Jüngere Generationen wenden sich mit beispiellosen Raten vom Alkohol ab, wobei Gen Z den kulturellen Verschiebung vorantreibt. Die australische Studie zeigt im Laufe ihres Lebens, Gen Z ist fast 20 -mal häufiger, dass sie im Vergleich zu Babyboomern keinen Alkohol trinken, selbst nachdem sie sich an soziodemografische Faktoren anpassen.
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I’ve linked to the press release in the post above. In this comment, for those interested, here’s the link to the peer reviewed journal article:
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/add.70201
From the linked article:
**Younger generations are turning away from alcohol at unprecedented rates, with Generation Z driving a cultural shift** that could reshape Australia’s drinking landscape and deliver major public health gains if the trend continues, say researchers.
A new study by Flinders University analysed over two decades of data from more than 23,000 Australians, finding that abstention from alcohol is on the rise, and weekly alcohol consumption is declining, particularly among younger cohorts.
The study used data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey to track drinking habits across five generational groups: the Silent Generation (1928–1945), Baby Boomers (1946–1964), Generation X (1965–1980), Millennials (1981–1996), and Generation Z (1997–2012).
It is the first study in Australia to use longitudinal data to separate the effects of age from generational change, providing robust evidence that the decline in alcohol use among young people is more than just a passing trend.
“Our research **shows that over the course of their lives, Gen Z are nearly 20 times more likely to choose not to drink alcohol compared to Baby Boomers, even after adjusting for sociodemographic factors**,” he says.
“This isn’t just a phase; it appears to be a sustained change in behaviour that could have long-term public health benefits.”
The Wine industry would agree with this, NPR had a segment I heard earlier today about Wineries basically dumping half of their crop because they haven’t sold the last 2 years of wine…
They smoke more weed, they have less sex, they drink less and have alarming youth suicide rates.
Just an interesting cohort all around.
Australia has an alcohol tax that increases every year, it is now unaffordable for young people to partake in alcoholic beverage consumption.
In WI the theory is that we do not have legal marijuana because of the strength of the Tavern League and alcohol industry here. No one wants Wisconsinites to stop drinking. It would destroy the industry. Studies like this make me think the theory is true.
I mean you have two cocktails and dinner and you’re out over $100 with tax and tips, not counting an uber…vs ordering in and having a gummy…
Honestly this doesn’t surprise me at all. Gen Z grew up seeing the worst sides of alcohol family issues, health warnings, hangover culture all of it.
Add to that the internet, gaming, social media, and rising living costs… drinking just isn’t the default way to socialise anymore.
What’s interesting is that this study actually confirms it’s not just a phase. Gen Z are way more likely to skip alcohol entirely compared to Boomers, and even Millennials are drinking less on average.
It’s kind of ironic though the people still drinking the most per week are actually the older generations not the young ones.
Alcohol is a pretty expensive habit
Because its expensive. No science behind it.
Gen Z is interesting. They are more socially isolated than ever, drink less, but every generation has their drug, they were the first to grow up with social media.
I know every older generation thinks the younger ones are a bit strange but Gen Z did grow up in an unprecedented way.
Don’t blame them, alcohol is just terrible all around. I drank a lot from the time I was 14-15 until recently (I’m 39) and I feel a lot better now that I’ve more or less quit. It’s just a poison. The times I do have some drinks now I feel terrible the next day.
Compounding health issues alcohol use brings aside, I’m not about to spend $15 on one drink that’s immediately gone when that money could be spent on entertainment that lasts longer like books and subscriptions
Anecdotally from friends and colleagues my age who have kids that are now in their teens, this rings true. I’d say it’s a combination of the massive culture shift we’ve had recently as well as the price of booze, especially in Australia.
Alcohol just isn’t the trend anymore, just like when smoking cigarettes and cigars were trendy. Now, it’s weed, energy drinks, and bio hacking. These too will fall out of fashion, due to the same reasons as the previous. New hype, new consequences, same cycle.
Good. It’s literally poison.
I wonder what impact Covid had on this generation and their alcohol attidudes?
