Local clubs and associations once thrived on skills, contacts, and the exchange of information. Today, the same knowledge and networks are available online in seconds. Hobbyists haven’t disappeared—but they no longer need to join a club.
Just a few decades ago, the idea of “community” was straightforward: it was your village, your neighborhood, or your hobby group—often something you joined because your parents did. Community was close at hand, and membership was part of your identity. Now things are different: the world has become a village, but the village is no longer the whole world.
Across most fields, clubs and associations are fading. Sports teams, hobby clubs, and neighborhood groups face the same challenge: when the core volunteers step down, there’s no one to take their place. Recruiting members is tough, and getting them actively involved is even tougher. The irony is that people’s passion for hobbies and interest in collective causes hasn’t vanished—it’s just flowing elsewhere.
Take hot rod, kustom & classic car clubs as an example. Back in the ’80s and ’90s, a local car club was more than a treasure chest for enthusiasts—it was almost a required toolkit. One member knew how to fix a particular kind of transmission, another had connections for hard-to-find parts, and a third knew people in car clubs in nearby towns.
Tracking down parts for old American cars was detective work, with information passed along through phone calls, club nights, and meetups. Today, the same hobbyist can find even the rarest parts with a few clicks in an international online store—and have them delivered to their door within days. Social media connects them instantly with hundreds of fellow fans of the same make or model worldwide, and there’s more repair advice and historical knowledge online than anyone could ever consume.
Community itself has changed shape. Local ties are no longer required to belong. Online, you can meet like-minded people across the globe, and friendships can flourish without a single face-to-face encounter. That reduces the need to commit to a club in your hometown—especially if your passion is for something that isn’t available locally.
Geography has lost its grip. Globalization and digital communication have made networks and friend groups limitless. While club meetings might bring people together once a month, the internet delivers your community in seconds—no matter the time zone. In fact, physical meetings can feel restrictive when the online conversation is already buzzing.
At the same time, multiculturalism and diverse identities are opening doors to new kinds of communities. Young people choose their groups based on values, lifestyles, and interests—not just on what happens to be nearby. A local hobby club or classic car club can be great, but it’s no longer the default.
The culture of instant impact also makes traditional association and club structures feel clunky. If an online campaign can gather thousands of signatures in a single day, the idea of a printed meeting record and a slow, rule-bound decision-making process feels frustrating. Today’s digital-native generations are used to reacting and influencing instantly—not waiting for the next monthly or even annual meeting.
And competition for attention and time is fiercer than ever. There are endless other forms of community—often lighter, more visual, and less binding. Traditional clubs can’t really compete on the same terms with today’s social media and global networks the way they once did.
So, are traditional clubs obsolete? Maybe not—but their old ways of operating are. If they want to attract new generations, they need to take a hard look in the mirror and ask: are we the village waiting for the world to come to us, or are we willing to step outside the village and try something new?