At a time when most of us could use a drink (or several) just to cope with reality, young people are saying “no” more often to alcohol. Hard to believe, but true.
A new study shows that between 2002 and 2018, the number of American adults abstaining from alcohol has increased. For college kids, 22 percent claimed to be teetotalers, up from 20 percent in 2002. For non-college-goers, the rise was even more profound: 30 percent reported staying on the wagon, up from 24% in 2002.
Alcohol abuse was also down by around 50 percent for both groups. Binge-drinking among UK youth has also dropped dramatically, from 27 to 18 percent. We can only imagine how the lack of social lubrication is affecting young people’s confidence levels — and sex lives.
Why the sudden sobriety? Researchers aren’t sure, but they suggest it could be due to the number of Gen Zers living with their parents as well as alcohol prevention and intervention programs aimed at college students.
But before you go patting your pals on the back for being Generation Dry, consider this: use of marijuana among both college students and non-college-educated youth is on the rise (31 percent and 30 percent confess to smoking pot, respectively) and prescription drug abuse has also increased among people in their late teens and 20s.
So maybe Gen Zers are saints after all. They simply prefer a different kind of chemically-induced escape.
What are you going to damage today, kids? Your lungs, your brain, or your liver? Pick your poison wisely.
Cover Photo: turk_stock_photographer (Getty Images)
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