This is the generation that were coming into their traditional ‚alcohol years‘ around the time Covid hit. When Millenials and Gen X were in their late teens/twenties they were out to bars, nightclubs and the whole nightlife. But for this generation that whole nightlife industries just ceased for several years. They either didn’t get the opportunity to go out and socially drink, or they were a bit younger and saw that their slightly older peers didn’t go out and do that so it felt like that was the pattern for how 20 year-olds behave, so they didn’t go out either – even when places had opened up post-covid.
I don’t expect it to be the driving factor, but I’d be surprised if it weren’t a factor at all. When one avenue for right-of-passage closes, others open, and it’s hard to re-divert people back to the old ways – which may or may not be a good thing.
One thing that I haven’t seen mentioned in relation to this is social media – if you get drunk and act like an idiot now days it’s quite possible that half the people you know if not more are going to see it. If you have a casual hook up they can make a video incredibly easily.
But beyond that, even in my lifetime I’ve never really engaged with bar culture, which is kind of a contradiction because I play in bands and go to gigs often so I go to bars a lot, but I’ve never really been the type to just go to a bar to hang out because, you guessed it, it’s way too expensive.
I did still drink in parks, cemeteries, wherever the cops weren’t, and then people’s flats.
But way more people can’t even afford flats, and then if they can they can’t also afford alcohol.
And a lot of the reason people went out and drank was boredom and loneliness, but now we have endless entertainment and social interaction just there.
I barely drink now, but not really for any of those reasons (although having a comfortable home and other things to do and a relationship helps a lot) – it just doesn’t really feel that worthwhile. Once you start drinking you kinda need to keep drinking (not binging) otherwise when it wears off you just feel tired, faintly sick and over it.
Even having a drink or two seriously affects your sleep which kinda ruins the next day even if you aren’t hung over.
And I don’t really know why but after I had bronchitis for like 3 months years ago, now if I drink beyond a certain point it just makes me feel nauseous and kinda gross.
Alcohol just doesn’t feel worthwhile most of the time now.
You seen the price of a pint these days? Gonna need to cut back on my avocado toast and beer now if I ever want a home.
If you are forcing down alcohol just to enjoy yourself at a club then yeah, maybe drinking less is a good thing. To me, it tastes great though, and I’m sad to see people missing out on flavour.
Way too expensive. Also I’ve noticed Gen Z are big into fitness, so regular alcohol use counters gym gains.
The lack of third spaces make it harder for Gen Z to socialise in the same way older generations did
They now vape from the ripe old age of 14 instead
I’m an Australian millennial who works in the music industry so a lot of my clients are younger Gen Z, this is bang on. A few years ago every client drank at every gig / in the studio / rehearsal, all these new artists are basically sober. It’s doing great things for their careers.
Me, I grew up in the thick of Aussie drinking culture so I still love a beer but it’s certainly much harder to find mates to go to the pub or a gig with on a weekend. Much cheaper and healthier to stay in and play video games, regardless of consumption of other drugs.
I wonder if this could possibly be related to the fact that a pint of Stella Artois, which is very much not just nicknamed „wife-beater“ in these parts because of the plain white cans it comes in, costs over a fiver?
No wonder everyone’s pivoting to cocaine.
It’s because the younger generation is turning towards mushrooms and weed primarily. It’s not that sobriety is gaining. It’s because those substances are increasingly more acceptable in society and both are becoming more and more legal nationwide.
I stopped drinking a lot a few years ago when weed became legal….i can legally grow 4 pot plants where I live, I grow one or two every other summer in my veggie garden, as long as I cure the weed properly it lasts for years costs me $0… A bottle of decent wine is like 25$+ plus tax , and last one evening. If I had a bottle a week we are looking at like 1800-2000$ a year. Pretty much only have a few drinks on special occasions now, and usually it’s gifted booze.
I am DELIGHTED for this young generation of people. Alcohol is poison, in any amount.
When you’re having fun drinking but wake up posted to social media. You stop going out drinking.
Idk about that but they are doing more drugs now