Yeah but how was the data collected? At bars and pubs? The cost of alcohol has always been pricey but its been very expensive for gen z. We had pre-drinks before going out and then didnt spend much at the pub coz we were already on a few things. Im in my 30s now and i still do predrinks before going somewhere or i just dont drink coz im not paying $20 for a shot of gin with some tonic water

Half of gen Z can't legally drink and 75% of them are broke?

Nobody has healthcare, housing is unaffordable, we pay for everything with our tax dollars but all the profits go to corrupt pedofiles, Peter Thiel and Larry Ellison are turning the country into a mass surveillance prison for us to live in, there’s no laws for the rich, the earth is dying because the pedofile class doesn’t give a fuck about anything except doing as much evil as possible, there’s a genocide going on and 95% of American politicians are giving away unlimited amounts of our tax dollars to fund it and for the genocidal country to have universal healthcare and free college and a $400 monthly payment per child, the same politicians want to make it illegal to talk about or boycott Israel for their crimes, Trump has the nuclear codes, a secret police force is disappearing people and shooting people who are exercising their first amendment rights women’s rights are being stripped away and a lot of the boys and men are cheering…..I could go on and on but the reason is there’s nothing to celebrate

Most Gen Z-ers can't legally buy alcohol yet.
And illegal consumption doesn't make it into the statistic.

Bevlcause half of Gen Z is under 21 and the rest is broke?

Gen Z here. Tastes like shit

Poor.

Legitimately I think it's because Gen Z and below are horribly anxious and not very social. We really fucked these kids' confidence over at every opportunity and now we're wondering why they're not going out to parties and stuff and why they're not really dating.

Weed is clearly superior (at lest for me)

I'm surprised millennials didn't kick that habit. But it was bound to happen. Alcohol doesn't taste like something good at all.

Because we're broke

The generation that won't answer their phone or door and that doesn't spend much time with friends. You don't say.

Considering half of Gen Z isn't even legal drinking age yet, this isn't too surprising.

Marijuana legalization has to be a big part of it

Wow, I don’t spend nearly this amount on alcohol

Why spend on alcohol when I can buy more books, games, travel the world or join a sports club instead of damaging my own body and end up paying more with hospital bills later in life?

"Fading", more like jumped off a cliff.

There is no safe amount of alcohol to drink.

Everyone is broke.

They watched their parents make asses of themselves while drunk, and today everyone has a video camera in their hand.

Because alcohol is bad for you?

Our parents were still told that a glass of wine a day was healthy.

@Mickey7 I’m biased because alcohol has cost me loved ones and 90% of my personal experiences under the influence ended badly. I also learned that Putin eliminated social reforms in Russia so that he could sell his vodka and increase control of the population. Organizers had worked hard for those reforms to curb death rates. “Consumption” is a cute way of saying death by alcohol. Big alcohol can fuck off and I hope they go bankrupt. The sooner the better.

tiktok and youtube thats why. that pretty much is the new alcohol. Also things GLP-1, omezpic, and WEGOVY also is a threat to alcohol industry.

Sure a per capita (18+) comparison would be more useful than NET expenditure? It might be lower but there are too many possible variables that aren't accounted for.

For example the graph below seems to indicate younger audiences drink dramatically less beer and wine than older generations, but dramatically more Hard Seltzers than Baby Boomers.

It’s because they can barely pay rent.

Cocaine, cannabis, lack of money, and the rest having enough braincells to have a healthy and suistanable diet

IDK Im an older millenial and pretty much stopped drinking a decade ago. Never had a problem, but I just got too busy going back to school and working full time. Then I started noticing how many people I knew who were using it as a crutch to get through the week. Others were amazed when I said I couldn't remember the last time I drank. It just started to really turn me off drinking once I noticed how seemingly everyone had a terrible relationship with alcohol.

Now I drink again but not much. i buy a small box of wine to make a recipe every now and then and will drink the leftover glass or two. In the summer I feel a beer goes well with yard work but i buy a sixpack or two all summer and probably have leftovers come fall. Ocassionally I'll go out and have a beer with people. All in all maybe $100-$200 a year but probably less

Alcohol costs money. Middle class is dead. Probably will see a lot more people making homemade things.

On July 1, 2024, the census estimates of the number of each generation of drinking age, if I'm reading this Excel spreadsheet correctly:

Gen Z (born between 1997 and 2012, but as of 2024 the only legal drinking age was those born between 1997 and 2003): 31.3 million

Millennial (born between 1981 and 1996): 74.1 million

Gen X (born between 1965 and 1980): 65.6 million

Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964): 66.9 million

So assuming that 20-somethings have less money to spend on expensive alcohol, and recognizing that Gen Z has less than half the drinking age population as the other generations, it's not surprising for that generation to spend less on alcohol, even if their habits weren't different than the older generations.

Now, their habits actually are different, so that might stretch things further. But a better way to present the data would be adjusted per capita. And maybe looking at historical data about when prior generations were the same age.

Many Gen Z are under 21

Because they’re weak.

In all seriousness, income has stayed about the same in nominal terms, but the cost of living has gone way up even between millennials and gen z. So really income has gone down and booze is much more of a luxury.

Poorest generation spends the least on a luxury.

Normalize it for age. How much did GenX spend at 22 vs GenZ? It could be similar, but it’s not clear. Of course old people have more disposable income once the mortgage is paid off and GenZ can’t get a mortage, just an expensive rental.

There’s a big drop off in drinking overall and it’s a good thing. Yet genZ is back on nicotine.

My mom and dad and myself and my younger brother are all alcoholics. Two of us have recovered, two of us have not.

My youngest brother is on the spectrum and refuses to touch alcohol at all because he's watched it destroy lives and steal souls.

That's how this chart plays out in my family., ymmv.

Well apparently smoking is making a comeback thanks to GenZ, if we have to believe the media.

I think they get their buzz from vaping