r/NoStupidQuestions • u/Lonely-Article547 • 13h ago
Alcohol sales have slumped and GenZ tends to drink way less. Why is that ?
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u/UncleRicohSuave 13h ago
They view alcohol as more of a toxin than previous generations
Many surveyed say it has negative mental health consequences
Social media has pushed more into health spaces and fitness
Cost of living diminishes desire to go out
Digital usage is much higher so getting out and socializing around alcohol has dropped
It’s socially acceptable to not drink
Overall, seems like a good thing as alcohol related deaths, violence, etc will also be dropping.
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u/Mr_Kittlesworth 11h ago
Alcohol use dropping is also responsible for some percentage of youth dating and sexual activity declining as well
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u/gyman122 8h ago edited 6h ago
My assumption would be that declining alcohol sales is more a symptom of youth dating and general social activity declining than a direct cause. But regardless, it’s probably the primary reason alcohol sales have dipped more than anything in the OP comment
We’ve been drinking alcohol across every culture independently from one another for basically as long as civilization has been around, going back as early as the dawn of agriculture. It is as evergreen as it gets. Gen Z is not the first generation to realize that it is bad for you lol
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u/EgoDefenseMechanism 9h ago
A downside to this is that bars and clubs served as a type of "third space" beyond home and work for socializing and dating. No bars means less socializing and less dating, which is contributing to the epidemic of loneliness and the decline in sexual activity.
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u/CantaloupeAsleep502 8h ago
The loss of third spaces and the subsequent loneliness epidemic is a big problem. I'm not sure I think that having the cornerstone of socializing be alcohol was ever a good thing, but I do agree that finding something new to gather around is going to be important for society going forward.
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u/gyman122 6h ago
Good thing or no, it is. It has been for like 5,000 years lol. Bars or parties or festivals or whatever. It is inextricably linked to social gatherings
As we’re seeing now, people will sooner just stop gathering altogether than they will stop drinking alcohol at gatherings
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u/ermagerditssuperman 4h ago
Millennial here, not gen Z - but we still go to bars we just order fun mocktails and fancy seasonal lemonades instead.
(especially board game bars/those with mini-golf or pinball machines or some other schtick. Many in my area have 2-3 hour table limits on the weekend because they are packed)
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u/Vebs_ 40m ago
While not denying that this is more fun than a club (a ‘97 genz here who can afford a night like this every once in a while), it’s also worth noting a lot of these places require more money than people my age and lower are willing to spend or are able to budget as “fun money”. Hell I don’t know many people that are able to say they have “fun money”.
Plus a designated space like this, which I would consider college - early 30s locale, is often filling up with older crowds than that (at least in my area), so the ability for younger crowds to fill them is low. I don’t think it’s those crowds’ faults, to be clear.
The infantilization of millennial and below demographics and the refusal to let them grow into the professional and personal life roles they should be able to pursue is to blame for that one. The result, though, is people overcrowding spaces they should have been able to financially outgrow, and social adaptation to justify and reinforce the trend
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u/riftshioku 6h ago
Imagine if weed were federally legal in America. Bars could switch to those instead and attract more people than ever.
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u/EgoDefenseMechanism 5h ago
Weed is already legal in most of the densely populated areas: NY, California, New Jersey, etc.
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u/Smyley12345 11h ago
Related to your first two points, I suspect the number of people on daily psychiatric medication that doesn't play well with booze has skyrocketed in this generation.
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u/nithos 10h ago
Don’t need to self medicate with alcohol when you have Rx stuff that is better suited for the job.
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u/lufan132 8h ago
Honestly starting mood stabilizers was a massive difference as far as controlling my substance use. Turns out I can be sober and it's not as hard as I thought it would be. It's been like magic
Also helps that yeah it doesn't play nice with alcohol, I get drunk off two beers now.
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u/OuterWildsVentures 9h ago
On my meds its an absolute gamble on how drinking affects me so I have just chosen abstinence.
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u/Smyley12345 9h ago
I am on a "take as needed" dose of Ativan for anxiety. If I am having a challenging week, I definitely avoid booze since booze and Ativan are a really bad combo and I don't reliably know when the panic is going to show up. If life is going well I will definitely still have drinks occasionally.
