5 minSociety
New App Aims to Turn Phones Into a Tool for Real-World Connection
A new community events app called NewTree Social is betting that the same smartphones that keep people scrolling can help them find and attend in-person gatherings, as data shows growing demand for phone-free experiences and live events.
A new community events app is testing an unusual proposition: that the same smartphones that keep people scrolling for hours can be used to push them back into real-world gatherings. NewTree Social, an early-stage app from 29-year-old founder Maddy O'Connor, is designed to help users discover local activities, make a plan and then actually show up.
The idea arrives as interest in in-person experiences appears to be rising. Run clubs are growing, local gatherings are drawing attention and phone-free events are popping up. Eventbrite's 2026 Social Study, which surveyed people ages 18 to 35 in the U.S. and U.K., 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.
Eventbrite also reported that phone-free experiences listed on its platform grew 567% globally between 2024 and 2025, with attendance at those events rising 121%. The company based those figures on events that used phone-free terminology in their title or description. The research comes from a company whose business revolves around live events, but the numbers align with broader cultural shifts toward prioritizing offline connection.
O'Connor 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. 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. Walking into a room of strangers solely to meet people can feel awkward, but 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 wants to expand a social circle, that could make taking the first step easier.
The app's basic experience should feel familiar. There is a feed where users browse events nearby, RSVP and get reminders. But O'Connor, who comes from a graphic design background, said 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, and 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. During NewTree's early pilot, O'Connor is personally reviewing and approving hosts before their events can appear publicly.
NewTree is entering a crowded space. Meetup, Eventbrite and Facebook already help people discover events nearby, and both Meetup and Eventbrite offer personalized recommendations. 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.
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.
The broader question is whether technology can be part of the solution rather than the problem. Instead of asking how an app can keep users scrolling longer, the goal becomes helping them find something worth closing the app for. 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.
