From Screen Time to Shop Time: Gen Z Men Turn to “No‑Phone Hobbies” and Analog Weekends

Pinterest’s newly released Men’s Trend Report for 2026 points to a quiet re‑engineering of male leisure time, led by Gen Z. The platform reports that searches by Gen Z men are up 17% year over year and now make up more than 60% of all male searches. Among the fastest‑rising topics: “no phone hobbies,” with search volume jumping 157% compared with last year.

The report highlights three pillars of this shift. First, “Reset Retreats,” where terms like “forest retreat” and “slow travel” are climbing as men look for wellness‑oriented escapes. Second, “Sporty Socials” such as padel tournaments, bouldering and Hyrox‑style hybrid fitness events that double as friend‑making infrastructure. And third, “Workshop Weekend”: a surge in interest in junk journaling, hand‑built pottery, woodworking and even beginner blacksmith workshops, many of which are explicitly marketed as analog, phone‑down experiences.

Taken together, these data points suggest that younger men are reframing hobbies less as solo grind and more as structured breaks from screens. For markets like Japan—where male self‑care is still often coded as either serious sport or quiet solitude—the idea of group‑based, proudly “no‑phone” craft and activity weekends could be the next frontier in lifestyle marketing.