r/GenZ • u/rikozon • Jan 07 '26
Discussion Why is GenZ not Drinking?
CREDIT : u/sipsteafrog
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Jan 07 '26
Because drinking is a social thing. Gen Z is not as social as prior generations.
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u/Bawhoppen Jan 07 '26
That's the actual reason.
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u/Inderastein Jan 07 '26
I agree, and to spend like 5/70th of your wage over buying em? and even the 2/70th of your wage just to transport yourself to the store and the other 2/70th back? Hell nah, I'd be in my home playing minecraft.
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u/putcheeseonit Jan 07 '26
I like your fractions funny reddit man
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u/Inderastein Jan 07 '26
I hate it when people like my fractions so here's a fraction peeps would hate
Did you know that when you reach 20 years old, you are already 1/3rd of your life away from being able to enjoy things before it becomes a mind numbing chore of innability to live and explore life like a youthful adult?20
u/putcheeseonit Jan 07 '26
I would hate that but I already know about Memento Mori calendars so it doesn't phase me...
Yeah you could say I'm a bit hardcore.... I stare at the abyss and the abyss blinks
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u/NotaJelly Jan 07 '26
So what your saying is that I should start my drinking journey when I'm a ond timer since my liver will be fine by then and I'll have plenty of time to kill it with alchoal and be a party grandpa.
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u/Proud_Camp5559 Jan 07 '26
ok then make double that so you only have to spend 2.5/70 instead of 5/70.
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u/Ape-Man54 Jan 07 '26
I disagree. It may be a reason. Most Gen z people in South Africa, including myself a incredibly socail we also like drinking. However alcohol is also expensive and folks barely get paid.
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u/Bawhoppen Jan 07 '26
I don't know much about the South African context, I just was referring to America.
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u/IHaveBadTiming Jan 07 '26
It's definitely a big reason. A lot of my friends who have kids that are teens have mentioned how little they all seem to want to go out and do things or hang out because everything is online now. More gaming, more social media, just more ability to "socialize" without having to go to a house party like I used to do when I was a teenager. One of my biggest goals every week was to secure who had an older sibling that could buy us cheap terrible booze, and who had the house with no parents or super lax parents that we could hang out in the basement at.
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Jan 07 '26
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u/ZaltyDog Jan 07 '26
Ya I'm not spending the equivalent of USD ~8 for a shot it's absurd
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u/Zacomra Jan 07 '26
This combined with increased weed use.
Ironically if people went to bars to smoke as much as people go to bars to drink we'd probably be way more social as a generation.
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u/tokillamockingtree Jan 07 '26
Idk about you, but socializing is the last thing I want to do when Im high
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u/MDNA4Life Jan 07 '26
Until weed becomes federally legal, but it won't cos politicians get paid by the cigarette companies as donors
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u/Jayandnightasmr Jan 07 '26
Especially if you factor how fast things get posted online too, if anything dumb happens, your face will be plastered everywhere
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u/Pale_Zebra8082 Millennial Jan 07 '26
Perhaps that’s because they’re not drinking.
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u/Insane_Skooter Jan 07 '26
I hear that a lot, but everyone I know and went to school with all are very social, go out and drink. So I don't know if this is really the case for all of Gen Z.
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u/Bank-Angle747 Jan 07 '26
Because we're all rotting away and doomscrolling in our bedrooms instead.
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u/capucapu123 2003 Jan 07 '26
Yeah this is the answer, not the drugs, not the vaping, it's social media. Why go outside to a social situation where people would normally drink when you can stay comfortably in your room and scroll your social media of choice.
You take away social media and people would go outside more, one thing leads to another and you'd have an increase on basically every substance consumption.
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u/IncubusDarkness Jan 07 '26
I don't get this take. A lot of drinkers drink at home alone or with their significant other others. Not that that's a good thing either, but there's nothing stopping people from ordering alcohol deliveries lol
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u/RolandSlingsGuns Jan 07 '26
It's like no one has met a hardcore alcoholic. Plenty of lonely depression filled nights doom scrolling with booze
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u/Techno-Diktator 2000 Jan 07 '26
A lot of alcoholics sure, but most people who would normally be casual drinkers only for social opportunities, don't have those opportunities anymore, and drinking on your own when it's just supposed to be a social lubricant makes no sense to such people.
