year's Eve party.
You think that people were saying that to be haha, funny, funny,
or they really meant that, because there was actually a
follow up to that. One in five, that is twenty
percent said they would rather get a root canal.
Speaker 4 (14:51):
I'm not believing that.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
I've had two. I'll go to any party you want
me to go to.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
Maybe people who said that I haven't actually had a
root canal before. OK, that makes more sense, but it
is I get that. It is a point they're making.
They'd rather be in an uncomfortable setting at the dentist office,
whatever however you want to put that, rather than be
in a they would say, I guess more uncomfortable situation
of being in a public party or a public space.
Speaker 4 (15:19):
That's that's telling.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
You know, one last question for you, would you prefer
a party in your own home or going out to one.
Speaker 3 (15:25):
I would prefer a party in my own home because
going out to one. Look, I'm at a certain age.
I think when I was younger, I would have absolutely
said I'd rather go out out. But you get to
a point where, yeah, it's like boo, I've never been
a club person. Loud music, the drinks aren't are weak
or bad, the service is terrible. You get a lot
of drunk people. It can get annoying. I understand that.
(15:45):
But if you're in your own home, you're managing what
you're serving and who is attending. There's a little bit
of control there, and I appreciate that. The music's what
we want, the temperatures what we want, the drinks or
what we want. Yeah, I prefer a home party.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
All right.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
So the last few things we want to share with
you are a few quotes that came with this survey,
and I think they summed it up in ways that
just makes sense. They did talk about America's party deficit.
They said that the numbers have been going down in
terms of people in the country who just regularly attend
some type of event over a weekend. Just in the country,
(16:22):
we're just not partying as much as we used to.
I guess maybe social media has something to do with that.
Speaker 4 (16:27):
I wonder if the pandemic had anything to do with
that too.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
I didn't see when the numbers started decreasing, but maybe
it did have something to do with that. But just
two quotes here, I'll save the best one for last,
but one here saying we're evolving from primates to screen
mammals and New Year's Eve shows it most starkly, this
idea that we're doing it anyway. We're right, we used
(16:50):
to be so we can't stand to be away from
each other and now we're becoming these screen animals now.
And I guess just at a time like this they're saying,
it shows up in the most stark ways.
Speaker 3 (17:03):
You know, and I think about when you I'm sure
there are plenty of studies that are being done and
have been done about communities where there aren't or there
isn't the technology that we have here in some more
modernized Western civilizations where everyone's on their phones walking down
the street, with their phones. You can't even do anything
without seeing somebody multitasking while looking at a screen. I mean,
(17:25):
it's really sad, but you think about some of the
happiest cultures. It's people who have little who don't have
phones in their hands, who have neighbors they can run to,
who have street parties and block parties and feel this
sense of community and a part of something. It's just
it's we're getting so far away from what we used
to be. I hope that there's some point at which
(17:45):
we can all wake up. Literally, I think we need
to wake up and look up and look eat each
other in the eyes. How many people are can't even
make eye contact anymore, especially younger folks, because they don't
know how to do it.
Speaker 4 (17:59):
They only know how to look a screen.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
That line, we don't know how to be social and
it we actually don't know what to do in social settings.
And the one we're gonna leave you here, and this
was the one I think wrote. We planned to do
this story and putting it in our morning run this morning,
and we hit on it briefly, but I thought it
would just be a fun little thing. Here's some nuggets
about what people are doing and I say, wait a minute,
this is sad like. It hit me differently, And this
(18:22):
was the line that got to me from the article.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
Again, one from one.
Speaker 1 (18:25):
Of the psychologists who were part of this said quote,
America isn't just losing its appetite for parties, it's losing
its social muscle. Think about that. Are we really raising
a group of kids that doesn't don't know how to interact?
Speaker 4 (18:42):
Yes, yes, is the answer.
Speaker 1 (18:44):
I don't know how to I remembering in elementary school.
