Experts studying why those in Generation Z are drinking significantly less than previous generations have offered up several potential factors, including health concerns and the influence of social media.
A Dutch banking company offers a much simpler reason: Gen Z is broke.
Rabobank last month published an analysis that explored whether Gen Z’s lower consumption of alcohol is due to a life stage or a generational shift. The generation is described by Time magazine as anyone born between 1997 and 2012.
Time reported in January that alcohol consumption in the U.S. has risen overall, but not among younger adults. A 2023 Gallup poll determined that the share of adults under age 35 who say they drink dropped ten percentage points in two decades, from 72 percent in 2001-2003 to 62 percent in 2021-2023.
George Koob, director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, suggested that Gen Zers are more health-conscious than previous generations.
“It is becoming clear that, for whatever reasons, today’s younger generations are just less interested in alcohol and are more likely than older generations to see it as risky for their health and to participate in periods of abstinence like Dry January,” Koob told Time.
The magazine’s report cites multiple other factors, like the increased legality of marijuana and changing socialization patterns. A 2023 Surgeon General’s advisory stated that the average amount of time people spent with friends in person decreased from 30 hours a month in 2003 to 10 hours a month in 2020.
Gen Z socializes more online than previous generations, and alcohol is a “social drug,” Koob said.
Experts theorize that social media, and the desire young people have to look their best online, are significant factors affecting drinking patterns. Technology, including tracking apps, also makes it much easier for underage drinkers to get caught.
Rabobank’s report suggests that while these factors are legitimate, the “narratives are greatly overblown.” According to analysts, half of Gen Z is under the legal drinking age, while those 21 and older may be struggling to make ends meet.
“(Those Gen Zers) have yet to get a college degree, are working an entry-level job or not working at all, and therefore don’t have any money to spend on alcohol,” the report said. “This was also true of millennials, Generation X and baby boomers when they were in their 20s.”
As Gen Z gets older, their alcohol purchases are likely to grow, though the industry will need to adjust its products and its advertising to connect with the diversity of the generation and with their changing drinking patterns.
“This is an ideal outcome for the alcohol industry, which can celebrate the declines in underage drinking and binge drinking while still benefiting when Gen Zers reach their more mature and responsible prime spending years,” the report stated.