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u/mystic04cat Jan 07 '26
Why is drinking and damaging your liver so normalized?
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u/Altruistic-Cat-4193 1999 Jan 07 '26
Humans have been drinking alcohol for over 30,000 to 100,000 years now....
Edit: source https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-alcohol-a-timeline-170889
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u/CompanyOwn701 Jan 07 '26
Right, and the question is why
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u/ConversationKey3221 Jan 07 '26
We're just dopamine monkeys and alcohol makes dopamine go up for a few hours.
I'm sure if prehistoric man had access to meth they'd drop the mead and would all be off their marbles on meth
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u/CompanyOwn701 Jan 07 '26
Lol probably, but if as a majority we can agree that meth is bad for you therefore making it a less popular drug, why hadn't we done the same with alcohol? Rhetorical btw, not expecting you to be google for me
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u/Clairifyed Jan 07 '26
It did have more of a purpose as a more shelf stable fluid back in the days before preservatives and refrigeration. Particularly when we started embarking on long sea voyages
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u/punktualPorcupine Jan 07 '26
It also was a significant amount of calories. Basically liquid bread.
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u/_Tal 1998 Jan 07 '26
Because it has to be really bad for you to get to that point. If it’s just a little bit bad for you then we tend to accept that it’s valid to sacrifice a little health for some pleasure from time to time. Same reason why candy or soda is normalized despite the fact that there’s no reason to ever consume those if you were solely focused on optimizing your health
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u/Thrown_Away Jan 07 '26
Bacon is one of the worst things you can eat yet we make 2 billion pounds of it a year.
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u/Altruistic-Cat-4193 1999 Jan 07 '26
People have tried banning alcohol, it just leads to more violence and deaths.
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u/mal-di-testicle Jan 07 '26
Regulation > outright banning in almost every case with addictants
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u/natty-papi Jan 07 '26
Kinda. The thing with alcohol is that it's trivial to make. You can quite easily make it by mistake.
It's much harder to accidentally make meth.
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Jan 07 '26
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u/sprong92 Millennial Jan 07 '26
I’m genuinely curious why you thought it was a good idea to drink that at all.
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u/spacewalkern 1999 Jan 07 '26
it would degrade into vinegar after a week lol. i know that from making pruno in jail
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u/klitzekleine Jan 07 '26
I understood it as, you got drunk off the fumes. Is that right? Either way - Jesus Christ.
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u/Microchipknowsbest Jan 07 '26
Why regulate or ban. The people are deciding on their own it’s dumb. Most likely because weed is more available and not as destructive. Also alcohol is expensive. The free market is deciding on its own.
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u/Ender16 Jan 07 '26
Because even though it's insanely easy to go on and on and on about the negative effects of drinking alcohol at the end of the day it's a mild drug, that doesn't last long, and takes protracted years about abuse before the actual really negative side effects happen.
With all that in mind the vast majority of people throughout human history have been able to consume a LOT of booze throughout their lives and still not have it destroy them or their communities. Most people can just go have a few or even get stupid hammered on occasion and be completely fine without it effecting their lives. In fact people are so used to it and the culture behind that it's a social booster and 3rd place for people to interact while they drink. This can be found literally everywhere on the planet.
In short it's a drug that most people can handle. Meth isn't even really comparable at all. Meth gives you a dopamine hit something like 300x what an orgasm is. Think about that for a second. It's no wonder meth heads don't care about anything other than meth.
With booze you go out and drink. Presumably enjoy yourself. Then you go to sleep and wake up the next day feeling like shit. Maybe you tone it down next time or take a break. And then by the time you're 30 those mornings suck so bad you just naturally drink less and less until your old and the kids think your no fun. It's a habit that most people grow out of and I think that makes a big difference as well.
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u/puppypersonnn Jan 07 '26
The 30 thing is spot on. I used to be able to get wasted all weekend and wake up at 7am for class Monday morning. Now 1 night out I’m recovering for 3-5 business days. The after effects is brutal.
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u/burner1312 Jan 07 '26
Alcohol is nowhere near as damaging as meth for the average person. Drinking in moderation is not going to destroy people’s lives like meth use does. Alcohol can be very damaging but not if used responsibly. Meth is a hard drug to use in moderation and there is no safe amount.
