Gen Z seeks authentic connections beyond the screen, says Under25 CEO Jeel Gandhi

MUMBAI: As brands, organisations and communities continue to navigate the evolving preferences of Generation Z, new insights from Jeel Gandhi, CEO of Under25, suggest that young Indians are increasingly prioritising meaningful real-world experiences, authentic communities and peer-driven connections alongside their digital lives.

Drawing on Under25’s extensive engagement with students and young professionals across India, Gandhi highlights how Gen Z is redefining participation, belonging and brand engagement. From community-led gatherings and immersive live experiences to purpose-driven networks and peer recommendations, today’s youth are seeking spaces that foster genuine human connection rather than passive consumption.

In the following interview, Gandhi shares her perspective on the rise of offline communities, changing social trends among young Indians, and what brands can learn from a generation that values authenticity, relevance and shared experiences above traditional marketing approaches.

1. Why are digital-native Gen Z consumers increasingly choosing offline experiences and communities?

One of the biggest misconceptions today is that Gen Z is moving away from digital spaces or becoming less engaged. Neither is true. What we’re seeing is a conscious shift towards balance and a different way of participating. While digital platforms help young people stay connected, what they’re increasingly seeking are experiences that feel like the opposite of a curated feed: tangible, spontaneous, and personal. They’re not choosing between online and offline. They’re simply using both differently.

Gen Z is also the Covid generation. They have been overexposed to content and spent some of their formative years in environments where seamless, real-world connections were harder to build. For a generation that has grown up with heavily polished and filtered content as the norm, the appeal of the unscripted is powerful. Young people aren’t just looking for something to attend. They’re looking for experiences that break routine, challenge them, create stories worth telling. This is showing up in some fascinating ways: exclusive film screenings, pop-up art installations, immersive music experiences, community supper clubs, midnight photo walks through city bylanes. Experiences that could only happen once, in that moment, with those people. For this generation, that is the entire point.

This shift is seen in participation patterns across the country. India hosted over 34,000 live events in 2025 alone and 70 per cent of attendees were under 35. Sixty-two percent of India’s Gen Z are planning to travel specifically for concerts and music festivals in 2026, and 76 per cent have visited a city for the first time because of a live experience.

What is also worth noting is that discovery has become part of the thrill. Young people are finding out about events through trusted friends and word-of-mouth rather than digital feeds. Local connection, participation, and organic moments matter more than polished production or mass appeal. Authenticity is the new luxury, and this generation can tell the difference between something made for people and something made for an algorithm.

Source: Outlook India, CNBC, Airbnb

2. What are some of the biggest offline trends you’re seeing among young Indians today?

A clear shift we’re seeing is that young people are placing a much higher value on real-world experiences than they were a few years ago. The most visible one is the surge in live entertainment. Young Indians are showing up in numbers that were unimaginable a few years ago, and they are travelling across cities to do it. Around 35 per cent of attendees at large-scale concerts are coming from non-metro cities, which tells you that the desire for shared, in-person experiences is no longer an urban phenomenon. It has gone mainstream.

But beyond the big-ticket events, what is perhaps more telling is what is happening at a grassroots level. More young people are seeking out softer, more intimate forms of socialising. Experiences like pottery workshops, sip-and-paint sessions, candle-making classes, coffee tastings and community supper clubs are becoming popular because they take the pressure out of social interaction. The activity acts as a natural icebreaker, allowing conversations and relationships to develop organically rather than forcing connection.

This generation also cares deeply about what their peers think and recommend. In many cases, it is more important that their friends think an experience is worthwhile than anyone else. That is one reason smaller, hyper-curated experiences are resonating so strongly. They offer the perfect mix of low commitment and high engagement that many young people are looking for today.

There is also a noticeable shift toward wanting to feel connected to the place they actually live in. Whether it is neighbourhood film screenings or community-led gatherings, young people are looking for ways to feel more connected to their local areas. In many ways, local connection is becoming more valuable than scale.