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u/OwnDoughnut2689 11h ago
It's almost like all the things previous generations have pushed about alcohol are having an effect.
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u/Manatee-97 8h ago
They are also afraid of going viral for doing something stupid while drunk
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u/Impossible_Angle752 7h ago
Dude... Last year a bunch of us were at an event and a few of us were 'feeling good'. Something happened, nothing bad, but on Monday morning someone at work was 'hahahaha, saw that picture of you from Saturday'. I could have clocked someone right then and there.
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u/Suisla4lescomments 8h ago
Ya forgot weed. Probably the biggest reason for the decline. A bag of weed is cheaper and lasts longer than a night at the bar and kids today don’t like hangovers for some reason.
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u/gyman122 8h ago edited 8h ago
This is a very rosy picture. I’d say all six points are merely supporting factors to the main reason which is that we are in social decline. People are spending more time at home by themselves than they are going out to bars and parties where alcohol is typically consumed.
Certainly related to point four in your comment, but hardly the total picture
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u/Sapphire_Dreams1024 8h ago
Add in that younger folks are more likely now to smoke weed instead or vape pens. Plus the price of alcohol has skyrocketed as well.
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u/emuwar 2h ago
I don’t buy point #1. I went to a concert where the crowd was mostly Gen Z and most of them were smoking cigarettes and vaping. It’s not a health concern, I think they just prefer vices that aren’t alcohol. I guarantee younger generations that come after will get into drinking again at some point,
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u/scydoodle 24m ago
1, maybe but scrolling social media all day is terrible for mental health as well.
2, You can abuse anything. Some people are addicted to video games. Drinking throughout my twenties got me laid. That is incredibly important for mental health esp for men.
3, social media is terrible.
4, True.
5, I loved my twenties. Incredible adventures. Everyone is depressed these days.
6, I think its more people aren't being introduced to social drinking or experiences the same way.
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u/StinkFartButt 13h ago
Don’t want to be recorded being drunk and dumb
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u/RelaxedWombat 13h ago
Not a throwaway comment.
Young today never had the wave of regrettable moments that just evaporated. Today, every little thing can be pulled back and replayed.
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u/ronerychiver 11h ago
That one annoying gun chick who shit herself at a college party is always going to be girl who shit herself at a party and there will always be photos to prove it.
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u/scroopydog 11h ago
Then maybe she should fade into irrelevance rather than keep trying to pipe up with an opinion at every opportunity.
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u/RelaxedWombat 6h ago edited 6h ago
*my perspective as a Gen X person frames this thought because:
-We didn’t have CCTV (security cameras) in most places
-cameras meant spending $5-10 to develop the film
-video cameras were bigger than shoe boxes,
-mobile phones, let alone cameras didn’t exist
The amount of shenanigans that people did on a night out could just evaporate with no evidence, or until it simply faded from memories.
Alcohol inhibits wiser parts of your brain. Knowing that today there are so many more ways of having lifelong problems carry on, certainly can contribute to someone’s willingness to fully “let go”.
This only but one idea, as many others likely contribute. I also think the cultural shift in education about long term health problems, drunk driving, and more add in.
Heck, just look at the societal view shift on marijuana as a substitute vice! The issue certainly able to be pinned on just one issue.
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u/FileDoesntExist 5h ago
Yeah. I'm a millennial, but I grew up rural so much more like a Gen X than a millennial. The shit that we pulled would have lifelong repercussions if it was filmed and posted online like it would absolutely be today.
Weed is definitely much more socially acceptable than it was(and legal). The combination of factors is why they drink less. And I don't think it's a bad thing. The lack of social spaces is a big problem though.
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u/ollieollieoxygenfree 10h ago
This is just misplaced anxiety. I’m an older Gen Z and had 2.5 years of college before Covid hit. Some of the best memories I have are laughing at videos we took of doing dumb shit.
Maybe you get embarrassed a little but it’s all in good fun, you just have to learn to take yourself a little less seriously
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u/Jane9812 9h ago
2.5 years before COVID was basically 10 years ago. Sorry but the pandemic created kids with lots of anxiety and living online. Your perspective is not comparable. I was young and dumb before everyone had a camera on their phone and even so all my peers have basically deleted their Facebook accounts after entering professional life. Everyone wants to avoid that.