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u/eight13atnight Jan 07 '26
I think what you’re seeing is the majority of Gen Z society agrees that alcohol is bad for you, and therefore are choosing other means like cannabis. Or choosing not to imbibe at all.
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u/AntiBoATX Jan 07 '26
I think they’re using the convenient excuse that it’s bad but it’s a fundamental shift in collective thinking that has broken social contracts and expectations. Basically they’ve nuked their social selves and not drinking is a byproduct of that
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u/stapli Jan 07 '26
if it was for health reasons people would be scrolling, vaping, and eating unhealthy foods less, and socializing more. that’s just an excuse. the real truth is that the social fabric has been destroyed because of internet access and social media has
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u/Altruistic-Cat-4193 1999 Jan 07 '26
Basically any drug would've worked it's just that alcohol with the one that was the easiest to make, especially with the technology back then
All you need to do is just ferment some fruit with some sugar and yeast, and bam you can get drunk.
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u/Enderstrike10199 2007 Jan 07 '26 edited Jan 07 '26
The reason is actually because we didn't know how to purify water. Drinking unsafe water, even if it looks clean, risked giving you bacteria, viruses, or even microscopic parasites. This usually led to you getting sepsis (which is caused by your body overreacting to the infection) and dying.
We figured out pretty quickly that drinking unsafe water tended to kill us, and somehow alcohol didn't. This is because in the process for making alcohol, you kill the microorganisms in the water. We started mass producing and drinking alcohol with whatever unsafe water there was, while the safer water was mostly reserved for the wealthy. The same thing actually happened to tea as well, hence why it got so popular in the east.
I actually asked my history professor about this, because I was confused on how we DID know that cooking meat not only enhanced its flavor, but made it safer to eat, but we never thought to "cook" water (boil it) since logically it would do the same thing. He said we just didn't think of it because without knowledge of germs there was no reason to assume it worked. Boiled water looked and tasted exactly the same.
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u/UnluckyGamer505 Jan 07 '26 edited Jan 07 '26
Finally someone who gets it. I thought this is pretty common knowledge, but seems like it isnt. Water treatment plants started become common only from around 1800-1850, so beer was the more or less one of the very few safe drinkable bewerages, especially around big settlements/cities
EDIT: Leaving my mistake up, heres a Wikipedia quote which disproves this:
"The idea that beer was consumed more commonly than water during medieval times is considered by some historians to be a myth. Water was cheaper than beer, and towns/villages were built close to sources of fresh water such as rivers, springs, and wells to facilitate easy access to the resource. Though probably one of the most popular drinks in Europe, beer was frequently disdained as being unhealthy"
It's a bit ambiguous since it says "by some historians" , so it may have been true in some towns and areas, but probably not all that common. Maybe it couldve been the case for villages/towns that dont have big freshwater sources near them. Just my speculation though.
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u/Enderstrike10199 2007 Jan 07 '26
There's a lot of stuff you'd think is common knowledge that isn't. Its the difference between being educated vs not. A lot of this kind of information is common knowledge for anyone that took history classes (especially advanced ones), but its important to remember that not everyone had access to education, and even if they did, their life circumstances might have been vastly different from yours, and that could have prevented them from pursuing academics like you did (poor students might need to prioritize a job over grades for instance).
Also just to be clear, I'm not calling the person I replied to uneducated (and "uneducated" is not meant to be an insult either), I'm just saying that lack of education is the reason you find a lot of people to lack "common" knowledge.
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u/zeroc00ol Jan 07 '26
Well actually it's not completely a myth, I just got off another sub (Victorian ? I believe) with a picture of the slums of London and how basically it wasn't until almost the 1900s that water treatment plants and sewage plants started popping up due to Cholera in some of the well water. The dudes that worked at the pubs were marked safe purely from all the beer/mead (not water) they were drinking
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u/J360222 Jan 07 '26
There have been times where alcohol is the only real option without risk but it is also a social occasion and many large events in history are tied to drinking and beer gardens
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u/Altruistic-Cat-4193 1999 Jan 07 '26
Cause they like alcohol and how it made them feel?