So they brought some guy in. Don't know who he is,
but he taught us how to shake a hand. He
taught in elementary school. This is how you shake someone's hand,
man or woman. You squeeze it with the same strength.
I'm sitting here forty eight. Remember that from elementary school,
being taught how to be social.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
Now, look our jobs.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
We have to be out there where people are built differently,
but we are, and we have to admit are seeing
a whole new thing developed in all of us that
has us so attached and looking for interaction and affirmation,
validation through a stranger on a screen, and there's a
(19:25):
family member in the next room, there's a friend down
the street that We don't even think, yeah, let me
pick up the phone and call, let me walk down
the street and say hello, let me go out and
to the living room and maybe sit with my We
don't think about it, and it's just they do.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
They say.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
Now it's showing up in the starkest ways because it's
New Year's I'm thinking, oh, it's party time. And actually
a lot of people are thinking not at all.
Speaker 4 (19:50):
It's sleepy time. But I do think that it's this.
Speaker 3 (19:53):
The information like this is important because we can see
it in real numbers and actually be more inten about
how we choose to spend our time and know that
our kids are watching us. Look my daughters, you heard them.
They have gotten on to me like, Mom, you're distracted.
You're on your phone. If I'm doing that, how can
I ask them not to? So I'm trying to make
a point to put the phone down, to take less pictures.
(20:16):
I mean, I always love that, but to enjoy more
and to I know you're a big like it's in
your mind, but I was like, no, but I just
want one photo.
Speaker 4 (20:22):
I have reduced massively the.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
Amount because if you're even if you're taking pictures or
you're taking videos, You're still not there in the moment.
Speaker 4 (20:30):
So I have tried to reduce that.
Speaker 3 (20:31):
I have tried to be intentional because we need to
set the example for our kids to say, hey, and
we have the memory, at least we know what it
was like before all of this technology. We know what
it was like to run down the street and knock
on your neighbor's door and say, hey, can can Jimmy
come out and play? Like we have all of those memories.
Our kids don't have any of that, so it's on
us to really show them how to. You can party
(20:53):
at home, you can party as a family. You can
get the hats and the glasses and watch the ball drop,
and that can be just as special and fun. But
it's about being together and being communal. However that looks.
But putting the bones down, that would be wonderful.
Speaker 1 (21:09):
Well, folks, we certainly wish you a happy New Year,
wherever you may be, whoever you may be, with the
night or not, with hope you enjoy your night and
maybe a good night for somebody tonight is getting a
good night's sleep, and that's okay, and that's good enough.
But don't let any survey, don't let any two podcasters
or anybody else tell you that what you're doing tonight
(21:32):
is the right or the wrong thing.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
Is your New year spending how you want to. But
also don't let anybody make you feel guilty either if you.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
Don't have a red velvet jacket and a sparkly green
dress on tonight. All right, So with that, folks, we
always appreciate you spending some time with us. I'm DJ
Holmes on behalf of My daremmy robot.
Speaker 2 (21:52):
Talk to you. E'll soon
Hey there, folks, it is December thirty, first New Year's Eve,
and don't worry if you plan on being alone tonight,
you won't be alone. Welcome to this episode of Amy
and t J Rowls. Is this one of those things
where it feels like you feel obligator or you feel
like a down or a loser, or you have fomo
(00:22):
because you don't have some big party to go to
on New.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Year's e It's supposed to be a big celebratory night
for everybody. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
I think that that's a reasonable and probably shared experienced
by a lot of folks. You feel pressure to have fun,
you feel pressure to be social, you feel pressure to
have the best night of your life. Yeah, and that's
sometimes it's so overwhelming, that pressure that people just they
(00:47):
just opt out because it's too much. They can't live
up to expectations.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Yeah, and it doesn't hell that. It certainly seems like
around you everybody's got something to do. There's a party,
and they're talking about it. You turn on TV, certainly
you see people everybody's talking about us Eve celebrations. And
then you're home alone and am I supposed to be
doing that? Am I supposed to do I have a
party to go to. I've spent more money than I've
(01:13):
wanted to do on New Year's Eve before, just because
the last minute pressure, though I guess I gotta do
something and didn't want to do at all.
