| Studies say that we all need social connections, especially during a loneliness epidemic. That desire was evidenced throughout 2022 in new data report released today by Meetup, the platform connecting people over shared interests to meet in a group setting. 2022 was a year of friendship and connections: Meetup is the first and largest platform of people seeking to meet in real life over shared interests. Meetup, the platform that connects people who meet over a shared interest announced its most popular Meetup events of 2022. With a registered database of more than 60 million people organizing and joining in-person and live as well as online events, may be the world’s authority on people’s interests and activities based on actual behaviors of searching, joining and attending Meetup events. In 2022, 60% out of the top ten event searches demonstrated that people were prioritizing connections, both romantic and friendly. This is a significant increase from 2021 where 30% were focused on relationships, and 20% in 2020 and 2019. The search term “friends” became the #1 most popular search term in July 2021, and remains one of the most popular search terms on Meetup today. Since the COVID pandemic, “socializing” has become the #2 most widely attended category of events overtaking “career and networking,” which held that second spot in prior years. The category of “games” is a first-time new entry to the top ten in at #10 of most attended in 2022; up from #14 in 2021 and #13 in 2020. Meetup’s “tech” category keeps its top honor of being the #1 most attended category for four consecutive years. This can be partially due to Meetup’s legacy and its enterprise solution, called Meetup Pro, which is used by tech companies—including Google, Adobe, Microsoft and others—to share product news with loyal customers and build brand ambassadors. Five out of the 10 most popular individual Meetup events this past year were focused on the theme of friendships and connections, with “Meet Your Match in Real Life” and “Strategies for Ending Loneliness” being the top two most popular Meetup events. Others in this top ten list include, “The Power of Authentic Friendships,” “Finding Compatible Connections,” and “Attachment Styles Meet Friendships.” “Meetup is trusted for building a community of people who share a common interest,” said David Siegel, CEO of Meetup. “Since 2002, Meetup has connected extraverts and introverts—no matter of race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, gender, or sexual orientation—to meet in a group setting over a common interest or activity, and that brings people a few steps closer to deepening their social and emotional connections.” In stark contrast to earlier points during the pandemic, indoor events were more popular and accepted by Meetup organizers and members this year. By comparison, in 2020 seven out of 10 searches were for events that had been hosted outdoors. About Meetup Meetup is the social media platform for finding and building communities of people who meet about common interests. Established in 2002, the company remains true to its mission of helping people grow and achieve their personal or professional goals through authentic, human connections. Meetup has more than 60 million registered members across 330,000 groups active in 193 countries and 10,000 cities around the world. Meet people who share your interests or try something new by downloading the Meetup app or visiting Meetup.com . To organize a Meetup group please visit Meetup here, and for enterprise solutions visit Meetup Pro. Follow Meetup on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook (@Meetup). |