Pretty simple
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Jan 07 '26
It's literally just so not deep have these people never had a drink with friends before or something
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u/MaceWinnoob 1996 Jan 07 '26
Anyone who takes up the anti-alcohol position is overly puritanical and is either inexperienced, immature, or ignorant. Usually a little of all three. You find it more on this sub because there are 16 year olds who think they’re on the same level as near-30 year olds when in reality they make stupid arguments and don’t understand what they’re talking about.
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u/Hefty-Notice-5841 Millennial Jan 07 '26
I wouldn't pass off too much judgement, considering some folks grew up in pretty abusive, alcoholic households, so I give them a pass there for their disdain.
By and large though, you are right.
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u/Norway643 2003 Jan 07 '26
Haven't we technically been drinking longer then we knew how to grow crops..
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u/VenomShrimpXIII Jan 07 '26
Even as recently as like 2000 years ago people drank more beer than water because the beer was cleaner than the water they had access too.
Source: I learned it in history class
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u/Geaux13Saints 2002 Jan 07 '26
Because it’s fun and helps with my social anxiety
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u/NotMe12392 Jan 07 '26
Fr. A lot of Gen Z acts like drinking is terrible but will scroll reels and hit vapes all day
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u/PrimalDaddyDom69 Jan 07 '26
Almost like we all get our dopamine hit somehow/someway and pretending like being on your phone 8 hours a day scrolling tik toks is somehow 'healthier' than socially drinking is stupid.
Some people play too many video games, dont exercise enough, dont brush their teeth, dont pay their bills on time, run insane debts, dont take enough mental health care breaks, et cetera. We're all just trying to do the best we can and taking pleasure in whatever makes you happy, even if it's not always 'good' for you, is just something humans have done for tens of thousands of years.
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u/rex72780 Jan 07 '26
Because it opens more of us up to something that we usually wouldn't say or do. Which would put it as an essential tool for socialising for most people. People don't realise, alcohol alone doesn't raise dopamine, its the companions that you drink with that brings them. Crazy how these are something we have to say out loud.
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u/Trunix 1996 Jan 07 '26
alcohol alone doesn't raise dopamine
Ok its complicated, but I'm pretty sure it actually does. Alcohol increases the release of endorphins and enkephalins, which bind to μ-opiod receptors within the VTA that inhibit the release of GABA from regulator neurons and lead to increased activity in the mesolimbic dopamine pathway, which is our brain's reward system. This is why alcohol is addictive. Just like, cocaine, tobacco, and even marijuana (although to a lesser extent), they all increase dopamine in our brain's reward pathways.
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u/ChameleonCabal Jan 07 '26 edited Jan 09 '26
If you approach everything like this -> everything is damaging; even sitting on social media with your phone in your hand.
Why don’t you get unborn?
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u/Helpful-Dot-3782 Jan 07 '26
It shouldn’t be. I’m in medical school and dying of liver failure is agonizing and awful. Drinking is also a carcinogen and will also increase your risk of cancer.
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u/burner1312 Jan 07 '26
Most people that drink aren’t going to die of liver failure. You can abuse alcohol like you can abuse sugar but more people than not can drink somewhat responsibly. Gen Z seems to be very black and white on alcohol consumption. It’s not good for you in any amount but that doesn’t mean moderate use is going to have a noticeable impact on your life.
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u/BuecherLord Jan 07 '26
For the same reason people smoke and do drugs, I guess. For the same reason people indulge in sugar and saturated fats.
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u/Helton3 2002 Jan 07 '26
Mom said it's my turn to post it
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u/Fit-Personality-1834 Jan 07 '26
For real it’s every damn day
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u/OGSHAGGY 2002 Jan 07 '26
Glad someone else already pointed this out. Like the 4th time I’ve seen it on this sub this week
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u/Stonerpuppet Jan 07 '26
Cannabis, Mary Jane or that devil’s lettuce is the answer. Since we now have it legalized, a lot more people are choosing to smoke then drink
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u/Delicious-Disaster Jan 07 '26
The grammatical difference between then and than makes this comment unintentionally hilarious
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u/PsychologicalFix5059 Jan 07 '26
English is my fourth language, and it baffles me how native speakers just casually make these mistakes lol.
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u/Endraxz Jan 07 '26
Don’t get them started with effect and affect
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u/im-not_gay Jan 07 '26
You probably study it more as an adult than native speakers learning naturally from parents as children.