Speaker 4 (01:21):
I get that.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
In fact, I will say some of my favorite moments
of New Year's Eve in the past, I ended up
typically throwing a lot of parties because that way, at
least I knew who was going to be there and
there could be a controlled environment, so to speak. But
some of my favorite New Year's Eves have been working
because I got to be a part of things as
a journalist, but I didn't actually have any of the
(01:44):
expectations where I had to have certain friends here, I
had to drink this or I had to do that.
Speaker 4 (01:48):
I was working.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
I got to be around it, but I didn't have
to actually technically participate in it.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
You were.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
It was provided for you, of course, and that thing
was provided with a lot of people tonight looking for
things and have plans and might not realize overwhelmingly if
you're not doing anything tonight and plan on not doing
anything tonight and don't plan on going to a party.
The majority of Americans are with you. The majority of Americans,
(02:15):
according to at least one of the most recent surveys
that's out there, show that robes at least sixty five
percent of people do not plan to celebrate at all tonight.
They're either gonna be a sleep by midnight, they're gonna
be watching Netflix, or they're gonna be scrolling TikTok.
Speaker 4 (02:34):
That was shocking to me.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
I know that it's there's definitely a large percentage of
people who might opt out from the parties, but hearing
that two thirds of Americans will not celebrate the evening
at all, I don't know why. Maybe it shouldn't, but
it makes me sad.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
I mean, well, some of the details and here it
will start to make sense to people as well, because
it's stuff we've been talking about in this country for years,
tied to social media and this we were just the
loneliness effect.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
What was the one?
Speaker 1 (03:04):
We were just talking loneliness epidemic, epidemic that we're having
and some people opting for it but also not knowing
even how to be social anymore. But some of this
survey we saw explained came to us from a group
called Sunny Workplace. Now they have an app that's focused
on trying to fight this epidemic of loneliness. And they
used the company that did this survey three thousand Americans.
(03:24):
That's not a small survey. Is where we're getting these answers.
The question was asked, period point blank, how do you
prefer to spend New Year's Eve? The numbers break down
this way. Rom Thirty five percent said at home watching
Netflix or some other streaming service like that was a
specific answer. They gave thirty five percent home watching Netflix.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
Yeah, they didn't say watching the New Year's Eve celebration,
watching the ball drop, watching rocking New Year's Eve. No,
they say literally watching a movie, a streaming service of
some kind, not participating, ignoring any of.
Speaker 4 (04:01):
The celebratory moments or events that are happening around the world.
Speaker 1 (04:04):
So the second most popular answer, well, twenty four percent,
when asked the question how do you prefer to spend
New Year's Eve? Said at a New Year's Eve party.
So a quarter of Americans plan to actually celebrate and
to have or throw or go out to a party.
That seeing you're sugar, Yeah, that seems low to you.
Speaker 4 (04:20):
That seems so low to me.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
I thought maybe it'd be more like forty percent, maybe
even fifty percent.
Speaker 4 (04:26):
But that's I don't know.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
I guess I'm taking what my preferences and assuming that
more people would be of like mind, and I'm massively wrong.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
But it seems like everybody's partying. When you turn on
the television, it does. Does billion people in Times Square?
See Eara's out there doing her thing in Los Angeles.
You have to have Lucy Hale down in New Orleans, right,
we see these parties on TV. Everybody's out, everybody's partying.
I will tell you now that I think about it.
When I grew up, my parents weren't doing New Year's celebrations.
It might be a thing that really, so many people
(04:56):
in the country are home with family, But some of
the these answers seemed to suggest something different. This doesn't
sound like and they're I was saying this was all singles.
But I guess do families really parents go out and leave.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
The kids at home.
Speaker 3 (05:11):
I have memories, but I was always with like cousins.
We were usually somewhere for the holidays around my grandparents.
