While younger generations are drinking less, adults aged 50 to 64 are drinking more, causing a shift reshaping the US bar scene
Alcohol consumption has decreased across the United States in recent years, particularly among adults under age 40, but there is one older demographic in which more people are drinking than before the Covid-19 pandemic – and more are doing so heavily, according to a new study.
For the first time since before the pandemic, the percentage of US adults who drink any alcohol decreased between 2022 and 2024, according to the report in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine. People from 50 to 64, which roughly corresponds with gen X, were the only age group in which drinking continued to increase.
They are likely hurting their health by imbibing, according to the latest science, but they are also helping keep open bars. Such businesses have struggled as younger generations, the drivers of nightlife, move away from booze.
We’re talking about kids here. It’s highly unlikely they’re being deterred by possible health effects 40 years down the line.
If I had to guess, it’s probably because they’re smoking weed instead.
What I mean is, it’s hard to want to consume alcohol when you’ve seen addiction growing up. When I was growing up I realized not everyone had a dad that drank like mine did, albeit my dad was still functional as an alcoholic, it’s not like it didn’t effect us when he seemingly hated us and our mom covering for him.
So kids see what it can do and what it does and some of them will most likely not want to drink or it’ll go the other way around and they’ll drink to drown their problems like they were shown when they were growing up.
Those are just the more common examples but the current generations growing up are also more informed about what it can do and given that younger millennials and Gen Z aren’t drinking as much as Gen X and given that millennials and Gen Z are parents right now and aren’t drinking as much, it could possibly go down the line with more positive effects.
Like the younger generations not seeing their parents drink and have no want to drink.
Yeahhhhhh, I mean weed has something to do with it but I think that it’s more likely that alcohol is just not being generationally passed down as an in-home vice that people don’t see and want to try.
Like when I was growing up I wanted to try black and milds, Marlboro reds and budweiser because that’s what the cool people did and beer and cigarettes weren’t really hidden so it’s like I wanted to try it out because it was around and you wonder why it’s around and why they do it, so you try it out when your older because it was like that one thing you never could.
Younger generations are more likely to try a vape of some sort and an overly caffinated beverage.
Idk, I grew up in a semi broken home with alcohol being a catalyst so I’m bias.
All I’m saying is that if you asked any given young person why they don’t drink, the chances that the reason is “Because I don’t want to be an alchololic” or “Because I don’t want cancer when I turn 60” is most likely nil.