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[–] 126 points 9 months ago (3 children)

Wow, I don’t spend nearly this amount on alcohol

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  • [–] 115 points 9 months ago (5 children)

    Considering half of Gen Z isn't even legal drinking age yet, this isn't too surprising.

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  • [–] 29 points 9 months 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.

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  • [–] 12 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    By that logic it should be around 10B by now

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  • [–] 24 points 9 months ago*

    People in their 20s tend to buy well drinks and cheap beer unless they're independently wealthy. Older people tend to have more expensive, or at least more specific, preferences.

    Raw spending doesn't mean much in isolation.

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  • [–] 101 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    "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.

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  • [–] 33 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    It’s because they can barely pay rent.

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  • [–] 33 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (4 children)

    Nobody has healthcare, housing is unaffordable, we pay for everything with our tax dollars but all the profits go to corrupt pedofiles, Peter Thiel and Larry Ellison are turning the country into a mass surveillance prison for us to live in, there’s no laws for the rich, 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 and free college and a $400 monthly payment per child, the same politicians want to make it illegal to talk about or boycott Israel for their crimes, 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 of the boys and men are cheering…..I could go on and on but the reason is there’s nothing to celebrate

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  • [–] 30 points 9 months ago (6 children)
  • [–] 18 points 9 months ago (4 children)

    Stimulants like Adderall and Xanax are often misused to cope with academic and social pressures.

    I never knew benzodiazepines were stimulants.

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  • [–] 0 points 9 months ago (3 children)

    They're not? But they do help with the anxiety of academic and social pressures

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  • [–] 13 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    It should say "Stimulants like adderal and depressents like Xanax are used to cope wiyh academic and social pressures"

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  • [–] 27 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    Half of gen Z can't legally drink and 75% of them are broke?

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  • [–] 21 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    Marijuana legalization has to be a big part of it

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  • [–] 21 points 9 months ago

    Because we're broke

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  • [–] 42 points 9 months ago* (4 children)

    Normalize it for age. How much did GenX spend at 22 vs GenZ? It could be similar, but it’s not clear. Of course old people have more disposable income once the mortgage is paid off and GenZ can’t get a mortage, just an expensive rental.

    There’s a big drop off in drinking overall and it’s a good thing. Yet genZ is back on nicotine.

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  • [–] 12 points 9 months ago* (2 children)

    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. So, just diluted.

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  • [–] 1 point 9 months ago (1 child)

    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.

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  • [–] 20 points 9 months ago

    Bevlcause half of Gen Z is under 21 and the rest is broke?

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  • [–] 19 points 9 months ago (6 children)

    Gen Z here. Tastes like shit

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  • [–] 6 points 9 months 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.

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  • [–] 3 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    Likely you haven't had anything that doesn't taste like shit.

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  • [–] 18 points 9 months ago

    We're less social, drinks in public spaces have gotten too expensive, weed

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  • [–] 49 points 9 months ago (6 children)

    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.

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  • [–] 36 points 9 months ago (4 children)

    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.

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  • [–] 28 points 9 months ago (3 children)

    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.

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  • [–] 8 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    Man I went to a party last week, had one glass of red wine and no other alcohol, and woke up the next morning with a killer headache. I’m 42 and not much of a drinker but this kind of reaction made me think it was specifically the red wine. I ain’t doing that again for a long while, if ever.

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  • [–] 8 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    Now this is a half remembered anecdote so... pinch of salt.

    But I do remeber something about some people having negative reactions to the tannins in red wine. So it might not so much be the alcohol.

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  • [–] 6 points 9 months ago

    Low quality wine is much worse than its alcohol content.

    Random personal anecdote: I can’t drink stout beers anymore. A single one gives me the worst hangovers. Same quantity of alcohol in other beverages doesn’t have nearly the same effects.

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  • [–] 2 points 9 months 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.

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  • [–] 16 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    This needs to be per capita, not total

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  • [–] 14 points 9 months ago

    Have you seen the price of a beer now? Each night at the pub ends up being $100+

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  • [–] 24 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    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.

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  • [–] 11 points 9 months 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.

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  • [–] 11 points 9 months ago

    I suspect that smoking weed has replaced a lot of drinking for much of GenZ.

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  • [–] 31 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

    lol this thread not realizing it's a shitpost, half of gen z have not make it to drinking age and this data could be years old

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  • [–] 10 points 9 months ago* (5 children)

    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. The boomers I know never slowed down...at all. Has anyone else noticed a drop in alcohol consumption within your social circles?