So I remember early on sometimes my parents going out
with their siblings and we cousins would be at home
with the grandparents and we'd get little hats and little
horns and that kind of thing. But as a family,
I remember my parents definitely going out, so I think
(05:32):
maybe that was I was imprinted I saw them going out.
I remember being a kid being excited seeing my mom
put on a dress and thinking it was the coolest
thing ever, and watching them go out in a date night.
And they didn't do it often, so it was exciting
to me to see them do that. I remember thinking
about how fun it was going to be and how
cool it was going to be. When I was a
certain age forty eight.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
I still never seen mamma get dressed up.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
Okay, okay. The question how do you prefer to spend
New Year's Eve? The third most popular answer twenty percent
said a sleep by midnight.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
That would not kind of get.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
Oh, that makes when you're not even acknowledging the new year,
you're just sleeping.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
I did.
Speaker 2 (06:11):
I'm going to sleep tonight and tomorrow.
Speaker 3 (06:13):
It'll be you only sleep four to five hours a night,
but you're gonna sleep through midnight.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
No, I'm not going to.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
But I get how people would just what's the big deal?
This isn't my thing?
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Right?
Speaker 1 (06:24):
I equated to what would it be for you? Not
not Halloween? Maybe Halloween's not so popular, but that's a
night that people like to go out and get dressed up.
It's a big thing, certainly here in New York.
Speaker 4 (06:36):
You know what, I don't like Santa Con. There's the
one time where it's.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Not okay, you're muddying the waters. Now, let me get
back on track. The how do you prefer to spend
New Year's Eve? The fourth most popular answer was ten
percent saying they want to scroll social media. That's okay,
that might be the one I would shake my head
out and say, that's that's unfortunate to hear.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
That actually breaks my heart because that means they want
to be adjacent. They want to see what other people
are doing, but for whatever reason, they don't have plans
and the fact that they're planning to scroll social media
that they actually were able to answer saying this is
what I'm going to do. It's not a default, or
I don't have anything else to do, so maybe I'll
just check this out.
Speaker 4 (07:20):
They actually have an intention.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
I will be scrolling social media to celebrate or to
bring in the new year. That breaks my heart because
that's about not participating.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
Yeah, what do we do? I mean, it's look, this
is the group to put this out? Does focus on loneliness.
I mean, I guess so many people would say, Hey,
this is what I want to do. What's the big deal?
There's nothing unfortunate or sad. Why don't I have to
be a part of that thing or that thing? Why
are you putting pressure on me to be a part
of this whatever it is. I'm sure truly plenty of
(07:52):
folks out there like, what's the big deal? I just
don't want to go out? And then there is a
part of the argument and the debates that will continue
for youes, is that social media is doing something to
us and sending us the wrong direction. And even on
the most social, actual social of events that we kind
(08:13):
of have, people don't want to be a part of it.
Speaker 4 (08:17):
People don't want to be a part of it.
Speaker 3 (08:19):
I agree with that, and that's of course everyone's right.
But I guess it's one of those things I tell
my kids that I know is annoying. You don't know
what you don't know, And I think if you've grown
up knowing, you can just.
Speaker 4 (08:32):
Feel less alone and feel.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
Connected by looking at other people on social media, maybe
you're texting them, maybe you're commenting whatever. So you feel
like you're a part of things, but you're missing out
on actual human physical connection, and there is something so
valuable to that.
Speaker 4 (08:48):
That is lifeblood.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
Babies can't survive if they aren't held in touch and
interacted with. As as teenagers, as young adults, as older adults,
we all still need that, and I think we dismiss
our need for that, we dismiss the actual sustenance that
that gives us that's a part of human existence, by
thinking we're kind of doing it. We're not putting ourselves
(09:11):
at risk, we're not putting ourselves out there. We're not.
I think it's scary to go out maybe sometimes and
face potential rejection or feeling like maybe you're not a
part of things as much as you'd like to be.
