Heineken Italia launches Together Lab: an observatory on contemporary social life

Together Lab is the new permanent observatory on contemporary social life promoted by Heineken Italia as part of the #Together campaign, which this year evolves by choosing to observe social life through the analysis of spontaneous online conversations, carried out together with a team of researchers from IULM University coordinated by Professor Mauro Ferraresi.

The project stems from the desire to listen to young people in order to observe social life as it takes shape and is described every day on digital platforms: a new way to capture the authentic evolution of being together and understand how the languages, places and rituals of conviviality are changing.

The social media monitoring activity analysed more than 14.400 pieces of content posted spontaneously by young people aged between 18 and 35 on the main social platforms. Each platform offers a different grammar of social life: the immediate, identity-driven and performative language of TikTok sits alongside the more aesthetic and aspirational storytelling of Instagram. Reddit favours more in-depth conversations oriented towards debate, while YouTube and Facebook offer different forms of storytelling, discovery and sharing. This plurality of languages makes it possible to capture a more complete and authentic picture of how Gen Z and Millennials describe and experience their relationships.

Five trends

The qualitative analysis of digital conversations reveals five trends that show how those under 35 are rewriting the rules of social life. The weekend continues to be the preferred time for conviviality (32%) and is increasingly experienced through a combination of experiences outside the home and occasions spent within it; the home is also becoming a chosen and valued social space (28%) alongside going out, which still represents the main way of spending time together. Indeed, the aperitivo confirms its role as a “symbolic ritual”, becoming an opportunity for relationships, belonging and sharing (18%); moderation is establishing itself as a new cultural code, expressing increasingly conscious and inclusive social life (12%); food is emerging as a new language of social life: sharing recipes and experimenting in the kitchen becomes a way to strengthen bonds (10%). Finally, beer continues to accompany these rituals, naturally integrating into new ways of experiencing conviviality.

Rather than replacing traditional rituals, new forms of social life exist alongside them, confirming the lasting value of opportunities for meeting and conviviality that continue to find bars and social gathering places among their main points of reference.

“With the #Together campaign in 2025, we chose to spark a reflection on the value of social life and relationships in contemporary society. Today, we are taking a further step to give even greater strength to this journey: listening. This is where Together Lab comes from: a privileged vantage point that allows us to observe social life as it takes shape, through the spontaneous conversations in which young people describe their way of being together every day. Because social life is a powerful cultural force: it does not merely reflect the way we live, but helps define the places, languages and communities of the future,” says Alfredo Pratolongo, corporate affairs director of Heineken Italia.

“For a company like Heineken Italia, which has always recognised the pleasure of being together as an essential part of its identity, this means taking responsibility for not looking at change from a distance, but understanding it, valuing it and helping to make it possible. The conversations collected tell us that we are not facing a less social generation, but a generation that is rewriting the rules of being together: fewer established models, more authenticity; fewer rituals that are the same for everyone, more freedom to build connections consistent with one’s way of being. This is where #Together finds its deepest meaning: supporting the evolution of social life without fear of change, helping to create the conditions in which people, places and communities can continue to meet, recognise one another and build meaningful relationships,” adds Pratalongo.

Social life is changing shape

There is a mistake that is often made when talking about young people: confusing change with a loss of interest in being together. In reality, social life has simply changed shape. 32% of the content analysed by IULM concerns weekend rituals. The conversations describe a social life that continues to play a central role in the lives of those under 35, but which is expressed through new forms. The new generations do not merely experience social life: they describe it, stage it on social media and curate it aesthetically.

At the same time, the other side of the coin also emerges: tiredness, the need to slow down, choosing the sofa instead of going out. The desire to be together remains strong, but takes more flexible, authentic and personalised forms. Going out is no longer automatic. It is planned, built and sometimes defended against the temptation to stay at home. This applies to the youngest, who experience it as an opportunity for identity expression, and to those aged 25-35, who filter it through an increasingly conscious balance between the desire for social life and the need for personal wellbeing.

Bars: a point of reference for meeting

In this scenario, the bar continues to represent a point of reference for meeting, but the choice of venue is never random. Increasingly, it is the experience offered by the venue that guides the decision on how to spend an evening with friends. The bar is where meetings arise spontaneously, relationships are strengthened and conviviality takes shape through small everyday rituals. This dimension is also portrayed in “Praise the Bar”, Heineken’s web series dedicated to pubs and bars as places of meeting and connection. Following its international debut, the project also arrived in Italy with an episode set in the heart of Trastevere, in Rome, where “Meccanismo”, a contemporary evolution of the historic “Café Friends”, is the protagonist, bearing witness to the role that the bar continues to play in the life of communities.

“Domestic social life” is growing

Alongside social life outside the home, domestic social life is also growing. In 28% of the content analysed, particularly among those aged between 25 and 35, the home emerges as a social space chosen and valued for sharing quality time with friends, partners or flatmates. Pizza, films, board games, homemade aperitivi and dinners with company are not described as a fallback, but as an authentic way of experiencing conviviality. The home does not replace going out: it is one of the places of contemporary social life.