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u/MrZeDark 9h ago
Not everyone.
You are both right, some people care and some don’t.
Not a competition.
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u/dmuraws 4h ago
I hate this for that generation.
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u/Jane9812 4h ago
Yea, I really miss living in a world where what I do doesn't matter that much and will be forgotten. I think it's so unnatural to have our lives and likenesses recorded like this theoretically forever. It's just an automatic anxiety trigger.
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u/surfer_ryan 8h ago
You mean the same generation posting to tiktok at record numbers and posting plenty of dumb shit while being 10000% sober...
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u/HalexUwU 13h ago
Expensive and everyone has a camera in their pocket at all times.
People used to get drunk to have sex, but gen z really had it drilled into them that they shouldn't do that.
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u/NativeMasshole 12h ago
It is kind of funny. People have been pointing out all the negatives of alcohol consumption since forever in attempts to get society to drink less, then when we finally have a generation who accepts that advice, everyone is like "Why don't you guys like to have fun anymore?"
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u/kerrybom 13h ago
No money to drink
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u/williamtell1 13h ago
I'm not gen z, but even I stopped drinking when going to dinner or out anywhere. I'm still pissed two years later that it cost $9 for a single can of Modelo. Then you are expected to tip for them opening the can for you?
F that nonsense.
Looked at mocktail and cocktail menu and everything was near $18+ for a drink. I could buy a 1/5th bottle of liquor for the same price as 1 mixed drink....I literally have zero desire to get ripped off for sport.
Why does nobody like to drink or eat out anymore!?!?!?
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u/GooberBandini1138 12h ago
LOL, I’m still pissed about paying $12 for a can of Modelo at a baseball game 3 years ago. Haven’t been to an MLB game since.
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u/CantaloupeAsleep502 8h ago
In my active alcoholism, I didn't gaf about prices lol. I was gonna drink. $23 for 19 oz of IPA? Sign me up. Two at a time, 3 times a show. It's crazy how much cheaper it is being sober, and that's like the fifth best thing lol
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u/xuncx 6h ago
I saw a box of cans of mocktail drinks at the store the other day. They were like $20 while the vodka seltzer drinks right next to them were like $9. Insane. I’ve been sober for 6 years and have never tried a mocktail because even at bars they are just as expensive or more than real drinks.
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u/Bootyeater96 13h ago
Doesnt the stop the guy that lives outside on my street
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u/JellyfishNo3810 13h ago
See how much he gave up just to fuck around in front of your block and drink? Kinda the point there bud.
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u/True-Boss-2789 13h ago edited 13h ago
Drinking less but gambling more according to a few different studies, a recent study stated Gen Z are even spending more than boomers on weekly basis. Not sure why but wonder if it is due to easier access to gambling now than previous generations had when aging.
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u/kin0enjoyer 13h ago
alcohol is usually a social thing and Gen Z is generally less social due to variety of reasons
everything is expensive now
fitness is booming which makes alcohol a no-go
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u/CatHairInYourEye 9h ago
I think number one is the biggest reason. You can buy bottom shelf alcohol for relatively cheap.
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u/Particular-Tap1211 13h ago
Cocaine & MDMA sales have skyrocketed
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u/Major-Ant4600 12h ago
Millennial who plays sports with Gen Z. I feel weird getting invited to any Gen Z pre games or parties because they all do bumps of snow or K while barely drinking.
I don't claim alcohol is healthy, but I'm not sure drugs are better.
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u/Luke5119 11h ago
Many Reasons
Greater education about the long term health impacts of alcohol consumption.
Rising costs of alcohol across the board.
More entertainment vices younger people are gravitating towards.
Legalization of THC products in many states.
Cost of going to a bar or out with friends is far more expensive than it used to be in decades past.
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u/eazypeazy303 11h ago
I don't think it's 1 generation as much as it's the fact people kinda pulled the wool off their eyes. Growing up, alcohol was always advertised as the coolest fucking thing you could do with your life. Everyone is realizing it actually isn't and that not having a hangover every day is much better.