So you just withdraw from it all and say, well,
I've got this one little thing in my hand and
I'll feel slightly connected. But it's sad because you miss
out on what life is all about.
Speaker 4 (09:33):
Human connection.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
You know, some of the quotes, I'm going to save
a few, and maybe the biggest one that they put
out from the scientists, they use and some of the
people affiliated with the group that put this out, But
I wanted to jump into one of them because you
just made me think of it. New Year's Eve used
to bring us together. Now it just brings us back
to the algorithm.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
Now.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
I know it's kind of a catchy thing in the
way they phrased it, but that is true something that
used to you. If you are something that used to
be so communal and fun and an opportunity to be
social that you might not have the rest of the year.
We're opting for something else that like, we prefer it.
Speaker 4 (10:16):
It's safer, babe.
Speaker 3 (10:18):
You're not gonna be rejected, You're not gonna have a
bad night, no one's gonna say something to you you
didn't like. No, you're you're you're literally withdrawing to protect yourself.
I mean, that is kind of the mindset. I would
imagine that there's something about that, and your drops is crazy.
Speaker 1 (10:32):
I know our kids when they go into a room
and the doors closed and they're on the phone for
so long we've gone and forced like nope.
Speaker 2 (10:39):
Come out, Yeah you have to.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
But to think, I don't know how that isn't depressing
to sit in a room alone all day, thinking you're
socially interacting and you ain't seen a human being all day. Yeah,
that's so. Who knows how this is going to go
for a lot of people tonight. But it was surprising
to Sea spec thickly that folks were naming social media
(11:02):
now men versus women. I guess that's a fairly significant
statistical gift. It is twenty seven versus twenty.
Speaker 3 (11:08):
Yeah, twenty seven percent of men say they're going to
go out tonight, but only twenty percent of women say
they're going to go out tonight. That is interesting to me.
I wouldn't have guessed that. I would have thought it
was the opposite.
Speaker 2 (11:19):
Yeah, guys gonna be disappointed tonight.
Speaker 4 (11:23):
Well, actually, women, did you hear that you might want
to go out?
Speaker 3 (11:26):
There's a big disparity between men versus women.
Speaker 4 (11:29):
That doesn't happen often. This could be your lady's night
if you like it's good.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
The other thing here, I guess maybe not a surprise either.
Which generation was the biggest partying generation? And given that
your girls sit plainly squarely in this generation, we get it.
Speaker 3 (11:46):
Yeah, gen Z thirty six percent of Gen z Ers
or Zoomers plan to go out to a party tonight.
And that makes that does make a lot of sense.
That's the age. You've got folks who are in your
late teens or I guess mid teens, all the way
to your late twenties. And yes, that does tend to
be the party decade. But see, I've my party decade
has continued. I what I do like a party. I
(12:11):
do like socially interacting and I do I feel fueled
by it.
Speaker 4 (12:16):
But I know some people feel oppressed by it.
Speaker 3 (12:19):
Sometimes it is overwhelming, and some of these larger gatherings
can be a lot I get that.
Speaker 1 (12:24):
Yeah, I'm just not you know how we are. If
I had my choice on New Year's e if I
would not be going out to a party. I want
a nice dinner out somewhere, maybe, but I don't want
to be in the middle of a whole bunch of stuff.
And lord knows, I don't want to be in a
position to have to interact socially with strangers, with strangers
(12:46):
and sometimes even with people. No, no, no, not that.
But I'm saying, you know what parties feel like. I
have an obligation to entertain too often. You know I
would I will sit in the corner with a drink
by myself and just looking at the room. I love
that party, but what always happens Folks come over.
Speaker 4 (13:09):
They want to talk to you. Yes, that's part of it.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
Yeah, so I you know what, Maybe I would have
said I want to scroll social media.
Speaker 3 (13:17):
You would not.
Speaker 4 (13:18):
I've never seen you scroll social media.
