Considering half of Gen Z isn’t even legal drinking age yet, this isn’t too surprising.
Can anyone explain why?
Submitted 2 weeks ago by Mickey7@lemmy.world to [deleted]
https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/af67a321-b96f-440a-9bbb-a6fef4ceb282.png
Comments
babyfarmer@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
cattywampas@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Plus with declining birthrates in developed countries there are probably fewer overall Gen Z people than older cohorts. So even if they drank at the same rate you could still expect the absolute amount of alcohol consumption to be lower.
Otiz@sopuli.xyz 2 weeks ago
By that logic it should be around 10B by now
turmacar@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
People in their 20s tend to buy well drinks and cheap beer unless they’re independently wealthy “somehow” by that point. Older people tend to have more expensive, or at least more specific, preferences.
Raw spending doesn’t mean much in isolation.
kboos1@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
No because the half that currently can’t drink might drink twice as much
JustEnoughDucks@feddit.nl 2 weeks ago
Also, THC drinks are all over the US now and very popular. Most of my (young millennial) friends there barely drink alcohol and have swapped them with gummies and seltzers.
DarrinBrunner@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
“Fading”, more like jumped off a cliff.
There is no safe amount of alcohol to drink.
Everyone is broke.
They watched their parents make asses of themselves while drunk, and today everyone has a video camera in their hand.
lankybiker@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I think this sums it up
terraborra@lemmy.nz 2 weeks ago
Because they’re weak.
In all seriousness, income has stayed about the same in nominal terms, but the cost of living has gone way up even between millennials and gen z. So really income has gone down and booze is much more of a luxury.
galaxy_nova@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
There’s part of it but also anecdotally a lot of us are aware that alcohol in pretty much any quality has negative effects and therefore don’t drink at all. There’s a lot less pressure to drink than in expect there was for other generations, it’s pretty normal for me to meet other people who prefer not to drink.
mkwt@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
alcohol in pretty much any quality has negative effects
The key is that this guidance came out somewhere between millennial and gen z coming of age.
When I was a child the TV news would run “health” stories about how moderate amounts of red wine are good for you. It turned out those studies were funded by the alcohol industry.
Hapankaali@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Drug use, and especially problematic drug use, has low price elasticity and the US is a relatively high-income country. The cost of living is almost certainly a negligible factor in the decline of alcohol consumption.
Although most of the gains have gone to top earners, US real median household income has trended slightly upwards over time and is not “way [down].”
Moreover, high-income European countries where even fewer people are budget-constrained when it comes to drug use have also seen dramatic declines in alcohol consumption.
CompactFlax@discuss.tchncs.de 2 weeks ago
Normalize it for age. How much did GenX spend at 22 vs GenZ?
There’s a big drop off in drinking overall and it’s a good thing. Yet genZ is back on nicotine.
riskable@programming.dev 2 weeks ago
Wait until you see Gen Alpha’s spending on alcohol!
ALoafOfBread@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
Yeah, I know some Gen Z college kids, and I will attest they definitely spend significant money on alcohol. And cigarettes.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the vice money is just split between alcohol, cigarettes, weed, vape carts, and adderall.
kungen@feddit.nu 2 weeks ago
Is illicit Adderall in the US “real”? Or are they usually pressed fakes?
I never understood why speed is/was so uncommon when I was in the US a long time ago. I was offered basically everything there, but never normal speed (without methamphetamine in it) like in Europe.
Formfiller@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Nobody has healthcare, housing is unaffordable, we pay for everything with our tax dollars but all the profits go to corrupt pedofiles, mass surveillance is building a prison for us to live in, secret police are kidnapping people, the earth is dying because the pedofile class doesn’t give a fuck about anything except doing as much evil as possible, there’s a genocide going on and 95% of American politicians are giving away unlimited amounts of our tax dollars to fund it and for the genocidal country to have universal healthcare, free college and a $400 monthly payment per child, Trump has the nuclear codes, a secret police force is disappearing people and shooting people who are exercising their first amendment rights women’s rights are being stripped away and a lot the boys and men are cheering……I could go on and on the reason is there’s nothing to celebrate
glorkon@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
In Germany, we have the word “schönsaufen”, which means something along the line of “drinking until something or someone ugly looks pretty” and I think that’s beautiful.
baller_w@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
Elder millennial here.
…that just about sums it up. Well done.
tetris11@feddit.uk 2 weeks ago
what about chocolate, and smiling more. Have you tried those?
smh
Flauschige_Lemmata@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
That would be a reason for more alcohol
expatriado@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
lol this thread don’t realizing is a shitpost, half of gen z have not make it to 21 years old and this data could be years old
michaelmrose@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Half of gen Z can’t legally drink and 75% of them are broke?
ICastFist@programming.dev 2 weeks ago
They wouldn’t be broke if they weren’t such lazy moochers and worked real jobs!
^/s^ ^just^ ^in^ ^case^
billwashere@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
It’s because they can barely pay rent.
Nalivai@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Yeah, poor people are notoriously sober
pregnantwithrage@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
My alcohol consumption has dropped directly because of this. I use to get a six pack and a bottle of wine and go out a few times a month and now I literally can’t afford any of it.
clav64@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Other drugs are cheaper, and readily available.
kungen@feddit.nu 2 weeks ago
Stimulants like Adderall and Xanax are often misused to cope with academic and social pressures.
