Something’s afoot in the real world. Young Chinese are mad for “city walks,” leisurely strolls through tourist destinations to see real, ordinary things. It’s transformed tourism in destinations like Chongqing and Hong Kong. Elsewhere in the world, Airbnb is planning to re-launch local culture and community focused “Experiences”, while travel leader Marriott has announced the launch of an outdoor-focused collection.
Businesses over the past decade focused on the need to be digital, embracing e-commerce, online entertainment, self-service, and other forms of “digital transformation.” Customers were online–so companies needed to be online too.
So imagine our surprise when our recent Life Trends 2025 research indicated that many people are now shifting their time and attention back to the real world, and away from the digital one.
Almost half of respondents to our research said their most enjoyable experience in the preceding week happened in the real world; only 15% said the same about a digital experience. They’ve also increased their activity outside in the past year, perhaps spending more time in nature or seeing their friends in-person.
This is part of a trend we call “social rewilding,” and it’s having a profound effect on the way consumers interact with businesses.
Take dating. People are turning away from dating apps and back towards more “analog” methods of meeting people: Running clubs, city walks, and other singles events. Almost 80% of Gen-Z respondents to our report said they preferred to meet people in-person instead of through dating apps.
Or music: Vinyl records offer tactile artwork, memories and rituals that digital-only music can’t match, contributing to a vinyl revival driven by young people, and making vinyl an important part of the marketing mix for superstar artists.
In fact, some people told us that they were now motivated not by FOMO–the “fear of missing out”–but by its opposite, the “joy of missing out,” or JOMO. They don’t feel the need to doomscroll on social media 24/7, instead re-engaging with what’s happening off-screen.
It’s really no surprise. Humans are designed for the real world, after all. Is it any wonder that we’re readjusting after a period of rapid digital advancement?
Designers like myself are continually reinventing key products and services for leading companies. When people tell us they want more real-world experiences, we need to listen to them.
There’s a growing backlash to our reliance on technology. Parents in particular are worried about the repercussions of long-term social media use, underscored by the success of Jonathan Haidt’s book, The Anxious Generation.
And it’s perhaps no coincidence that the Oxford 2024 “word of the year” is brain rot: a slang term referring to low-value, low-quality digital content that erodes our mental wellbeing.
Designers are also seeing a renaissance of more tactile, textured experiences. Creators are experimenting with maximalism, using graphic styles enriched with texture and hand-crafted elements that are unmistakably human–perhaps as a way to stand out among an AI-generated crowd.
Industry leaders are already following the money. Walt Disney, for example, has pledged to double its capital spending in its “Parks, Experiences and Products” division to roughly $60 billion over the next ten years.
An embrace of the real world does not mean abandoning the digital one. We’re always going to need engaging, delightful, and simple digital products.
Yet the best kinds of digital experiences are beautiful and functional in equal measure. They help users to easily get a job done. They signal trust and security. They work alongside, not against, real-world experiences; they may even be an enabler.
The first step businesses must take is to stop thinking about digital experiences as a competitor to the real world, designed to increase time on a screen.
For instance, an e-commerce platform is a way to get a product in the real world. That’s all it should be, not an opportunity to distract your customer and ply them with intrusive communications.
A digital experience should be a way to unlock and enhance joy in the real world. Along with a billion other people, I rely on Google Maps to explore the real world. That’s a digital experience that enhances the real world. Similarly, many of the world’s most popular destinations, from Japan’s TeamLabs to the Sphere in Las Vegas, use digital technology throughout to create more immersive and compelling experiences.
In short, digital experiences should be designed to give time to users, rather than take it away.
One client told me that its top priority for the year ahead was to “win in digital.” Yet the path to victory is changing. So if you’ve piled money into your digital offerings, how do you adapt, as a business, to a world where people want to do things in the real world?
Consider how you spend your digital budget. If all of it is going towards pure e-commerce and digital self-service it’s time to revisit where you put your money.
Instead, try to pursue two new KPIs in a world marked by social rewilding. First, how do you layer in more genuine human interaction at different points in the customer journey? And second, how can you give time back to your customers?
“Social rewilding” shows that people want depth and authenticity. They want to engage with the world and with each other in meaningful ways. We need to balance technology’s role in the moments that bring people joy and well-being.
That’s why, in 2025, the best way to “win in digital” is to not focus on the screen at all. It’s about how to be relevant beyond it.