Speaker 2 (13:21):
Well, folks, stay here.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
I mentioned the quotes that came along with it, and
some of these quotes that came along with the survey
from some of the doctors, the psychologists who have been
looking at this stuff. We're so poignant and hard hitting.
We wrote down a few that we absolutely want to share,
and please we want you to take these with you
on this New Year's Eve.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
Stay here. We'll share when we come back.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
We continue here on Amy and TJ talking about what's
some of So many of you apparently planned to do tonight.
Sixty five percent, according to this survey, do not planned
to be at a party at all. Most just planned
to be at home streaming something. Others planned to be
on social media. Others planned to be a sleep at
that time, But those were the majority of the answers. Robe,
(14:12):
you just reminded me of something in the break there
I told you about it earlier, just a funny little story.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Excuse me.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
A little question that they threw in there about if
you prefer to go out to a New Year's party
or prefer to go to a dentist. You would think
the number was lower, but one in four actually said
they would they would rather go to the dentists than
go to a to New Year's Eve party.
Speaker 3 (14:36):
So that's that's twenty five percent of Americans would rather
go to the dentist than attend a New Year's Eve party.
You think that people were saying that to be haha, funny, funny,
or they really meant that, because there was actually a
follow up to that. One in five, that is twenty
percent said they would rather get a root canal.
Speaker 4 (14:51):
I'm not believing that.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
I've had two. I'll go to any party you want
me to go to.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
Maybe people who said that I haven't actually had a
root canal before. OK, that makes more sense, but it
is I get that. It is a point they're making.
They'd rather be in an uncomfortable setting at the dentist office,
whatever however you want to put that, rather than be
in a they would say, I guess more uncomfortable situation
of being in a public party or a public space.
Speaker 4 (15:19):
That's that's telling.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
You know, one last question for you, would you prefer
a party in your own home or going out to one.
Speaker 3 (15:25):
I would prefer a party in my own home because
going out to one. Look, I'm at a certain age.
I think when I was younger, I would have absolutely
said I'd rather go out out. But you get to
a point where, yeah, it's like boo, I've never been
a club person. Loud music, the drinks aren't are weak
or bad, the service is terrible. You get a lot
of drunk people. It can get annoying. I understand that.
(15:45):
But if you're in your own home, you're managing what
you're serving and who is attending. There's a little bit
of control there, and I appreciate that. The music's what
we want, the temperatures what we want, the drinks or
what we want. Yeah, I prefer a home party.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
All right.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
So the last few things we want to share with
you are a few quotes that came with this survey,
and I think they summed it up in ways that
just makes sense. They did talk about America's party deficit.
They said that the numbers have been going down in
terms of people in the country who just regularly attend
some type of event over a weekend. Just in the country,
(16:22):
we're just not partying as much as we used to.
I guess maybe social media has something to do with that.
Speaker 4 (16:27):
I wonder if the pandemic had anything to do with
that too.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
I didn't see when the numbers started decreasing, but maybe
it did have something to do with that. But just
two quotes here, I'll save the best one for last,
but one here saying we're evolving from primates to screen
mammals and New Year's Eve shows it most starkly, this
idea that we're doing it anyway. We're right, we used
(16:50):
to be so we can't stand to be away from
each other and now we're becoming these screen animals now.
And I guess just at a time like this they're saying,
it shows up in the most stark ways.
Speaker 3 (17:03):
You know, and I think about when you I'm sure
there are plenty of studies that are being done and
have been done about communities where there aren't or there
isn't the technology that we have here in some more
modernized Western civilizations where everyone's on their phones walking down
the street, with their phones. You can't even do anything
without seeing somebody multitasking while looking at a screen. I mean,
(17:25):
it's really sad, but you think about some of the
happiest cultures. It's people who have little who don't have
phones in their hands, who have neighbors they can run to,
who have street parties and block parties and feel this
sense of community and a part of something. It's just
it's we're getting so far away from what we used
to be. I hope that there's some point at which
(17:45):
we can all wake up. Literally, I think we need
to wake up and look up and look eat each
other in the eyes. How many people are can't even
make eye contact anymore, especially younger folks, because they don't
know how to do it.