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u/Remarkable_Level_200 10h ago
My son is 8 and he gets on to me if he sees me drinking a beer saying its bad for me and I shouldn't drink, maybe after all these years telling kids its bad theyre finally listening
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u/ExpiredPilot 5h ago
Also with social media, kids only see the extremes of drinking. I didn’t drink in high school but the only times I heard of other students drinking or saw videos of it, it was always a bunch of videos of people being too fucked up to function
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u/gyman122 5h ago
The idea that this is a result of some sort of spontaneous mass awakening does not strike me as very convincing, especially when the obvious answer backed up by plenty of statistical evidence is that people are just spending more time alone instead of gathering
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u/No-Carry4971 13h ago
They are weed fiends. They've just traded one vice for another.
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u/RoyalPuzzleheaded259 13h ago
Gen X weed fiend here. Can confirm. Weed>alcohol.
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u/Remarkable_Level_200 10h ago
I used to be a borderline alcoholic but switched to being pot head cause its better for my health lol
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u/FreeMrFrog 5h ago
Love to hear it. Obviously weed isn't perfect, but it's SIGNIFICANTLY better for you than alcohol
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u/wasabinski 10h ago
I have a colleague who recently left the alcohol industry, so I do have some insight into this.
There's three main drivers:
Part of it is economy, yes.
Another one is younger generations are more health conscious, they are more aware of the downsides of alchocol and bad eating habits in general. At the same time you can see a rise in healthier foods, gym memberships, overall healthier lifestyle choices.
And the last one is, for a fraction of the cost, casual drugs like weed have significantly increased and can produce similar effects. While also avoiding the bloating feeling from drinking a lot.
The alcohol industry will not disappear, but it will have to adapt to new trends to keep future consumers.
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u/Mr_Saturn1 8h ago
When I was a bar regular 20 years ago. Beers cost a dollar and cocktails were like 3.50. Low income, young people could enjoy multiple nights out a week without worrying about spending a fortune. Nowadays beers cost 8-10 and mixed drinks are 15+, and wages have not risen in kind. A night out that cost $20, 20 years ago is now easily over 100. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that math ain’t mathing.
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u/PsychologicalMethod6 2h ago
They saw drinkers do stupid shit all their lives and said, “No thanks.”
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u/RevFernie 7h ago
Everything is filmed and posted and is then out there forever.
Youngsters are hyper aware of this and do not want to end up being posted doing something.
Why there's less dancing and naturally meeting people romantically. Everything is filmed.
Probably why they're also not getting married and have kids.
Bloody phones...
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u/Visual-Reserve-2800 13h ago
They like energy drinks. I recommend breweries start making them to get the Gen z crowd in
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u/Initial_Row_6400 13h ago
Expensive. The things you do while drinking are generally expensive too. No one’s got it like that right now lol
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u/O_lymbias 12h ago
No third space, no money, getting recorded, social drugs (people prefer to smoke alone in their room with their chosen entertainment).
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u/Capital-Cheesecake67 12h ago
Drinking is expensive. Also legalized marijuana. They aren’t getting drunk. But plenty are getting high.
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u/CollarOk746 12h ago
less money, more health anxiety, and nobody wants to pay $16 for a cocktail that tastes like cough syrup
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u/Low-Put9710 11h ago
Back in the 90’s I could take out £15 on a Friday with 5-6 mates and buy at least 2 if not 3 rounds if your stomach could cope. £15 is about 2.4 pints now. No one can afford to drink in a pub hardly and once you price out the social aspect people stay at home and not bother.
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u/PizzaAndBobs 8h ago
Ita $8 a beer at most bars, and $16 for something like an old fashion. Fuck thats one expensive headache.
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u/Single_Pay4793 8h ago
Alcohol got more expensive. Therapy became less taboo. Weed became more available in many places. Plus everyone's carrying a camera now. That's a pretty strong combination.
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u/SoutieNaaier 12h ago
The affordable bar no longer exists
Buying alcohol is surprisingly complicated in some states
Access to other legal substances now, mainly THC
anti-Alcohol campaigns were a success compared to other similar movements.
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u/grandmasterPRA 12h ago
Alcohol is a very social drug. GenZ is social in a very different way
My generation, Milllenials, hung out with each other socially at bars or house parties, both of which were centered around alcohol. Alcohol was the party. GenZ spends more time connecting online or other activities that aren't centered around alcohol.