New rituals of conviviality

The aperitivo confirms its status as the symbolic ritual of contemporary conviviality: almost 20% of the content analysed, particularly among young people aged between 18 and 25, describes it as a space for relationships, belonging and sharing, rather than simply a moment of consumption. Two complementary sides emerge from the online conversations: on the one hand, attention to aesthetics, the venue and the food offering; on the other, the search for more spontaneous, accessible and authentic experiences in response to the pressure to perform.

In this scenario, food is also taking on an increasingly central role as a language of social life: in 10% of the content, particularly among those aged between 25 and 35, preparing recipes together, experimenting with new ingredients and sharing culinary experiences becomes a way to build relationships, balancing tradition and innovation, familiar flavours and new influences.

At the same time, another cultural change is emerging that is set to redefine the rituals of being together: for 12% of young people, particularly those aged between 18 and 24, moderation no longer represents a renunciation of conviviality, but a conscious choice linked to wellbeing, balance and personal freedom. Alcohol-free options are naturally entering the same moments traditionally associated with alcohol consumption, shaping a more inclusive social life in which everyone can participate according to their preferences without feeling excluded or judged.

“The research shows us that young people are not giving up social life, but are redefining its rituals. In a third of conversations, the weekend remains the preferred time for being together (32%), but it is increasingly divided between experiences outside and inside the home; the value of the aperitivo as an opportunity for relationships and belonging is growing and, above all, a new idea of conviviality is emerging: more authentic, flexible and inclusive, in which moderation also has a place without compromising the pleasure of sharing moments with others. Social life today therefore does not follow single models, but is built around increasingly personal, authentic and inclusive experiences. For brands, this means, above all, knowing how to listen: understanding how the rituals of being together are evolving, which languages new generations adopt and which values they attach to moments of conviviality. Only in this way is it possible to create an offering capable of being relevant in people’s lives,” says Michela Filippi, marketing director of Heineken Italia.

“For Heineken Italia, this means continuing to interpret cultural changes while remaining close to people and the way they experience relationships,” Filippi continues. “We have always accompanied people’s moments of social life and conviviality, and we continue to evolve together with new generations, interpreting their languages, passions and sensibilities. That is why we are developing a portfolio capable of accompanying increasingly varied and diverse consumption occasions, responding to different needs, including those related to moderation, with products such as Heineken 0.0 and Moretti Zero. Our aim is to continue speaking to people through our brands with credible, inclusive languages that are consistent with the way they experience conviviality today. New generations are asking us for less performance and more authenticity: being culturally relevant does not mean taking centre stage, but naturally entering the moments that truly matter.”

Beer accompanies new rituals of being together

Finally, the study shows that beer continues to naturally accompany all moments of conviviality and is now an integral part of the convivial experience. When an evening is described, people talk about friends, the aperitivo, music, the venue or the shared dinner: beer is already part of the scene. A natural presence, fully integrated into the rituals of being together.

Its role changes, however, depending on the context. At the bar, it accompanies a public and shared moment, part of a social ritual that takes shape outside the home. In domestic conviviality, on the other hand, it becomes part of a more intimate and relational experience, from an aperitivo prepared at home to an evening on the sofa with friends. The same drink thus takes on different meanings, adapting to new ways of experiencing social life. Whether it is an evening out or a moment shared at home, beer continues to accompany different occasions while maintaining a fundamental role within new rituals of conviviality.

On Reddit and Facebook, where beer appears respectively in 30% and 22% of the conversations analysed, another element emerges: interest in discovering beer and brewing culture is growing. The conversations focus on styles, food pairings and new products, turning experimentation into an opportunity for dialogue and sharing. Discovering a new beer thus becomes an excuse to spend time together and fuel new conversations.

“The most interesting aspect of this work is the vantage point chosen. Instead of asking young people how they experience social life, we observed how they spontaneously describe it in the digital contexts they visit every day. It is precisely in these conversations that the deepest cultural changes emerge,” declares Professor Mauro Ferraresi, IULM University –. “What we observe is not a decrease in the desire to be together, but its transformation: languages, places and rituals are changing, while the value of relationships continues to represent a central need for new generations. Digital platforms allow us to capture these developments as they happen, providing a less filtered and more authentic picture of contemporary forms of social life.”

Gen Z and Millennials: different languages for describing social life

The analysis by Together Lab highlights how the future of social life does not lie in opposition between home and outside, online and offline, or consumption and moderation. On the contrary, what emerges is a generation building increasingly personal and authentic social experiences, describing them through different languages.

Young people aged between 18 and 24 and those aged between 25 and 35 talk about the same phenomena, but using profoundly different codes. The youngest favour the POV format typical of TikTok, memetic irony, brevity and generational slang. Young adults instead adopt more extended, reflective storytelling, with greater aesthetic care and closer to Instagram’s codes. This is not merely a difference in communication style, but a different way of attributing meaning to experiences.

This article was translated from the original Italian version with the assistance of artificial intelligence. In case of discrepancies, please refer to the original Italian version.