AXIOS (Carly Mallenbaum) - Birding, silent book club, Mahjong and more: America's meetup explosion
Young people raised on swiping, DMing and streaming are doing something bold: going out. Why it matters: Amid a loneliness epidemic , millennials and Gen Zers are craving IRL connection — enough to show up for meetups built around activities once considered solitary, or "grandma hobbies ." The latest: They're leaving the house to play chess , birdwatch and read in silence together. - "It's very easy to sit inside and rot just by yourself," Cole Robinson, president of the Audubon on Campus Trinity University chapter, tells Axios San Antonio . - But activities like birding can help you "feel a little less lonely," the 20-year-old says. "Soft socializing" experiences — where you're with other people but networking is not the main…