So while many Millennials, those born between 1980 and 1994, were getting drunk more often, many Gen Zers were staying away from excessive drinking
By Luise Evers, dpa I Monday, July 31, 2023
BERLIN – From family celebrations to a company outing or a night out with friends: Alcohol is a big part of many people’s lives. However, among Gen Z, those born between 1995 and 2010, many are opting out of drinking. What is causing this shift?
Alcohol, considered a given for most young people, does not interest 21-year-old Serin. “If you can’t be funny or be yourself without alcohol, then something is not quite right,” the young apprentice says forcefully.
Born in Berlin in 2002, Serin falls into the category of Generation Z, or Gen Z. Gen Z, or so-called zoomers, tend to be defined as people born between 1995 and 2010, though the line between their predecessor Millennials and zoomers is somewhat blurred.
Serin says she is not the only one in her friend group to give up alcohol, stressing that most of her friends drink little or not at all. Is there a new trend growing amongst Gen Z? Is it becoming cool to be sober?
The German Centre for Health Education (BZgA) has been surveying binge drinking, defined as consuming at least five drinks at a party, since 2004. A survey of 12- to 25-year-olds in Germany showed that the age group’s alcohol consumption is gradually declining.
In 2004, 21% of 12- to 17-year-olds still said they drank excessively at least once a week, but by 2021 this figure had fallen to just under 9%. Among 18- to 25-year-olds, the number also declined from 44% in 2004 to 32% in 2021.
So while many Millennials, those born between 1980 and 1994, were getting drunk more often, many Gen Zers were staying away from excessive drinking.
“From a sociological perspective, avoiding loss of control is one of the main reasons,” explains social scientist Heino Stöver of the addiction research centre at Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences.
Control has become a more important phenomenon for a generation dictated by social media, says Stöver. These days, a badly worded WhatsApp message can destroy an entire friendship, he stresses.
Coming across badly while drunk may thus be too much of a social burden to carry for Gen Zers, he adds.
Serin is of the view that many people come out of their shell when they are drunk, using alcohol to overcome their social anxiety. She feels people should work on their sense of self confidence levels instead of compensating with alcohol.
But aren’t many of her peers hiding already behind the guise of a perfectly-curated Instagram feed? “Drinking yourself pretty and using Photoshop have something in common,” Stöver jokes.
Self-optimization and presentation are very important to young people nowadays, says the scientist.
Moreover, the younger generation operates a lot more in the virtual world, he continues. Meeting in person to celebrate something has become less frequent in the digital age, meaning that getting drunk has also declined as a result.
The coronavirus pandemic inevitably added to this phenomenon, explains psychologist Pauline Stockmann. Apps like TikTok and Instagram may have helped to relieve some social isolation, but they magnified other problems, such as a hyperfocus on appearance, she adds.
It was for this reason that she launched her platform “Happy Clappy Club,” which offers “psychological coaching” aimed at Gen Z. The initiative offers therapy services both on site in the Berlin practice and on social media and strives to destigmatize mental health issues.
The psychologist reckons that the reasons for young people moving away from alcohol is more of an attentiveness towards self-care and the desire to “question and be allowed to change entrenched traditions.”
There are also more forms of expression in a pluralistic society, Stöver adds, meaning that more people are able to make fun of or criticize excessive drinking.
In Serin’s case, her social life takes place in the dance studio of her hip-hop crew. Weekends, she says, are primarily quiet for her: they consist of watching TV series and playing games. Every now and then, however, she goes out with friends, she says. For dinner.
