Gen Z & Millennials' 20 Favorite Things to Do For Fun Proves Their Homebody Status - YPulse (2024)

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What do Gen Z and Millennials like to do for fun in an average night? Well, their top 20 activities shows they prefer anything they can do in sweatpants…

Just a few years ago, we told you that Millennials were choosing the couch or café over a night at the club. Watching their wallets, drinking less overall, and the their love of screens are all reasons they’ve preferred to stay home over going out. Though partying hard may have been a hallmark of youth for generations, Millennials are less intent on pushing boundaries than they are living in the Netflix and chill zone.

In the years’ since we first started tracking this trend, we’ve seen Millennials’ homebody status solidified. In December, we reported that young consumers even prefer to stay in for New Years’ Eve. The generation has redefining what a good night looks like—nearly seven in ten 19-37-year-olds tell us they would rather stay in on the weekends than go out, and the same amount say going out is more effort than it’s worth.

But, of course, this generation is aging into their family years, with more becoming parent, or settling down in other ways. Meanwhile, Gen Z is growing up—will they follow in Millennials’ homebody footsteps? In our recent nightlife survey, we asked 13-37-year-olds to tell us what they do for fun in an average night. So what does an average night of fun look like for them? We’ll start with the top responses of 13-37-year-olds overall:

What Do They Do for Fun In An Average Night?

13-37-year-olds

1. 1. Watch TV
   2. Watch movies
   3. Play video / mobile games
   4. Read
   5. Watch streaming service (Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Disney+)
   6. Go out with friends
   7. Spend time with family
   8. Play games
   9. Listen to music
   10. Watch YouTube
   11. Hang out with friends
   12. Go to bars
   13. Go out to dinner
   14. Drink at home
   15. Relax
   16. Stay home
   17. Surf the internet
   18. Game night / Board games
   19. Crafting / Art
   20. Sleep
   21. Chat with friends

Sweatpant-friendly activities take up the five top spots on the list, with “watch TV” at the top of the ranking. We should clarify that “watch TV” doesn’t necessarily mean watching cable—an important distinction. These generations think of “TV” as anything they can watch on a TV screen. “Watch streaming services” accounts for anyone who mentioned watching a specific streaming service—Netflix was the most popular—or binge watching content.

Of course, there are some out-of-home entertainments on the overall list, including “go out with friends,” and “go to bars.” But the majority of the activities they named were at-home entertainment, and the fact that “drinking at home” and “staying home” were specifically named by young consumers as well speaks to their preferences.

And it looks like Gen Z is indeed shaping up to be a homebody generation as well:

Looking at their favorite activities by age, 13-18-year-olds are the most likely to say they “go out with friends” for fun in an average night, but playing video or mobile tops their list, followed by watching TV or movies. There are indications that as they age up, they’ll increasingly prefer more at-home entertainment: consuming media takes up all of 19-25-year-olds’ top fun night activities.

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