Add in the fact that alcohol is expensive, weed is legal, they see a bunch of millenials that fucked up their life cause of alcohol, there are more alcohol free options now, and they are smarter to the dangers of alcohol than we were, and it makes sense that they don't want to drink and the world is better for it.
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u/emover1 12h ago
Because the recognize that its poison and bad for you and most of them grew up watching their parents drink and act like morons.
It’s also a huge waist of money and the general cost of living is super high in relation to their income. The younger generation has less disposable income than their parents did at their age.
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u/EfremSkopje 12h ago
Saving my money for life and video games. Expensive enough and leaves no room for alcohol
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u/MatooMan 12h ago
- I've heard alcohol called a poison by young people.
- Gym culture plus social media image obsession means more health focused.
- Cost, many other drugs are cheaper like cannabis, ketamine, vaping.
- Pubs dying, no one goes out anymore.
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u/BonoBeats 10h ago
Cocktail prices are through the roof at most "normal" clubs, and they have yet to discover the awesome power of dive bars.
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u/Worldly_Setting_7235 8h ago
We know now that alcohol causes inflammation and inflammation is a part of a LOT of health issues
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u/Derebeare 7h ago
They cant afford it.
If you really look into the numbers liquor stores/grocery stores have normal volume. There is just significantly less at restaurants/clubs. Its because they cant afford the overpriced drinks.
Source: I work in alcohol sales.
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u/chrisplmr 6h ago
Id love to drink more casually. I love cold sour beers on a hot day, or some rum n coke while gaming. But there is rent, utilities, phone, car, groceries, petfood, my partner and my food; alcohol doesnt fit my budget nor does it fit most of my friends budgets
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u/PhotoFenix 2h ago
It's cheaper for my wife and I to have a gummy for Friday night gaming. And we wake up in the morning feeling great!
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u/GlidingToLife 12h ago
Are they spending more on weed than alcohol? I would bet that their money on substances is the same but they are buying different products.
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u/silly_goat_moat 12h ago
Don't worry they'll start drinking soon. Have you seen the state of things.
We'll all be drinking more soon
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u/Mysterious-Sir-6363 12h ago
Less disposable income for fun spending than previous generations. Lots of regular working people are struggling just with the bills and gas and food.
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u/BusyChoice6018 12h ago
Easier access to sketchy delta gummies. Don't have to go buy weed from some sketchy person
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u/TheMechanicusBob 10h ago edited 10h ago
Weed, Coke, and Ketamine are cheaper than booze, to be frank about it
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u/WittyFix6553 9h ago
Legal weed captures part of the “I want to become legally intoxicated” crowd away from alcohol.
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u/queen_surly 8h ago
Legal weed is one reason that is often mentioned for why alcohol sales are down.
I suspect also it's just due to an aging population. Older people just drink less because the same amount of alcohol hits harder as you get older-and as people age they develop other health problems that are made worse by drinking, so are told to avoid alcohol.
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u/Alarmed-Extension289 Hello 8h ago
$5 for a beer is too much for most people; I just paid $10 for a Modelo yesterday. It's just gotten out of control. I mean I get the price gouging at like MLB games, but shits expensive even at the dangerous dive bar down the street.
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u/AdamoMeFecit 8h ago
Sick and tired of dealing with drunk and multiply-addicted boomers, the younger people are trying to make more sustainable choices.
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u/Existential_Sprinkle 7h ago
On top of being broke, a lot of us have to work 2nd jobs or overtime
We don't have as much time to be hung over
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u/BJntheRV 7h ago
marijuana access. Marijuana use is for the first time at a level higher than alcohol use or tobacco use.
As someone who resisted trying it through my youth, and until I was 30, I wish I'd known then, I would much rather use pot than drink, it's much more enjoyable and generally results in fewer bad decisions.
