If you’ve felt low-key flat lately — like life has become an endless rotation of school pickup, laundry, dinner prep, work, repeat — I want you to know something:
It’s not just you. And it’s not just your zip code. It’s the entire country.
A new state-by-state study of 5,000 American adults — commissioned by Dave & Buster’s and conducted by Talker Research — just put a number on what so many of us have been quietly feeling: 48% of Americans say their overall life is currently lacking in fun.
Half. Of the country. Officially un-fun.
And it gets worse:
- 12% can’t even remember the last time they had a full free day to just have fun
- Half wish they could do something fun and social daily, or at least a few times a week
- Folks who feel fun-deprived say they’d need 17 extra hours per week to fix it
Seventeen hours. As an Orlando mom, I read that and laughed out loud, because the only way I’m finding 17 extra hours in my week is if I quit sleeping entirely, which — newsflash — would also not be fun.
But here’s where I want to slow down and actually unpack this, because it touches something I’ve spent a long time studying.
A Quick Note on Why Fun Is Actually a Wellness Issue
I went to the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and graduated in 2019. One of the very first things they teach you at IIN is that food is not the whole picture. They call the non-food parts of your wellness your “primary food” — your relationships, your career, your physical activity, your spirituality, and yes, your fun. Your social and emotional life is part of your physical health.
Translation: when you laugh with your friends, your nervous system relaxes. When you have a Saturday afternoon with zero responsibilities and a plate of nachos, your body literally heals from stress. When you’re playing a stupid arcade game with your kids and you forget about your inbox for 45 minutes, your cortisol drops.
Fun is not a luxury. Fun is medicine.
That’s why running Orlando Mom is such a labor of love for me. Every guide, every roundup, every weekend lineup we publish — it’s not just about filling a Saturday. It’s about giving you the data points (and the budget-friendly options) to plug fun back into your family’s life on a regular basis. Because the research is screaming what IIN taught me years ago: families who play together stay healthier, more connected, and more emotionally regulated.
What the Survey Says Fun Actually Does for Us
The Dave & Buster’s study didn’t just count up our fun deficit — it spelled out the upside of fixing it:
- 72% said fun helps them feel less stress
- 57% said fun makes them feel more motivated
- 56% said fun makes them feel closer to family and friends
- 89% believe having fun with others helps them maintain healthier relationships
That last one. Eighty-nine percent. Having fun with the people you love is — by your own admission — one of the most powerful relationship tools you have. And so many of us are skipping it.
Why Fun Has Gotten Harder (And It’s Not Just You)
Per the survey, 52% of Americans say it’s actually HARDER to have fun than it was 10 years ago. Here’s why:
- 51% can’t afford the same activities anymore
- 45% said their social circle has shrunk
- 42% have more responsibilities
And here’s where fun plans go to die for most of us:
- 57% — cost and budget
- 34% — personal schedule
- 31% — work schedule
- 29% — friends/family not having time
- 22% — general burnout
37% said they frequently think of a fun activity and have to tone it down or cancel. 33% said adult responsibilities get in the way of fun plans on the regular.
If you’re nodding so hard your neck hurts — same, mama. Same.
What Would Actually Help – Per the Survey AND Per Me
Respondents said they’d be more motivated to prioritize fun if:
- It was a low-cost experience (55%)
- They had more free time (41%)
- There were more exciting things to do (32%)
- They had better planning with friends (29%)
- It felt “worth it” (29%)
This is, no exaggeration, the entire reason Orlando Mom exists.
You don’t have more free time. You don’t have more money. You don’t have a personal assistant. What you do have is me, sitting at my desk, doing the legwork to find you the affordable, doable, kid-friendly fun that’s happening in Central Florida every single week. Because the whole point of running this site is to remove the barriers between you and your next “this was actually really fun” moment.
A Few Places to Start Right Now
We’re heading into prime fun season here in Central Florida, and we’ve already done the homework for you. A few places I’d send you immediately:
Start with our Ultimate Guide to Summer — it’s the master playlist. Every category, every season, every “what are we doing this weekend” answered in one place.
If you’ve got kids climbing the walls at home, head to our roundups on summer camps in Central Florida, our free and cheap summer activities, our rainy day go-tos for Orlando families (because Florida summer = afternoon storms = need a Plan B), and our water park, splash pad and indoor play spaces guides.
Want grown-up fun mixed in? Check our date night roundups, our brewery and patio guides, our local weekend event lineups. Because mom fun matters too — and your nervous system needs it.
Melissa Powers, VP of marketing at Dave & Buster’s, put it well in the survey: “Fun isn’t just entertainment, it’s an important part of people’s overall well-being. As life becomes increasingly busy and digitally driven, people are looking for places where they can connect in real life, share experiences and simply enjoy being together.”
This is the whole game, mama. Real life. Shared experiences. Being together.
A Permission Slip From One Tired Mom to Another
You don’t need a vacation to have fun. You don’t need to drop hundreds of dollars on a “Pinterest-worthy” family outing. You don’t need 17 extra hours in your week.
You need one small thing on the calendar this week that has zero to do with productivity and everything to do with the people you love.
A bowling lane. A splash pad. A taco night on the back patio. A game night with the kids and the lights low. An evening walk after dinner because the sunset over Lake Eola is doing its thing again. A movie at one of our local theaters. A trip to the springs. Even just letting the kids pick the music in the car and dancing through traffic on 408.
That’s it. That’s the medicine.
Forty-eight percent of America is in a fun drought. Let’s make sure Central Florida moms are NOT in that number. We have a city full of stuff to do, a website full of guides to help you find it, and a permission slip from me — your fellow tired mom — to put fun back on your wellness to-do list this week.
Your nervous system, your marriage, your kids, your friendships, and your whole entire body will thank you.
Research methodology: Talker Research surveyed 5,000 American adults, 100 per state, with internet access; the survey was commissioned by Dave & Buster’s and conducted online between Apr. 21 and May 1, 2026.
