The Offline Club Instagram account has almost 530,000 followers. This seems almost ironic, as The Offline Club promotes taking a conscious break from social media, including Instagram.

"Swap screen time for real time" is the slogan used by the event management company's three Dutch founders, Ilya Kneppelhout, Jordy van Bennekom and Valentijn Klok.

Their aim is to use The Offline Club to "reconnect people with themselves and others through real-world communities and authentic, offline experiences."

For the past year, the three have organized meetups during which smartphones and laptops were not allowed. "Are you ready to ditch your phone?" they ask in a pinned reel on Instagram.

Apparently, more and more people are willing to switch off their cellphones, at least for these organized events.

Instead of taking their smartphones out, people read, play games, do arts and crafts or relax for a few hours. Workshops, called Digital Detox Retreats, take several days.

"We envision a world in which phone-free spaces and offline communities are the norm," the three founders write on their website.

The Dutch concept has been spreading worldwide over the last year. Amsterdam was........

© Deutsche Welle