I never knew benzodiazepines were stimulants.
chuckleslord@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
They’re not? But they do help with the anxiety of academic and social pressures
Tobsn@thelemmy.club 2 weeks ago
And often less harmfull than alcohol
exasperation@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
On July 1, 2024, the census estimates of the number of each generation of drinking age, if I’m reading this Excel spreadsheet correctly:
Gen Z (born between 1997 and 2012, but as of 2024 the only legal drinking age was those born between 1997 and 2003): 31.3 million
Millennial (born between 1981 and 1996): 74.1 million
Gen X (born between 1965 and 1980): 65.6 million
Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964): 66.9 million
So assuming that 20-somethings have less money to spend on expensive alcohol, and recognizing that Gen Z has less than half the drinking age population as the other generations, it’s not surprising for that generation to spend less on alcohol, even if their habits weren’t different than the older generations.
Now, their habits actually are different, so that might stretch things further. But a better way to present the data would be adjusted per capita. And maybe looking at historical data about when prior generations were the same age.
kreskin@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
the theory that distinct generational behaviors can be bounded in ~15 year increments (which you display nicely above) has always seemed a bit off to me.
Modern_medicine_isnt@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Excellent, I was thinking the same thing. If a graph shows that big a difference, it usually means that it is exploiting some not displayed variable to get the difference. Kids these days need to learn to spot such things.
super_user_do@feddit.it 2 weeks ago
Because we’re broke
Binette@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
Gen Z here. Tastes like shit
filcuk@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
Drinking is so ingrained in human culture that people often get into it because of social pressure.
That’s why it’s given special treatment in comparison with drugs like weed, even though it’s more dangerous.michaelmrose@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Likely you haven’t had anything that doesn’t taste like shit.
Binette@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
I had, until I tasted alcohol. You’d think something that ruins lives would at last had a taste that justified it.
Flauschige_Lemmata@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I actually rather like the taste. Although it’s certainly an acquired taste. Like salminak
sudoer777@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
tastes more like hand sanitizer, but I like the taste of hand sanitizer so I’ll drink it, but it’s also too expensive
JamBandFan1996@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
Marijuana legalization has to be a big part of it
Sazruk@lemmy.wtf 2 weeks ago
The mileage you can get out of $20 of weed is substantially more than $20 of wine, even with taxes and price inflation
michaelmrose@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
You can get 2 bottles each of which can be about 4 servings over 3 days per bottle.
chiliedogg@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Bevlcause half of Gen Z is under 21 and the rest is broke?
angstylittlecatboy@reddthat.com 2 weeks ago
We’re less social, drinks in public spaces have gotten too expensive, weed
BioDriver@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
This needs to be per capita, not total
selokichtli@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
To start with.
mattyroses@lemmy.today 2 weeks ago
Per Capita over 21
mech@feddit.org 2 weeks ago
Most Gen Z-ers can’t legally buy alcohol yet.
And illegal consumption doesn’t make it into the statistic.LemmyThinkAboutIt@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
I hate to break it to you but the oldest of gen z start turning 30 next year…
mech@feddit.org 2 weeks ago
Isn’t the legal drinking age in the US 35 or something like that?
icelimit@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
What about the youngest? I never know where cut off is.
bfg9k@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Have you seen the price of a beer now? Each night at the pub ends up being $100+
Kolanaki@pawb.social 2 weeks ago
Gen Z hasn’t been 21 or older for as long.
zen@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
Poor.
hperrin@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
I would assume it’s because most of them are still children.
andrew@mastodon.furrow.me 2 weeks ago
@Mickey7 I’m biased because the shit has nearly killed loved ones but 90% of many personal experiences with it ended badly. I also learned that Putin eliminated social reforms in Russia, after organizers worked hard for them (to curb death rates), so that he could sell his vodka and control the population better. “Consumption” is a cute way of saying death by alcohol. Big alcohol can fuck off and I hope they go bankrupt. The sooner the better.
GaMEChld@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Alcohol costs money. Middle class is dead. Probably will see a lot more people making homemade things.
BanMe@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
My mom and dad and myself and my younger brother are all alcoholics. Two of us have recovered, two of us have not.
My youngest brother is on the spectrum and refuses to touch alcohol at all because he’s watched it destroy lives and steal souls.
That’s how this chart plays out in my family., ymmv.
Lucky_777@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Millennial here. Pressure was there to drink when growing up. College everyone was boozing. You were weird if you didn’t booze.
Times are different now and the pressure is off. I think this will be huge, plus weed is a way better vice. Hangover is basically zero, no long term effects with heavy use, and generally a fun time.
Rather debate the moon’s creation than drag Becky out to the car again and hope she doesn’t puke in my car.
zaphod@sopuli.xyz 2 weeks ago
Is Gen Z even allowed to drink yet?
CurlyWurlies4All@slrpnk.net 2 weeks ago
Sure a per capita (18+) comparison would be more useful than NET expenditure? It might be lower but there are too many possible variables that aren’t accounted for.
For example the graph below seems to indicate younger audiences drink dramatically less beer and wine than older generations, but dramatically more Hard Seltzers.
JoMiran@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
I know this is a shitpost but I’ve noticed that since the covid lockdown, a lot of my Gen-X friends and colleagues have quit drinking. Not a majority, but enough for me to notice. Has anyone else noticed a drop in alcohol consumption within your social circles?
homes@piefed.world 2 weeks ago
I suspect that smoking weed has replaced a lot of drinking for much of GenZ.
panda_abyss@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
Wow, I don’t spend nearly this amount on alcohol
mbp@lemmy.sdf.org 2 weeks ago
Those are rookie numbers. Gotta push em up
Hossenfeffer@feddit.uk 2 weeks ago
Don’t worry, I’m bringing the average back up again.
jacksilver@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
It was never the avacodo toast preventing millenials from buying a house. It was the $34 Billion they each spent every year on booze.
If only they knew how to budget.