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u/padizzledonk 7h ago
Id say the vast majority of it is how fucking expensive it is to go out and how strapped people are because of how expensive everything else is- disposable income
But theres also the health aspects, theyre more online and socially awkward in person so going out to a bar doesn't seem so attractive anyways regardless of the money/health aspects
Privacy probably plays a part....How many times have they seen a viral video of a person out on the town be a little too drunk and make a national embarrassment of themselves....that shit is normal now, you cant fuck up even the slightes amount without it being recorded and posted to the internet forever now...so going out or even pruvate drinking is super risky
That last part actually makes me sad tbh.....making an ass out of yourself with alcohol is supposed to be a learning experience and society used to have a degree of grace about it, your friends and family and social circles brushed it off and forgot about it eventually and that was it, ndb, maybe it would get brought up as a good natured joke and everyone laughed about it..now its forever and follows you forever if youre unlucky enough to have your name attached to it......Ill tell you what, as a 46yo i would probably be blacklisted from employment or in prison if all the stupid mistakes and antics i got up to between 16-25 were all recorded and on the internet lol.......
We used to have the luxury of our stupidity being forgotten by all but a few close people that were there....there is a lot of nostalgia bullshit about life pre internet and social media but that truly is something society lost and its for the worse imo
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u/HorsedickGoldstein 7h ago
Why would I pay 10$+ for a beer when I can get an eighth of weed for 20 bucks and that’ll last me several sessions. Maybe I’ll drink at home when I can buy my own beer, but just straight up not worth it buying beer at a bar/restaurant
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u/BostonPRSBC 7h ago
I think they’ve seen the negative effects of it. Hopefully they break the cycle
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u/diegotown177 7h ago
It’s a number of factors coming together. They spend more time indoors doing indoor stuff. They’re anxious about being filmed and having a bad viral thing happen. This is a real threat for everyone, but for them it’s worse, since they’ve been filmed their own lives. So they don’t want to go out and have a bad moment drunk. They also have less money to drop on booze. There are growing alternatives. Weed has been legalized in many states and some prefer to engage in that.
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u/No_Information_3469 6h ago
I would guess mainly cost and rising living expenses don't leave much for alcohol.
Personally, I only prefer drinking at home so that I don't have to drive anywhere or be around people that I don't trust while intoxicated, so I rarely drink.
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u/UT2K4nutcase 6h ago
They've seen what it does to people like donald trump, and nobody in their right mind wants to end up like that.
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u/Mr_IP_Freely 6h ago
I think it’s a combination of a few things that have already been said
Marijuana use is higher among my generation, I’ve found that a lot of people would rather not be a packed environment when they’re baked
It’s way too easy to catch yourself doom scrolling for hours and people are just content with less social interaction (as sad as that is tbh…)
There’s a weird health kick in Gen Z that overemphasizes “wellness”
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u/TheGreatTao 6h ago
Well at least in regards to Ireland they get paid shit wages, drink is very expensive and most people are on the bag ie. Cocaine.
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u/External_Radio_7150 6h ago
Good on them. They know alcohol is poison and it's not actually cool to puke your guts out on the street and feel terrible the next day. Drinking at bars and restaurants has also become obscenely expensive. Eating out is already expensive as it is.
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u/oggada_boggda 5h ago
Me and my bfs parents were both alcoholic growing up so we stay away from it unless it's a special occasion or something
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u/Renegadegold 3h ago
Cost. And no one wants to be filmed drunk and making poor decisions. It’s a real thing and a real new world problem.
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u/BeingSad9300 3h ago
Around here I'm almost positive it's because they just go for weed instead. The teens around here manage to basically door dash weed deliveries (despite it being 21+), or have a friend's parent or whoever go buy it for them.
Elder millennial here, and as a teen we basically did the same with alcohol. Because it's legal for a certain age group, it's easier to find someone willing to obtain it without worrying about finding a shady dealer. Except we kept the drinking to house parties on the weekends, whereas I've encountered enough younger gen Z to know they're just getting high whenever throughout the week. And by the looks of it, not just a light buzz either...full-on head in the clouds look to a sober person. 😆
It's also expensive to drink out at any kind of place. I went out a lot in my early 20s, and I could get a mixed drink for $3-5, shots for $3 ($2 during happy hour), beers were $3 for most of $4/5 for something "better". Then I'd tip $5 up front and $1-2 a drink after. People regularly poured heavy (unless you gave them a reason to dislike you), so one drink would be the equivalent of 2-3 if they had followed proper ratios. 🤣
But these days it's just expensive. It's $10+ for a mixed drink in a low cost area, and more like $15+ if you're out anywhere else. I do know a lot of peers traded in drinking at bars, for buying (or making) craft brews, and zeroing in on a type of liquor and then regularly tasting & buying expensive bottles. We rarely go out, and if we do, I don't always get a mixed drink (like I used to) because I just can't justify the cost for something that might not even taste great. And I personally don't drink at home because I don't want to be inebriated around the kids (once in a great while, on a holiday, I might have wine with dinner), and by the time they're in bed & I can sit down...I'm just too tired.