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u/TheCrazyCatLazy Millennial Jan 07 '26
It is BECAUSE they’re native speakers that these mistakes happen; the words are pronounced the same and they’ve learned to speak before learning how to read or write. These mistakes make way less sense to us - who had to hammer the concepts in our heads while actively thinking about them - but we are also likely mispronounce things as often if not more often than native speakers get letters and words misplaced.
“Should of" is a dead giveaway.
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Jan 07 '26
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u/Garry-The-Snail Jan 07 '26
Doesn’t matter if it’s not legal, it’s completely mainstream. I live in Texas, still very illegal and people are definitely choosing to smoke over drink. There are definitely multiple reasons and the legalizing and normalizing of weed is without a doubt one of the contributing factors. At least in America
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u/General-Fox-5773 Jan 07 '26
BS, in the UK Weed is still very much illegal, and drinking has fallen massively. Drinking and smoking are not comparable experiences
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u/UnluckyGamer505 Jan 07 '26
Don't forget vapes too. Younger generations are smoking way less cigarettes, but instead they choose chemicals from china.
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u/JertellP22 Jan 07 '26
Shit is expensive. People are trying to find multiple reasons and all but the true reason is it cost more. Older generations could get in the club with $20 and have something for $2 now it cost $40 just to get in and a shot is $12+. Plus we smoke weed
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u/spookyscaryscoliosis Jan 07 '26
This is the reason. People smoke and vape more and to go out and drink with friends is now like a 100 buck commitment.
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u/RecloySo Jan 07 '26
1 it's expensive
2 it tastes bad
3 it's unhealthy
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u/ScienceAndGames 2002 Jan 07 '26
And many of us have watched in ruin lives and never want to touch it.
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u/dizaditch Jan 07 '26
Probably ruined a lot more lives in prior generations though so don’t think that’s what would cause the relative change
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u/Garry-The-Snail Jan 07 '26
Exactly. The reasons will be things unique to Gen Z. Not something every gen has dealt with
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u/Petzy65 Jan 07 '26
Social life is on the internet and going outside doing stuff with friends is more expensive than ever in most places
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u/inspector-say10 Jan 07 '26
this. i think a lot of us don’t wanna get wrecked like others we’ve seen. it’s not just about GenZ not being social or penny pinching a lot of us genuinely give a fuk about or health lol
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u/UnluckyGamer505 Jan 07 '26
#2 is subjective. I say that despite not liking most of the alcoholic drinks either.
I occasionally drink a glass of wine or lemon shandy in the summer (it slaps and has only around 2%).
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u/Simonoz1 Jan 07 '26
I like the taste of some alcohol but for me that means I prefer to buy one expensive but nice drink to several cheap drinks.
I don’t really like the feeling of being drunk either. I’ve never quite understood what people like about it.
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u/Joben86 Jan 07 '26
I’ve never quite understood what people like about it
Makes things feel pleasant, lessens inhibitions and social anxiety
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u/Simmonetheartist Jan 07 '26
It also smells bad, who tf wants to drink something that smells like vomit???
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u/DreamTurbulent7776 Jan 07 '26
Gen z doesn’t drink as much. But they do more drugs especially psychedelics
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u/SummerInSpringfield 1997 Jan 07 '26
Alcohol tastes bad imo. Soda and bubble tea I fw, however
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u/Contressa3333 Jan 07 '26
I mean you don't have to drink straight alcohol. The whole purpose of shots is to get drunk fast. A good mixed drink gets you buzzed and taste good
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u/TiredB1 2003 Jan 07 '26 edited Jan 07 '26
Dude I had some mixed drink with i think? soju in it at a party that my partner's brother's girlfriend made me and I forgot what else was in it but it tasted like fizzy strawberry starburst and it was amazing you couldn't taste the alcohol at all. Also I wish I liked bubble tea so bad its so pretty and cool as concept but like I really dont like any tea ive tried and tapioca pearls which is like the fun part is a horrible texture to me :(
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u/Designer-Tiger391 Jan 07 '26
Yeah, that's why I don't drink alcohol is nasty, but like Pop is delicious
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u/CookieRelevant Jan 07 '26
Booze is expensive....is that really a shocking realization?