Speaker 4 (17:59):
They only know how to look a screen.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
That line, we don't know how to be social and
it we actually don't know what to do in social settings.
And the one we're gonna leave you here, and this
was the one I think wrote. We planned to do
this story and putting it in our morning run this morning,
and we hit on it briefly, but I thought it
would just be a fun little thing. Here's some nuggets
about what people are doing and I say, wait a minute,
this is sad like. It hit me differently, And this
(18:22):
was the line that got to me from the article.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
Again, one from one.
Speaker 1 (18:25):
Of the psychologists who were part of this said quote,
America isn't just losing its appetite for parties, it's losing
its social muscle. Think about that. Are we really raising
a group of kids that doesn't don't know how to interact?
Speaker 4 (18:42):
Yes, yes, is the answer.
Speaker 1 (18:44):
I don't know how to I remembering in elementary school.
So they brought some guy in. Don't know who he is,
but he taught us how to shake a hand. He
taught in elementary school. This is how you shake someone's hand,
man or woman. You squeeze it with the same strength.
I'm sitting here forty eight. Remember that from elementary school,
being taught how to be social.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
Now, look our jobs.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
We have to be out there where people are built differently,
but we are, and we have to admit are seeing
a whole new thing developed in all of us that
has us so attached and looking for interaction and affirmation,
validation through a stranger on a screen, and there's a
(19:25):
family member in the next room, there's a friend down
the street that We don't even think, yeah, let me
pick up the phone and call, let me walk down
the street and say hello, let me go out and
to the living room and maybe sit with my We
don't think about it, and it's just they do.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
They say.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
Now it's showing up in the starkest ways because it's
New Year's I'm thinking, oh, it's party time. And actually
a lot of people are thinking not at all.
Speaker 4 (19:50):
It's sleepy time. But I do think that it's this.
Speaker 3 (19:53):
The information like this is important because we can see
it in real numbers and actually be more inten about
how we choose to spend our time and know that
our kids are watching us. Look my daughters, you heard them.
They have gotten on to me like, Mom, you're distracted.
You're on your phone. If I'm doing that, how can
I ask them not to? So I'm trying to make
a point to put the phone down, to take less pictures.
(20:16):
I mean, I always love that, but to enjoy more
and to I know you're a big like it's in
your mind, but I was like, no, but I just
want one photo.
Speaker 4 (20:22):
I have reduced massively the.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
Amount because if you're even if you're taking pictures or
you're taking videos, You're still not there in the moment.
Speaker 4 (20:30):
So I have tried to reduce that.
Speaker 3 (20:31):
I have tried to be intentional because we need to
set the example for our kids to say, hey, and
we have the memory, at least we know what it
was like before all of this technology. We know what
it was like to run down the street and knock
on your neighbor's door and say, hey, can can Jimmy
come out and play? Like we have all of those memories.
Our kids don't have any of that, so it's on
us to really show them how to. You can party
(20:53):
at home, you can party as a family. You can
get the hats and the glasses and watch the ball drop,
and that can be just as special and fun. But
it's about being together and being communal. However that looks.
But putting the bones down, that would be wonderful.
Speaker 1 (21:09):
Well, folks, we certainly wish you a happy New Year,
wherever you may be, whoever you may be, with the
night or not, with hope you enjoy your night and
maybe a good night for somebody tonight is getting a
good night's sleep, and that's okay, and that's good enough.
But don't let any survey, don't let any two podcasters
or anybody else tell you that what you're doing tonight
(21:32):
is the right or the wrong thing.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
Is your New year spending how you want to. But
also don't let anybody make you feel guilty either if you.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
Don't have a red velvet jacket and a sparkly green
dress on tonight. All right, So with that, folks, we
always appreciate you spending some time with us. I'm DJ
Holmes on behalf of My daremmy robot.
Speaker 2 (21:52):
Talk to you. E'll soon
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