Photo Courtesy/Allison Dunn
House parties aren’t dead.
In the new age of technology, where you walk into a function only to find guests slumming out on a couch on their phones, many think that the art of the house party is on the decline.
In a Reddit thread titled r/CasualConversation, a user posed the question: “Is house party culture dead?”
“Every party I’ve been to, it seems like everyone is on their phones and I get the vibe that they think they are ‘too cool’ to party if that makes sense,” the Reddit user said.
In a 2023 study from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, it was found that 4.1% of Americans attended or hosted a social event on an average weekend or holiday.
House party culture is slowly dying out, I think this shows the lack of human connection we all crave. Guests aren't fully present at functions they attend, instead they scroll mindlessly rather than have meaningful conversations with the people around them. Technology is not the only thing to blame for this decline—hosts aren’t celebrated to their full potential.
My friends and I are big on hosting for any reason possible; we celebrate any and all occasions. Some examples of this include: college graduations, birthdays, the election of a new Pope, Groundhog Day and being single on Valentine’s Day. I believe in a time where house parties seem to be on the decline, we should revive them through the act of celebration—no matter how big or small the event may seem.
Many choose to not host parties in the first place because they don’t want the pressure that comes with it. I think more people should let their guests get involved, or cohost with friends. My favorite parties have come from being a host alongside someone else—for example, “Club 20,” an event that completely changed my perspective on being the host.
For my friend Allie and I’s 20th birthday, we decided to join forces and plan a party centered around all of our favorite things and only play the songs we love that we never hear out on the town. The goal was to craft our dream “club.” This has been by far my favorite event I’ve hosted, and I think a key note to take from it for your own use is to allow things that may seem silly for the sake of it being fun.
Get collaborative: let your guests add their own songs to the playlist, tell people to bring their favorite drink to share and allow the party to expand beyond whatever box you want it to fit into. Human connection is what house parties are all about.
Keeping the culture of house parties alive goes beyond accepting an invitation, it’s throwing one for yourself and seeing what happens.
Strike out,
Nathaniel Cooper
Editor: Maia Geraci
Athens