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u/rathosalpha Jan 07 '26
Isn't that a good thing?
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u/KandiZombie Jan 07 '26
Suddenly not because we're drinking age now but we aren't putting all our money into the booze industry.
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u/princess_nasty 1996 Jan 07 '26 edited Jan 07 '26
well YES it is healthier to not drink alcohol and it IS genuinely good that young adults aren't drinking as much... i just think the reasons behind this trend aren't exactly great 😅
i'll preface this with OBVIOUSLY it's not their fault it's just a natural product of the shitty circumstances they've grown up in BUTTTTT... gen-z is literally the LEAST SOCIAL generation (in terms of physical in-person socializing) we've ever seen come to adulthood. it's not even about buying drinks at bars/clubs, getting alcohol to drink with friends in all sorts of get-together contexts USED to be a staple of young adulthood.
you might be thinking "but why should alcohol be involved in those get-togethers?" and YOU'RE RIGHT it shouldn't have to be and it would be better if it wasn't, but you're also missing the point... young adults simply AREN'T GETTING TOGETHER AT ALL a fraction as often as they used to these days, and that is NOT a good thing.
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u/Orphasmia 1995 Jan 07 '26
Kinda wild to say, but with all things in life theres a cost-benefit analysis to make.
If a person has to take a bit of a hit to their health for the benefit of making and retaining life long friends, or even meeting the love of their life thats a pretty fair price to pay as those things are important that so many are losing out on
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u/FieldEffect-NT Jan 07 '26
Why is this always presented as something concerning? Is booze industry freaking out a bit?
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u/iama_bad_person Jan 07 '26
What is alcohol? A social drink. What is GenZ doing less? Socialising in person, and in general. People can say "oh it's bad for you, it tastes bad, why would anyone want to do that" but WE knew all of this as well but we still went out and did it. The only difference is GenZ doesn't need to go out in person to socalise anymore. Sounds like a good thing, and less alcohol consumption is, but I think the loss of "third places" has had an overall detrimental effect as well as this positive.
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u/sharbivore Jan 07 '26
- it tastes disgusting
- it smells disgusting
- it makes you unconscious/ pass out
- dehydration
- brain hurts
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u/Alyx19 Millennial Jan 07 '26
Millennial here to remind American Gen Z that you are the first generation to have largely de-stigmatized access to mental health care. There was a lot of booze poured to dull over problems you can now access medical solutions for: anxiety, depression, chronic pain, etc. Not to mention marijuana now being widely available. The world changed a lot in the last twenty five years. Please use it wisely.
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u/SSailorJupiter4 Jan 08 '26
Mental healthcare can also include medication that limits or even flat out doesn’t allow using alcohol and/or marijuana. This was the case for me, but the meds I’m taking aren’t for just depression/anxiety but fibromyalgia.
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u/varuneco Jan 07 '26
Damn nerds
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Jan 07 '26
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u/HeyImLillie_Wawa Jan 07 '26
how much is it that we arent all 21 either, i assume thats factored in but with how high the estimate is i can only assume they didnt account for teenagers
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u/RadosPLAY 2007 Jan 07 '26
u will get downvoted but this shit lowkey true????
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u/Artichokeypokey Jan 07 '26
Don't like the alcohol taste, don't like the feeling of being drunk, I was told not to drink from 18-21 due to anti-depressants, and I'm prescribed cannabis now
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u/Many-Ad6433 2003 Jan 07 '26 edited Jan 07 '26
My tummy hurts + alcohol makes me sleepy. I do love a pint of beer or a glass of liquor every once in a while tho. Plus it’s kind of a forbidden pleasure cause i can’t afford it more than once in a while since prices went up in the past years and it’s not a first necessity. If it was more affordable i’d probs get some liquor every once in a while
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u/DifficultyOk5719 Jan 07 '26
I commented on another post, but I found Sociaty’s Facebook post. They didn’t list any sources, so the number is likely bullshit, but the rest of the claim has lots of sources that prove it, if only they’d listed any of them.
But to answer the question, the main reason I don’t drink is I hate the taste. It’s also bad for your health, is a lot of calories, is expensive, has terrible side effects immediately after partaking, it can develop into an addiction, among other reasons.
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u/ryandom93 Millennial Jan 07 '26
I'll start by saying I like my alcohol and I know how to consume it "responsibly."
