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This Dubai cafe banned phones to help visitors 'reconnect' in screen-free party

Visitors read books, paint, write, or do any other activity they enjoy; or simply strike conversation with a stranger

Dubai's first offline meet-up was held at a cafe in Jumeirah on Sunday (September 22) attended by more than 70 people. Visitors handed over their phones and indulged in reading, writing, painting, and simply connected with each other. They could be seen reading books, doodling, journaling and painting, a few among them sat simply sipping their drinks and unwinding to the soothing notes of the music playing in the backdrop.

This digital detox was conceptualised by Offline Club from The Netherlands, which has partnered with Seva Café to bring their growing offline community movement to Dubai.

School teacher Melissa Dertian brought her sketchpad and watercolors. She spent the first hour painting. “It was unusual for me to be in a public space and work independently without my phone around. I enjoyed every bit of this detox. It was a new and refreshing experience for me,” Dertian told Khaleej Times.

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More than 70 people attended the event. Sitting next to Dertian was Silvia Farina, a marketing professional, who came today to support the offline movement. She feels it is really the need of the hour. “We are always connected with each other virtually but not in real-time. Such events would bring back that balance we aspire between our digital and non-digital lives,” she shared.

Saudi national Mohammed Omar, who works in the hospitality sector in Dubai, shared he is quite addicted to his phone and spends over six to seven hours logged in every day. “So, in the first hour, I did some self-introspection and wrote out my future plans. Usually I am shy and quiet, but here without my phone I had no option but to reach out and mingle with others. Now I am looking forward to more such meetups,” he added.

Seva Cafe's manager Meri Klobas was an enthusiastic partner in this one-of-a-kind meetup. A Dubai resident for 14 years and a frequent metro user, she laments the digital overdose she has sensed everywhere in the city. “People have forgotten to disconnect. They seem lost in their gadgets and cannot bear to be without their phones. Dubai really needs this digital detox,” she noted.

First phone-free hangout

The club had its first such hangout around seven months ago, in February 2024, in a café in Amsterdam and soon found tremendous success.

Ironically, however, it was their Instagram reel that went viral and the founders of the club were flooded with messages to host these meetups globally. In the reel that hit a million likes, visitors at the offline meeting were seen knitting, doodling and journaling. In today's tech saturated world, this scene offered a window to a much-needed sanctuary for people to experience digital detox from the virtual world.

Andrea Stefanelli, one of the co-founders of The Offline Club, told Khaleej Times: “People's current relationship with the phone has many negative consequences, and we want to change that.

“The goal of the club is to make a global impact because everywhere people have more screen time than they want,” added Stefanelli, a Dubai resident who first went to one of the meetings in May 2024 in Utrecht and became so passionate about the cause that he joined the team as an organiser.

He observed: “Dubai is a hyper-connected city with a fast-paced lifestyle, where residents feel the need to unplug and recharge. And with this refreshing initiative, Dubai residents too can discover the power of offline living.”

Spread of offline movement

Besides Dubai and The Netherlands, the offline movement has spread to London, Aarhus, Milan, Paris and Barcelona.

Incidentally, the three founders of the club in their late twenties grew up in the digital era. The idea of the club was first sowed in the summer of 2021, when 28-year old Dutch Jordy Van Bennekom, one of the co-founders of the club, spent a weekend offline in a house in The Netherlands , surrounded by nature to read, reflect and slow down. He came back fully rested and recharged.

The profound impact of the time spent away from his devices urged him to team up with his friends Ilya Kneppelhout and Valentijn Klok to launch The Offline Club in February 2024.

“As someone who has grown up in a tech driven world, I know how hard it is to detach from our screens. This bothers me as I realise my phone is taking away time that I would rather spend doing things I really value. Many others think alike, as we have witnessed the offline movement grow from our first meetup seven months ago to our current schedule of 27 events in the month of September itself,” noted Kneppelhout.

Letting off digital overload

The offline movement has made its mark at a time when the world is experiencing a digital overload and a loneliness crisis. According to DataReportal’s January 2024 report, globally the average person spends six hours and 40 minutes, looking at a screen each day, with two hours and 23 minutes of it scrolling through social media.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) points out that there is a link between elevated anxiety, despair and feelings of loneliness with excessive social media usage.

Dubai-based psychologist Sangeeta Manglani has observed adults and teens feeling overwhelmed by the constant drive to be connected. She noted: “Online addiction can cause emotional weariness, sleep issues and even broken relationships. It fosters a culture of diversion where deep connections and introspection are frequently overlooked.”

In this scenario, The Offline Club's digital hangouts help people strike a balance between their digital and non-digital life. “Such offline gatherings bring back memories of a time, before smartphones and the internet took over, when people met without the strain of updates and notifications – building relationships that were more genuine and profound,” Manglani highlighted.

Bennekom, co-founder of the club, added: “People really need less screen time and more offline hours. We have seen so many wonderful friendships begin and love stories blossom at our events. Personally, stepping away from digital distraction has reduced my stress levels, made me more focused and engaged, and aware of my presence as a living being.”

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