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  • [–] 3 points 9 months ago

    I've seen the opposite, and when I got my physical my doctor definitely supported that everyone has been drinking a lot more than previous. I'd say my use ticked down during lockdown but up afterwards 🤷‍♂️

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  • [–] 4 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    GenXer here. I started drinking due to social pressure almost 30 years ago. I basically completely stopped already before covid. My wife is the same. On occasion one or two drinks when going out, but we don't have anything at home. My cousin (similar age) and her husband went completely dry.

    I think it's more of an awareness of the health risks (also huge "don't drink and drive" campaigns when I was reaching drinking age), add to that if we're honest it doesn't really taste that good, enduring a hangover is nothing to look forward to and also (at least in my case) I am fed up with how our society still looks weird at people that just don't want to drink. Screw everyone who asks two or three times if someone says they want a non-alcoholic beverage or, even worse, makes stupid jokes, mostly to feel better about their own addiction.

    Sorry got a bit heated at the end. My son recently reached legal drinking age, does not want to drink and is being pressured by peers to start drinking. Luckily he is mentally strong enough to tell them to go suck a duck.

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  • [–] 3 points 9 months ago (1 child)

    Now hang on a second there. We gotta get one thing straight!

    .........did the duck consent to being sucked?

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  • [–] 10 points 9 months ago (2 children)

    IDK Im an older millenial and pretty much stopped drinking a decade ago. Never had a problem, but I just got too busy going back to school and working full time. Then I started noticing how many people I knew who were using it as a crutch to get through the week. Others were amazed when I said I couldn't remember the last time I drank. It just started to really turn me off drinking once I noticed how seemingly everyone had a terrible relationship with alcohol.

    Now I drink again but not much. i buy a small box of wine to make a recipe every now and then and will drink the leftover glass or two. In the summer I feel a beer goes well with yard work but i buy a sixpack or two all summer and probably have leftovers come fall. Ocassionally I'll go out and have a beer with people. All in all maybe $100-$200 a year but probably less

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  • [–] 3 points 9 months ago* (1 child)

    Where i live alcohol isn't available in the grocery store. So I basically stopped because I was too lazy to go too a separate store for something I didn't really need. There are sooo meny other drinks available now that taste wonderful with no alcohol.

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  • [–] 9 points 9 months ago (2 children)
  • [–] 8 points 9 months ago

    Internet and games. Stay inside sober and have fun - including chatting with possible partners - instead of going out drinking trying to get laid.

    /GenX who did the drinking variant. Gen Z has it better.

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  • [–] 8 points 9 months ago

    Well apparently smoking is making a comeback thanks to GenZ, if we have to believe the media.

    I think they get their buzz from vaping

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  • [–] 8 points 9 months ago

    Cocaine, cannabis, lack of money, and the rest having enough braincells to have a healthy and suistanable diet

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  • [–] 8 points 9 months ago

    Poorest generation spends the least on a luxury.

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  • [–] 8 points 9 months ago

    Cocktails are $20 a pop. Hell, mocktails are like $15 a pop and they don't contain alcohol.

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  • [–] 7 points 9 months ago

    They have to spend like 80% of their income on housing. The rest on groceries and bills.

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  • [–] 7 points 9 months ago

    Legitimately I think it's because Gen Z and below are horribly anxious and not very social. We really fucked these kids' confidence over at every opportunity and now we're wondering why they're not going out to parties and stuff and why they're not really dating.

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  • [–] 13 points 9 months ago* (1 child)

    Gen Z hasn't been 21 or older for as long as the other groups, thus they haven't spent as much on booze yet.

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  • [–] 12 points 9 months ago

    Alcohol costs money. Middle class is dead. Probably will see a lot more people making homemade things.

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  • [–] 11 points 9 months ago

    I would assume it’s because most of them are still children.

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  • [–] 10 points 9 months ago (3 children)
  • [–] 10 points 9 months ago (3 children)

    Is Gen Z even allowed to drink yet?

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  • [–] 10 points 9 months 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.

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  • [–] 5 points 9 months ago*

    tiktok and youtube thats why. that pretty much is the new alcohol. Also things GLP-1, omezpic, and WEGOVY also is a threat to alcohol industry.

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  • [–] 5 points 9 months ago

    Because alcohol is bad for you?

    Our parents were still told that a glass of wine a day was healthy.

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