Can tech really get you off your phone and into real life?
How many times have you picked up your phone to check one thing and found yourself still scrolling 30 minutes later? I know I’ve done it.
Our phones make it incredibly easy to stay connected. Yet something interesting seems to be happening at the same time. Many people are looking for more reasons to put those phones down and spend time with other people in the real world.
Run clubs are growing. Local gatherings are drawing attention. Phone-free events are popping up. People seem hungry for experiences that feel a little less like another feed.
That raises an interesting question: Could the same technology that keeps pulling us online also help get us back into real life? That idea is behind NewTree Social, an early-stage community events app from 29-year-old founder Maddy O’Connor. She wants people to use their phones to discover something happening nearby, make a plan and then go experience it. And the timing may be right.
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There is some real data behind this shift. Eventbrite’s 2026 Social Study surveyed people ages 18 to 35 in the U.S. and U.K. It found that 79% planned to attend more events in 2026. Among Gen Z respondents, 46% said they were limiting screen time and 74% said in-person experiences were more important than digital ones.
Now, keep in mind that this research comes from Eventbrite, a company whose business revolves around live events. Still, those numbers line up with something we are seeing play out in the real world.
Eventbrite says phone-free experiences listed on its platform grew 567% globally between 2024 and 2025. Attendance at those events rose 121%. The company based those numbers on events that used “phone-free” terminology in their title or description.
For people who have spent years with a smartphone within arm’s reach, intentionally putting it away feels significant. It also creates an unusual opening for technology. Instead of asking how an app can keep you scrolling longer, what if the goal becomes helping you find something worth closing the app for?
That is where O’Connor comes in. She told CyberGuy that the idea for NewTree grew partly from her own experience living in Washington, D.C. without an established group of friends. Her experience changed depending on where she lived and whether she could find places where meeting new people felt natural.
At the same time, she was watching interest grow around run clubs, wellness events, social clubs and other in-person experiences. So she started building around that behavior.
NewTree is designed to help people discover local activities and meet others through something they already want to do. I think that part is important.
Walking into a room of strangers solely because you are supposed to meet people can feel awkward. Walking into a fitness class, community event or gathering you already find interesting gives you a reason to be there before you ever introduce yourself. For someone who recently moved or simply wants to expand a social circle, that could make taking the first step a little easier.
Open NewTree and the basic experience should feel familiar. There is a feed. You browse events nearby. You can RSVP and get reminders about something you want to attend.
But the idea behind that feed is a little different. O’Connor comes from a graphic design background and told CyberGuy that she deliberately wanted NewTree to feel more like a social platform than a traditional events directory.
The app currently focuses on community, fitness and wellness events around Tampa, St. Pete and Clearwater. Apple describes it as an app for discovering local events, RSVPing and meeting new people.
Hosts can add photos and videos to event listings. Users can browse what is happening around them and RSVP from their phones. O’Connor also wants reviews to play a bigger role in what people discover. She says reviews of a host’s events can affect how those events perform in the feed instead of simply sitting on a profile.
There is something almost funny about the concept. You open another social-style app because you want to spend less of your social life inside apps. But maybe that is exactly the point.
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NewTree is entering a crowded space. Meetup, Eventbrite and Facebook already help people discover events nearby, and both Meetup and Eventbrite offer personalized recommendations.
So what is NewTree trying to do differently? O’Connor says she wants the experience to feel more like a social platform built specifically around getting people together in person. She also says reviews can influence how a host’s events perform in the feed, so better-reviewed experiences can potentially receive greater visibility. During NewTree’s early pilot, O’Connor is personally reviewing and approving hosts before their events can appear publicly.
None of those ideas completely reinvents event discovery. The bet is that putting them together in a more curated, community-focused experience will give people another useful way to find things to do and meet people nearby. Whether that gives people enough reason to add NewTree to the apps they already use is one of the biggest things the company still has to prove.
