Social ... Gazumping?

Social gazumping is new social phenomena:

We are willing to drop friends and family for a better social life
A new trend has emerged. The act of ‘social gazumping’ – letting down your friends, family or work mates in favor of a better offer is becoming more and more popular among busy working Britons according to new research, commissioned by lastminute.com.

Meet the gazumpers:

This emerging trend is just one of the findings from the ‘Living Life at the Last Minute’ report by lastminute.com, which revealed that nearly half of people admit to cancelling on someone at the drop of a hat when a better offer presents itself. What’s more, two thirds of those who cancel plans are guilty of being ‘socialiars’ - lying about our new plans in order to get out of a prior social engagement.

You’ve been gazumped:

Colleagues are most likely to be ‘gazumped’ as 4 out of 10 of those that cancel plans for a better offer admit to cancelling on work mates. Almost a quarter admit to ditching parents or in-laws in favour of a better offer whilst almost one in ten admit to dumping friends and family for a date.
‘Planned spontaneity’ popular amongst Britons
When planning our social lives, a quarter of us like to keep all or most of our evenings free at the beginning of the week, with as many going as far as to set aside time for spontaneous, last minute activity at least once a week.
In addition, a sixth of people prefer to leave making weekend plans until the day before or on the day. Women tend to be more organised when it comes to their social lives than men; the majority of women keep a record of social engagements whilst less than two thirds of men do so.

A nation of ‘serial socialisers’:

Living life in the fast lane means that our attitudes to making plans are changing. One in seven of people are being dubbed ‘serial socialisers’ as they have chosen to cram 2 or 3 events into just one night for the fear of letting someone down.

TV psychologist, Dr Linda Papadopoulos comments, “Social gazumping and serial socialising are reflections of a number of human traits; a fear of missing out on the fun, guilt associated with saying no to invitations and a selfish desire to spend our precious time doing exactly what we want. Ultimately, the feeling that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence is also a very powerful catalyst. Our preference to leaving gaps in our social plans so that we can act spontaneously is linked to our sense of adventure – having less build up before social events often adds to the excitement factor on the night. We may live in recessionary times but social currency is strong.”

Mark Maddock, Managing Director for lastminute.com UK and Ireland says, “At lastminute.com we have seen people become more impulsive as they are likely to take up fun activities and make new plans nearer the time. It seems at once a product of the fast-paced nature of our lives but also the fact that we are much more socially mobile. There are also some fantastic deals to be had by holding off on plans, from theatre seats to city breaks and restaurant bookings, which means that those of us who wait to make decisions at the last minute don’t have to be penalised financially.”