The Death of the House Party (in Vancouver)

The Death of the Party

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The incidence of house parties in America (and sections of Canada) thrown by and for those in their 20s, the prime years for adult socializing, may be dropping for a raft of technological, economic and cultural reasons.

“In college, there were way more house parties, but I’ve only been to a handful in my two years since,” said Mitchell Friedman, 24, who lives in Brooklyn. “My roommates and I never threw any parties, either.”

Madeleine Watson, 29, a resident of Vancouver, British Columbia, said: “I’ve been to, maybe, three or four house parties in the last couple of years, and they’re always Halloween or New Year’s or a holiday event. And it’s always the same house and the same people throwing it.” …

There are a number of obvious reasons the modern Internet may make parties an unpalatable option on a Saturday night compared to the pleasures of a screen. First, there’s the communal connection one may get without much emotional strain from social media, texting or instant messaging. The panoply of at-home entertainment options now immediately available renders quaint the impoverished selection at a 1990s Blockbuster. And if you’re looking for a new romantic partner, swiping for 10 minutes on Tinder may be more efficient than trekking an hour each way only to encounter the same people you always see. …

Moreover, the threat of digital exposure when you haven’t asked over a specific person is a headache some would rather avoid. “I have a friend who still won’t talk to me,” Ms. Watson said, “because she didn’t make the tiniest guest list for a Christmas party I had — my own sister didn’t get invited — that she saw pictures of on the Internet.”

The rise of foodie culture, too, has stabbed a Ginsu knife of culinary anxiety into the hearts of potential hosts; Mr. Richman’s “potato chips sitting there” won’t cut it in the Kale Age. Ms. Watson used to hold an annual Christmas party but stopped two years ago because it was too much work to meet the unspoken dietary expectations of her guests, who are used to “spreads of gluten-free sprouted crackers,” she said. “It took me four days to make all the food, and I put a huge amount of pressure on myself.” …

Location has also presented challenges for Ms. Watson in Vancouver’s pricey real estate market.

“Everyone’s been pushed out of the downtown center,” she said. ”We’re so isolated. I live over one bridge that takes a half-hour to walk to, which I chose based on cost, and everyone else thinks I’m in the middle of nowhere. Young people used to live in houses near the university, but now only families can afford them. Little shacks that college kids used to live in are now $2 million homes.”

Ms. Watson’s residence doesn’t provide much in the way of entertainment space, either.

“I have 400 square feet,” she said. “Even if I wanted to throw these parties, I don’t want people having to sit on my bed. I’m limited to five or six people. All my friends live in condos. No one I know has a backyard. No one has a kitchen table. I don’t even have chairs in my apartment.”