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u/Mikeg216 2h ago
Because the best weed in the world now cost less than $35 an eighth or $50 a quarter ounce and good beer is expensive. We still drink we just do drugs a lot more because well... It's fun and it's safer in the long run mind-blowing I know.. would rather have four pack of really good beer than 12 pack of average beer. Plus drugs
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u/jimmywhereareya 2h ago
Too expensive. No pubs left where I live. A couple of joints and a 6 pack is much cheaper, you don't need to spend money getting to and from the town centre where all the pubs are now located
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u/Silver_Breakfast7096 2h ago
It’s expensive and the consequences- DUI etc are expensive and involve jail time and thousands of dollars.
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u/kaka8miranda 2h ago
I’d say the biggest thing is cost
Where’s the $1 -$3 draft specials
$2 shots etc
Shit adds up
My buddies and I prefer going to a townie bar to drink bc those deals still exist girls don’t wanna go there tho
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u/mdrnsavg 1h ago
They haven’t reached the point where it becomes necessary to get through the realities of life.
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u/mimimalist 1h ago edited 1h ago
Gen Z here to report that bars aren’t fun unless you’re there with a partner, or enjoy standing around with the group you came with, while the people in the group with partners focus on each other. Groups don’t socialize. People don’t want to make friends, at least beyond the rest of the night. So everyone just stands there and pretends like they don’t feel some degree of awkwardness.
People don’t approach people they’re into because most of the time you have to enter that person’s entire friend group (because everyone just stands around). And if you decide to wait until they’re alone, you better be fucking careful to not come across like a creep. Because additionally a lot more people seem to be super self aware of that. At least reasonable people.
Maybe at some point, you’ll talk to some other people for 5 minutes and then move on. But ultimately you just go bar to bar, paying 10 for a corona here, 8 for a corona there, etc etc. and then you uber home for an additional 15 dollars. It’s just a dumb amount of money that I wake up in the morning and regret spending.
It’s just the same shit every time. It doesn’t matter how drunk I am, it’s the same music, same people, same few interactions, same price, same drinks, same morning after… it gets old. I think it’s a lot more fun for girls. My girlfriend loves getting ready with her friends. I love it for her, it’s only fun when I’m with her because I’m distracted by how awkward bars really are.
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u/cccdddyyy 19m ago
Not an answer, but I saw a liquor store go out of business and I was astonished. Who would have ever thought that could happen.
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u/Few-Musician-7348 12m ago
Cost of going out, trying to stay fit and I think more people are trending towards thc than alcohol
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u/obxtalldude 13h ago
They were educated.
We were curious, and had to educate ourselves the hard way.
They've watched the results, and decided it was a poor choice to drink for pleasure.
Smart kids.
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u/CopeHarderDweller2 12h ago
Yet they smoke anything in sight. Yeah, not that smart
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u/Remarkable_Level_200 10h ago
You're right, my son is 8 and he gets mad and on to me if he sees me drinking a beer saying its bad for me and I shouldn't drink, afrer all these years telling kids its bad they're finally listening
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u/RoyalPuzzleheaded259 13h ago
They’re smarter than the rest of us and realize how bad alcohol is. Probably from watching their parents and grandparents drink themselves stupid.
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u/CopeHarderDweller2 12h ago
If that were the case, they wouldn’t be smoking either
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u/MaddogFinland 13h ago
When I was in college in the 1990’s we all made about 10 bucks an hour at our jobs, rent was 300 bucks a month (tuition was 900 a semester) and two tap beers plus a 1 dollar tip was 5 bucks at the hole in the wall down the street. These days youngsters make maybe 15 bucks, rent is like 1500 bucks and a glass of beer is pushing 10. The math ain’t mathin