Here is what I would be watching. Does NewTree help people make plans they actually follow through on? Getting someone to download an app is one thing. Getting them to put on shoes, leave home and show up somewhere is much harder.
The idea works if you spend a few minutes browsing NewTree, find something interesting and eventually put the phone back in your pocket because you have somewhere to go.
It becomes a lot less interesting if people simply scroll through another feed filled with things they might someday do. O’Connor is very open about just how early NewTree is.
She told CyberGuy that NewTree is pre-traction and pre-revenue. Tampa Bay is the starting point because she wants to prove that people will use the platform in one market before trying to expand throughout Florida and eventually nationwide. So there is a long way to go. But the behavior NewTree is betting on already appears to be taking shape.
Of course, using an app to find events where you may meet strangers brings some very real safety questions. O’Connor says she has taken a hands-on approach during NewTree’s MVP stage. She told CyberGuy that she personally reviews and approves hosts before their events can appear on the platform. Users can report content or other users and block people. Hosts can also remove or report attendees.
NewTree’s current support page says business profiles are reviewed before they can post. However, there is an important limitation. A verified badge means NewTree says it has confirmed that the business is who it claims to be. It does not mean NewTree is endorsing or guaranteeing a specific event.
NewTree’s terms go further. They say events are generally operated independently by outside hosts and that NewTree does not ordinarily perform criminal background checks or identity verification on users, attendees, hosts or organizers.
So I would still do some homework before showing up at an unfamiliar event. Look up the organizer independently. Check the venue. If you are uncomfortable going alone, bring someone you trust. Technology can help you find people. It cannot remove all of the risks that come with meeting people you do not know.
Privacy deserves a close look too. O’Connor told CyberGuy that NewTree collects basic account information, including your name, email, date of birth and location. She says the app can use a saved profile location or, with your permission, your device location.
She also said the information is stored through NewTree’s Supabase database, with database-level access controls designed to limit who can access different information. When someone RSVPs to a free event, O’Connor says the host receives the attendee’s name, email and location information so they can manage and communicate with attendees.
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Another detail could cause some confusion. Apple currently gives NewTree a 13+ age rating. NewTree itself says you must be at least 18 years old to create an account or use the platform.
O’Connor told CyberGuy that Apple’s 13+ label reflects its content-based App Store rating rather than the minimum age NewTree allows on the platform. So, despite what you may see on the App Store listing, NewTree says the service itself is for adults 18 and older.
Right now, Apple lists NewTree as an iPhone app. O’Connor told CyberGuy that Android support is planned but not available yet.
The business model is still taking shape too. O’Connor says she is leaning toward keeping the app free for users while eventually offering optional premium tools for businesses and hosts. Exactly what those paid features would include has not been decided.
So I would look at NewTree for what it is today: a very early app built around a much larger change in the way some people are thinking about technology.
Most of us could probably use a few more reasons to put the phone down and do something in the real world. Our phones have become where we communicate, work, watch videos and fill just about every empty moment.
Sometimes the screen starts taking the place of the experiences it was supposed to help us find. Maybe the better approach is expecting more from the technology we already use.
If an app helps you discover a local event, try something you would never have considered or meet someone you otherwise never would have crossed paths with, the phone becomes the starting point. Then it can get out of the way.
I like that idea. Use the technology to find something worth doing. Then look up from the screen and go do it.
What stands out to me here is how good technology has become at keeping us looking down. Notifications pull us back in. Feeds always have something else waiting. Before you know it, another chunk of your day has disappeared into a screen. Now we are seeing signs that many people want something different. They still want technology, but they also want more opportunities to be around people in the real world. NewTree has a lot to prove. But I like the problem O’Connor is trying to solve. Your phone already knows how to keep you home and entertained for hours. Maybe the next really useful social app will be the one that gives you a good reason to leave.
Would you use an app designed to get you off your phone and out meeting people, or does downloading another social app defeat the whole purpose? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com
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