Similar activities are search goal

For Yu, turning to dazi groups was also a necessity as she found it difficult to find new friends after moving to Shanghai from her hometown Qiqihar, Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, a few years ago.

"After graduating from university, it became harder to find people to hang out with. All my schoolmates became more distant because they had their own lives to live and dreams to chase. Also, there is this unspoken rule that co-workers should only be co-workers, not friends," she says.

Even people in their mid-30s have jumped on the bandwagon.

Bu Yu, a 35-year-old who lives in Shanghai, decided to form a dazi group after discovering that many mothers were eager to have their children play together. After creating the group in late March, she organized a tour of the Shanghai Firefighting Museum early this month with other families that have children of similar ages.

"Overall, the experience was great as we had flexibility with time, efficiency in planning, and it allowed us to meet new people," says Bu. "This approach also allows families to connect with each other, make new friends, and tailor their activities to their individual requirements."

The group currently has around 300 members, and the main focus is on finding partners for activities, such as playing outdoors with children, traveling, dining, singing and learning.

"I don't think looking for companions is unique to young people nowadays as they prefer to do almost everything online. I think this approach is popular because people's lives are too fast-paced and their social circles are small," says Bu.

Yu Hai, a sociology professor at Fudan University in Shanghai, says such a trend should be perceived as a positive one as it shows how young people are more willing to explore their own interests.

"This type of lifestyle represents a courageous attempt by young people to reach out and explore social relationships that please themselves and perceive the beauty of life in a different way. This could be seen as a step forward in social progress," he says.

"As social creatures, we thrive on doing things together. This is behind why young people are enthusiastic about finding dazi circles these days."

The trend also suggests that young Chinese are taking steps to become more social. According to a survey by China Youth Daily last year, more than 80 percent of the nearly 5,000 college students polled said that they suffered from mild social anxiety disorder.

Wang Wenda, a psychology lecturer at Ningxia University's Xinhua College in Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui autonomous region, attributes this phenomenon to youths lacking social skills as they are more accustomed to interacting with each other online than in person.

"Instant messaging apps are not really 'instant' because people can choose not to respond to messages or can take time to come up with the best response, while in real life, they must react right away and understand different facial expressions and gestures," he says.

Wang says young people with social anxiety disorder could take part in more gatherings to practice their social skills.