What connects all of these trends is the same underlying need. Young people today are not just looking for something to do. They are looking for spaces where they feel understood, connected and part of something real. The activity may draw them in, but the sense of belonging is what keeps them coming back.

Source: Rolling Stone India

3. Through Under25’s campus network and community initiatives, what changes have you observed in how young people are seeking connection and belonging?

What we’ve observed is that young people are becoming much more intentional about the communities they invest their time in. There’s a common perception that Gen Z is disconnected or less interested in social interaction, but our experience has been quite the opposite. They’re deeply interested in connection; they simply seek it differently from previous generations. Earlier, connection was often a by-product of being in the same classroom, college, or social circle. Today, students are actively seeking spaces that align with their interests, ambitions and values.

The expectation from the community has also evolved. Young people are no longer showing up just to socialise. They want to learn, contribute and feel like their participation matters. What keeps them engaged isn’t just the event itself but the peer network and shared experiences that emerge from it. More importantly, we’re seeing a growing preference for experiences tied to causes they care about, whether that’s sustainability, skill-sharing, social impact or community building. It isn’t about escapism. They want to show up for something that matters and feel the difference their presence made.

Another interesting shift is that students are far more willing to step outside their existing circles. It’s increasingly common to see someone attend an event alone, join a new community or start conversations with people they’ve never met before. There’s an openness to putting themselves in new environments if it helps them learn, grow or expand their perspective.

Young people aren’t just looking for people to spend time with. They’re looking for spaces that help them become who they want to be, and that’s fundamentally changing how communities are formed and sustained.

4. How is Under25 creating spaces and experiences that bring young people together beyond the digital world?

The way young people engage with our spaces has told us a great deal about what they are actually looking for. Our Summit at Campus, which has grown to over 200 student-led summits across 36 cities and reached over 1.2 million students on the ground in under two years, was never designed to be a conventional college festival. The idea was always to put students in the driving seat, allowing them to conceptualise, build and lead the experience themselves. That ownership changes the quality of the connection entirely. People participate differently when they have helped create something rather than simply consume it.

With Under25 IRL, the format is more intimate and phase-led. These are smaller, curated experiences for people navigating specific moments in their lives — a first job, an interest in content creation, or simply the desire to find their people outside of a college campus. What makes these spaces work is that they remove the pressure of formal networking and replace it with something far more human. Shared activity, peer learning and the kind of repeated, low-pressure interaction that allows real relationships to develop naturally over time.

What both of these formats have reinforced is that young people today are not just showing up for the programme. They are showing up because they want to feel part of something. The connections that form in these spaces — friendships, collaborations, mentorships and opportunities — are a direct result of creating environments where people feel genuinely seen and understood. That, more than anything else, is what we are building towards.

5. What insights from Under25’s engagement with youth communities can brands learn from when trying to connect with Gen Z?

We have observed through our engagement with youth communities across campuses and experiences that Gen Z does not respond to passive messaging. They engage with experiences, communities and conversations that feel authentic, participatory and relevant to their lives. They want to feel involved, not marketed to.

Trust, for this generation, is largely peer-built rather than brand-built. Young people are far more likely to engage with something because a friend recommended it or because someone they respect was part of it than because of how well it was packaged or promoted. Big creators can generate awareness, but communities are what drive action and long-term engagement. The strongest brand relationships are often built through shared experiences and trusted networks rather than advertising alone.

We’re also seeing a shift away from traditional aspiration marketing. Earlier generations often looked up to brands from a distance. Gen Z values relatability far more. They want to see real people, honest experiences and brands that feel human rather than overly polished. Emotional access matters more than perfection.

Another important observation is that Gen Z is not a monolith. Two people of the same age can have completely different interests, values and aspirations. Relevance comes from understanding specific cultures and communities rather than relying on broad generational assumptions.

Brands also need to resist the temptation to chase every trend. Young people can quickly spot when a brand is participating in a conversation without a genuine reason to be there. Relevance comes from having a clear point of view. The brands that earn trust are the ones that show up consistently, create real value and build relationships over time rather than simply chasing attention.