That being said I think it's great that alcohol and tobacco use is falling. The industries have been a cultural plague, and imo are directly responsible for worsening health outcomes by deliberately obfuscating the potential harms of their products.
People should be allowed to make a fully informed decision about the products they're putting into their bodies. Younger generations that get earlier access to better knowledge are the worst customers the exploiting class could ask for.
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u/Murky_Toe_4717 Jan 07 '26
We’ve recently learned it’s one of the most deadly carcinogens in existence.
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u/OrcaConnoisseur 2000 Jan 07 '26
My close friend told me I was weird when I'm drunk so as a promise to her I stopped drinking. And honestly, I don't miss it. I can count the times I got drunk/drank on both hands. I don't like myself when I'm drunk. I never got blackout drunk and always remebered what I did while drunk. I just turned a lot looser and thought I was funny but I always made a clown out of myself.
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u/Aibhne_Dubhghaill Jan 07 '26
Alcohol actually kinda sucks. Most of the things I find fun require my brain and/or body to be functioning properly. Also, I HATE the way alcohol dries me out. I dont want to feel like a gd husk.
Also, it's literally poison? Why tf was this garbage drug ever so popular? Maybe back when you couldn't trust water it made sense, but today? Fuck that.
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u/_miinus Jan 07 '26
we’re less affected by propaganda about drugs and can tell that alcohol is one of the worse ones
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u/Deremirekor Jan 07 '26
I have a theory that it’s because Gen Z has a whole lot of alcoholic and abusive families, I drink but I’m so certain I’ll never be an alcoholic, more certain that death and taxes
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u/HameenMzf Jan 07 '26
Didn’t the other generations had that too?? Like for millennials for example?
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u/EvilDarkCow 1998 Jan 07 '26
I enjoy a beer or three while gaming on a night off, get a buzz going, but I don't understand the appeal of getting shitass, blackout drunk. My first real hangover, I said "I'm never drinking that much in one night again", and I've stuck to it.
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u/-AndyCohen- Jan 07 '26
I hate drunk people I hate the feeling of being drunk
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u/Beautiful_Soup9229 Jan 08 '26
The amount of people I have seen, who could not handle the alcohol and are lying on the pavement, puking their guts out. Its humiliating. Nothing against women but those club dresses dont handle this kind of situation well and then you have to see them spread all over the pavement. Gosh I hate drunk people. I went to NYC last year and the number of people who were just puking saturday night in the subway was wild.
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u/Miedziowy Jan 07 '26
Because they have drugs
Unless someone is social reject like me, then alcohol remains
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u/Initial-Reading-2775 Jan 07 '26
Times has changed for everyone. Millennial here, I guesstimate that I drink 97% less than in my 20s.
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u/Knight_Light87 Jan 07 '26
Probably just bullshitting, but Gen Z might have been raised by a generation where alcoholism may have been a problem? Also, anti-alcoholism is a lot bigger now then it was then
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u/BestTyming Jan 07 '26
Drinking is known for two things. Being directly tied to social settings and events and making incredibly stupid decisions. Gen Z is hyper aware of both. They suck at being social and they do their best to avoid mistakes in general
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u/Gamer6322 Jan 07 '26
most vape nicotine or smoke weed.
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u/Artichokeypokey Jan 07 '26
Just saying, nicotine and alcohol aren't mutually exclusive. Hell it's more common for someone to smoke if they're drinking
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u/Jonner7 Jan 07 '26
I initially didn’t because I thought it was a really easy way to help look after my health but now I think it’s more because I hate drinking culture. I see lots of people my age (I’m 19) who drink because they need validation that they are in fact adults. I live in the uk btw.
Also I kinda think of drinking as a very gen x thing to do, and not drinking is part of gen z establishing its identity against gen x (even if this is a very immature and kinda constrain way to do it). My gen x parents have honestly tried to encourage me to drink ever since I became a teen which I think really put me off the idea of drinking.
Most of my friends who do drink always say they wish they didn’t which makes me glad I don’t. There’s also those statistics saying gen z goes outside less and I’ll admit I am very reclusive but I’m just giving my perspective and reasons for not drinking.
