A growing number of Gen Zers are opting out of America's drinking culture, leading to a decline in alcohol sales and a boom in non-alcoholic beverages and experiences. This shift is driven by a combination of factors, including health concerns, a desire for alternative forms of social connection, and a growing awareness of the marketing tactics used to promote alcohol consumption.
A typical weekend for 28-year-old Olivia looks something like this: On Friday night, she'll catch a game, either in the stands or from the comfort of her couch in her home city of Philadelphia. Saturday is for the girls — her book club might go out to brunch or convene at one of their houses. Sunday is for bonus activities like shopping and chores to help get ready for the week. While there might be alcohol at some of those events, Olivia won't be partaking.
She's one of a growing cohort of Gen Zers who are opting out of America's drinking culture.It's a choice that's become increasingly popular in Olivia's peer group. A few years ago, some of her friends would look at her like she was 'crazy' for abstaining at social events. Now, some don't even notice — and more are joining her in cutting out alcohol completely, even in a city with a heavy drinking culture.'I've noticed a lot of my friends have also started to give up drinking, or they're just not interested in spending the money,' Olivia, who works in finance, said. 'They don't like the feeling of it. Part of that I think, is getting older; part of it is it's just not as cool.'This year, Dry January came with a new warning for Americans: The US surgeon general, Dr. Vivek Murthy, published an advisory that said alcohol should come with a cancer warning, as multiple studies pointed to a link between the two — even as many Americans did not recognize it as a potential danger. Alcohol stocks tumbled immediately. But if the fresh warning about alcohol shocked millennials and older Americans, many Gen Zers met it with a shrug.'The younger generations are just a little more risk averse than we were,' Mary Charlton, a professor of epidemiology and the director of the Iowa Cancer Registry at the University of Iowa, told me. 'I think they're a little less fatalistic about things.' If older generations embraced an ethos of 'I'm going to die anyways, I might as well smoke,' Gen Z is rejecting that, Charlton said — or, at least, they're more aware of who's making money off of getting them hooked on those substances.Existential considerations aside, for many younger Americans, drinking has become incidental to a good time. If millennials killed off everything from golfing to casual dining, Gen Z might put the final nail in the coffin of social and economic life centered on alcohol. It's cheaper and more rewarding for them to opt for a different kind of connection. And, for a growing subset of businesses, that could translate into huge dollar signs.Becca Borowski, a 25-year-old Wisconsinite, said that she drank 'way too much' in college. When she was 22, she began getting terrible hangovers and decided she wanted to cut down on her consumption.'I feel like everyone kind of realized after COVID that we don't really have to drink to have fun,' she said, adding: 'That's kind of when I started to realize, oh, I really don't enjoy drinking as much. I kind of just enjoyed more so that everyone was there.'That seems to be a common sentiment among her peer group. Gallup polling found that the share of 18- to 34-year-olds who drink alcoholic beverages has tumbled to a record low.Meanwhile, the share of 18- to 34-year-olds who think even drinking in moderation is bad for health has doubled since the early 2000s. Chloe Richman, a 29-year-old in New York City who cohosts the podcast 'Litty and Sh*tty,' has been sober for nearly a year. Her decision to ditch drinking came after she started watching videos about popular online wellness trends such as 75 Hard and cold plunges.'It really got to me, and I was thinking, oh, that's an easy fix for me,' Richman said.She says she only drank on weekends but would go hard when she did. That meant a lost day on Sundays recovering from the inevitable hangover. So cutting out drinking completely seemed like a logical next step. At first, the decision felt 'extremely isolating' — going out for a drink was an easy option for socializing that no longer existed. But soon, she became 'obsessed with the idea of just treating my body the best it can be,' and decoupled fun from alcohol. These days, her evening activities include going to paint at an art café.The shifting attitudes toward drinking affect not only how Gen Zers spend their time, but it's also had a dramatic effect on how they spend their money. For some businesses, this has become a serious issue: Concert venues are struggling with lower alcohol sales, and some bars are having to pivot their offerings, bolstering their non-alcoholic options and crafting spaces for optimal socializing. At the same time, a Gen Z nonalcoholic economy is quietly booming — and creating an opening for new types of businesses. The global non- and low-alcoholic beverage business has ballooned to $13 billion and is projected to grow even more. An analysis from IWSR found that nonalcoholic drink volume rose by 29% from 2022 to 2023, and the industry is projected to grow by 7% from 2023 to 202
Gen Z Alcohol Consumption Non-Alcoholic Beverages Health Concerns Social Trends Millennial Lifestyle
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