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A Data for Progress analysis comparing surveys from 1995 and 2026 found lower reported participation in several activities, including entertaining at home, attending worship services and club meetings. The organization says the results suggest a broad pattern, but differing survey methods mean they are not a precise measure of change.
A Data for Progress analysis comparing surveys from 1995 and 2026 found that fewer U.S. adults reported participating in several common social activities at least once in the previous year, including entertaining people at home, attending club meetings and going to a place of worship. The group cautions that the surveys used different methods, so the results indicate possible trends rather than a precise measure of how much social activity changed.
The analysis compared responses from a 2026 survey of 1,098 U.S. adults with results from the DDB Needham Life Style survey in 1995. Respondents were asked whether they had taken part in a range of activities at least once over the prior 12 months. The questions in the new survey were designed to replicate those used in the earlier series, which ran from 1975 to 1999.
Among the largest reported declines, the share saying they had entertained people in their home fell from 88% in 1995 to 67% in 2026, a 21-percentage-point difference. Club meeting attendance fell from 45% to 26%, a 19-point difference. The report also lists declines in attending a class or seminar (22 points), attending a place of worship (20 points), going on a picnic (19 points), playing cards (19 points), going out for breakfast at a restaurant (13 points) and doing volunteer work (12 points).
The comparison was not uniformly downward. Data for Progress reported increases in participation in internet use (90 points), home video gaming (22 points), exercise classes (14 points), pop or rock concerts (13 points) and personal airline trips (5 points). The report presents these figures as differences in the share reporting an activity, not as changes in how often participants did it.
Everyday Gatherings Show Broad Shifts
The findings offer an activity-by-activity view of a wider discussion about social connection in the United States. Rather than measuring only how much time people spend with others or how many close friends they say they have, the comparison asks whether people took part in familiar settings such as parties at home, clubs, worship services and picnics. The declines across several different types of activities suggest that fewer respondents reported participating in many of those settings in the survey year.
That matters because these activities can create opportunities for people to meet and maintain relationships. Still, the survey does not establish that lower participation caused loneliness, prove that Americans have fewer social relationships, or explain why the reported patterns changed. It measures whether respondents recall doing each activity at least once in a 12-month period. Changes in the activities themselves, people’s circumstances and survey methods could all affect the results.
The report adds another comparison to earlier indicators of changing social life, but its findings should be read as suggestive evidence, not a definitive measure. Its value is in documenting a set of reported differences across specific activities while making clear that the underlying surveys are not directly equivalent.
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How the 1995 Comparison Was Built
Discussion of social decline in the United States predates this analysis. A 2023 U.S. surgeon general advisory described loneliness as an “epidemic.” Data for Progress also points to American Time Use Survey tracking showing that people spend more time alone and less time with friends than they did two decades earlier. Separately, the American Perspectives Survey found that the share of Americans reporting five or more close friends fell from 63% in 1990 to 38% in 2021.
The new analysis uses a different approach: it compares reported participation in specific activities across two survey periods. Data for Progress chose 1995 because it was the earliest year in the DDB Needham series for which full data were available for all the questions included in its comparison. The earlier survey was referenced in Robert Putnam’s 2000 book Bowling Alone, which examined changes in civic and social participation.
The surveys were conducted differently. The DDB Needham survey used mail questionnaires and a stratified quota sample based on a frame from commercial list brokers. The 2026 Data for Progress survey used online panel suppliers, quota fielding and post-stratification weighting. The organization notes that differences in sampling, mode and weighting can affect responses, including answers on subjects such as religion and loneliness.
“The findings below should be read as suggestive of trends, not a precise estimate of change.”
— Data for Progress, in its September 29, 2026, report
Survey Methods Limit Direct Comparisons
The largest limitation is that the 1995 and 2026 surveys used different sampling frames, modes and weighting approaches. The older study contacted respondents by mail using a quota-based sample built from commercial lists; the newer one surveyed adults through online panel providers and adjusted results through quotas and post-stratification. Those differences can influence who responds and how people answer.
The figures also record whether someone did an activity at least once in the previous year. They do not show how often people participated, whether they attended with friends, or whether the activity was a source of meaningful social connection. The report does not identify the reasons behind the declines, and the comparison alone cannot determine whether the changes reflect lasting behavior, differences in recall or other factors. Data for Progress describes the patterns as suggestive, not as precise estimates.
Further Tracking Could Test the Trend
The report does not announce a follow-up survey or a next publication date. The immediate next step for readers assessing the claims is to distinguish this two-survey comparison from ongoing measures of time use, friendship and loneliness, which track different aspects of social life.
Additional survey waves using consistent sampling and collection methods could help show whether participation in these activities continues to change and how large those changes are. Until comparable measurements are available, the 1995-to-2026 differences are best treated as evidence of a possible broad shift, with the size and causes of that shift still uncertain.
Key Questions
What did the Data for Progress analysis find?
It found lower reported participation in several activities in 2026 than in 1995, including hosting people at home, attending club meetings and going to a place of worship. It also reported increases in activities such as internet use and home video gaming.
How many people took part in the 2026 survey?
Data for Progress surveyed 1,098 U.S. adults. The results were compared with the DDB Needham Life Style survey from 1995.
Does the comparison prove Americans are lonelier?
No. The analysis measures reported participation in selected activities, not loneliness itself. It does not establish that changes in those activities caused loneliness or changes in people’s relationships.
Why does the report warn about its findings?
The two surveys used different sampling methods, survey modes and weighting. Data for Progress says the results should be read as suggestive trends rather than precise estimates of change.
Source: hn
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