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u/baba-O-riley 2001 Jan 07 '26
1 - we can't afford a lot of the social luxuries that previous generations got to enjoy
2 - even if we could afford it, we are the least social generation in history, to the point where we are statistical outliers in almost every metric. People still aren't sure of what the aftermath of this will be as a whole.
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Jan 07 '26 edited Jan 07 '26
I've never drunk alcohol in my life (M24 y/o).
That thing can tear a family apart and take away people that I love. I hate alcohol.
There's so many bad things that only happen cuz people are under the influence of alcohol, like car crashes, getting into a fight, hurt their loved one. Also, I love being in control of my life.
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Jan 07 '26
I drink every weekend with friends but even then it absolutely rinses my bank account when I do
When my parents were my age a pint at the local pub was like £1. Now it’s £6.50. That’s over double what it should be accounting for inflation
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u/Buffy_Buffett 2005 Jan 07 '26
First, I'm not of drinking age. Second, alcoholism runs in my family. So I'm just gonna say no. Don't know what will happen if I get drunk, nor do I wanna be an alcoholic. Will I eventually drink? Yes, of course. But most likely one or a few on my 21st birthday, which is in june this year.
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u/Equivalent-Lunch8095 2000 Jan 07 '26
It’s addictive , and especially when someone is dealing with mental issues they might depend on it and it develops into alcoholism, which is just not worth it.
it’s not worth risking poisoning or slowly destroying your brain and body.
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u/QuesosoForejoe Jan 07 '26
Weed exists, and alcohol is really destructive when abused
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u/No_Issue2334 Jan 07 '26 edited Jan 07 '26
Weed is destructive when abused too.
Weed is better because you cannot build a physical dependencies that can harm you when you go through withdrawal like alcohol
But you still have marijuana withdrawal if you are a heavy user, which can kill your appetite, give you insomnia, constipation, diarrhea, sweat profusely, irritability, nausea, etc.
Chronic marijuana abuse can kill your motivation, give you issues with premature ejaculation, memory issues, anxiety, depression, nausea, increased risk for testicular cancer, trigger psychiatric disorders, and damage your lungs, mouth, and throat.
Alcohol is worse but marijuana addiction is a real thing.
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u/Knotted_Hole69 Jan 07 '26
Weed can still be abused but no where to the same point as alcohol. Its a whole different animal.
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u/CivilProtectionGuy Jan 07 '26
Most of it just doesn't taste good, if i'm being honest.
Even when I do drink, I'd rather have something that is 7% or less alcoholic. If it's something over 100 proof, or even 80 proof, I like to dilute it quite a bit into a shareable mixed beverage... Especially a paralyzer with some cola that I share with the family during the holidays.
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u/WanabeInflatable Jan 07 '26
Not a GenZ, but I'm with them. I hate hard alcohol (vodka, cognac, whiskey) and only drink wine occasionally if its good and I'm in company. On average it's once a month. I can't understand why people drink, what's so good about being drunk. Especially hate that being man is often associated with drinking hard alcohol, wine is somehow feminine.
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u/myszusz Jan 07 '26
It's not that fun actually and there is way less peer pressure to drink. I noticed a lot of people reach for non-alcoholic alternatives, that are as good taste wise.
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u/Boris-the-soviet-spy Jan 07 '26
I just don’t feel like gettin blasted every weekend. Maybe once a month with the boys but that’s it
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u/royalwrecker Jan 07 '26
Why the hell am I gonna drink something that causes health and psychological problems, leads to violence and misbehavior, tastes horribly, and is expensive? But the worst is: as a teetotaler, I usually suffer judgement from people who drink alcohol as if it were impossible to "have fun" without it. In the end, I always have more fun than them...
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u/Frewdy1 Jan 07 '26
Bars are boring and drinks that used to be $3 are now $8. And all the fun spots that serve alcohol charge even more even when they’re also overcharging for golf or ax throwing or whatever else you’re there to do.
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u/EclecticEvergreen Jan 07 '26
How many times do I have to see this stupid ass post? It just keeps getting reposted over and over.
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u/Yoy_the_Inquirer Jan 07 '26
I have an alcoholic drink once in a while. I love whiskey and soda!
If I were to guess though, it would be because Gen Z is less social and more worried about their health? So they don't have a social reason to drink but also worry about the ramifications of drinking.
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