Story at a glance
- Young people are drinking less now than they did in prior generations.
- Many Gen Zers are abstaining from booze entirely.
- Experts and Gen Zers themselves connect the change to an awareness of the risks associated with alcohol.
Young peoplearen’tdrinking like they used to.
GenZersare drinking less than young people in past generations: about 20 percent less alcohol per capita than millennials did at their age, according to a report fromBerenberg Research.
And many are forgoingboozeentirely.Theshareof college-age adults abstaining from alcohol hasgrownfrom 20 to 28 percent overthe last two decades,aUniversity of Michiganstudyfound.
The shift away from alcoholstemsin partfromaheightened awareness of the risks that come withdrinking,from poor decisionmaking to addiction to negative health impacts.
Young people “are actually learning that alcohol is toxic to humans,” saidCharles Smith, an addiction specialist at theAmerican Addiction Centers Recovery First Treatment Center inHollywood, Fla.
Over time, drinking alcohol can lead to the development ofnumeroushealth problems like high blood pressure,heart disease, stroke, liver disease and memory problemsand cause at least eightdifferent kindsof cancers, according to theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention.
In fact, alcohol has such harmful effects on the human body theWorld Health Organizationannounced earlierthis year that there is no level of safe alcohol consumption.
Some young people have gained awarenessof the risks associated with alcoholthrough personal experience.They’vewatched friends or familyencounterthem.Orthey’velived through it themselves.
Thatwas the caseforReillyGillespie,a20-year-old Annapolis resident,who found herself confined to herHood Collegedormitory when the pandemic hit in 2020.Likemany Americans at that time, both young and old, she turned to alcohol to help manage theemotionalturmoil of COVID-19 and to pass the timewhile locked indoors.
“There reallywasn’tmuch else to do. Youcouldn’tdance or play loud music or socialize out at a legitimate party or bar like most people would do before COVID,” saidGillespie.“We were just kind of stuck in our dorm rooms and we would just kind of drink and drink and smoke.”
Gillespiesoon found herself drinking at least “a few” cans of hard seltzerevery dayor taking a couple of shots of hard liquor.Eventually, what started out as something thatshedid for fun turned into “a coping mechanism for everything.”
By the beginning of 2023,Gillespiestarted tocall in sick towork to nurse her daily hangovers.She would skip meals so that her buzzwould hit her more quickly when she decided to drink. Andshe began to have severe heart palpitations whenshe drankin the afternoon and evening that would last until the following morning.
One morning the palpitations were so strongGillespiedecided to go to an emergency room. “There was still a large amount of alcohol in mybloodstream,and I had a nursetalk tomeand she basically told me that I was worth more than that,” saidGillespie.“It was kind of my come toJesusmoment.”
Not all Gen Zers have personal experience with the negative side of alcohol like Gillespie does. But even those who don’t have learned about the risks through their education and over the internet, Smith notes. And that exposure has contributed to the decline in drinking.
“Through social media, through education, cooler heads have prevailed,” said Smith.“You never go to the doctor and for routine health maintenance, and he says, you know, I think you should start drinking some alcohol.”
Gen Z prioritizeswellness, both mental and physical,more thangenerations past.
Half of GenZerswork out,compared tojust 45 percent of other generations,accordingto a recent survey fromBecker’s Hospital Review.They also take personalized supplements and attend regular therapy sessions at higher rates than millennials, GenXersand boomers.
Health is the mainreason whySam*, a 24-year-old communications worker based in Washington,D.C.,gave updrinkingthree months ago.
He was not a frequent drinker to begin with, but he found himself falling into a pattern of working intensely during the week andthen going out to drink with friends on Friday and Saturday and then spending the day playingsocceron Sunday.
“There was no moment for body and mind to rest,” he said.Sohechose to cut alcohol from this weekly routine.
ButSamis not entirely sober and will still occasionallysmoke cannabisafter work or with friends, just like he did when he drank.
Cannabis use has become increasingly more commonplace as more states legalize the drug for medicinal and recreational purposes.Now,29 percent ofyoung men and women across the country use cannabis at leastoccasionally, according tofederal data.
Cannabis,Samsaid, fits in better with howGenZ socializes.GenZerstend to be homebodiesthankstogrowing up with aplethoraof food delivery apps, streamingplatformsand other on-demand services that can be accessed from home,he noted.
“I think thatweedkind of lendsitself to that concept more than alcohol in my eyes,” he said.
Only 58 percent of Gen Z consider going out to bars and restaurants as “an important part” of how they socialize,compared to 65 percent of millennials, according to 2021 survey findings fromTechnomic,a food industry researchandanalyticcompany,shared with The Hill.
A spokesperson from Technomic added that GenZers“lag”millennials in drinking alcoholnearly everytime they go out to a bar or restaurant.
“Bottom line is that GenZershave more options than prior generations… and do engage with all of them,” the spokesperson said. “Their personal consumptionportfolio isvery diverse.”
* Name has been changed for the purpose of anonymity
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