Our daughter goes to a large public university and she said college town bar cover charges are all $20 to $50! Used to be free and sometimes $5 in the early 00s. This thread makes me wonder if college town bars now have to make most of their revenue on cover charges because college kids don’t binge drink anymore?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This data is crazy. Boozing is officially boomer coded.

Over 40% of Gen Z is under 21. They also have considerably less disposable income than the other generations.

Feel free to double the gen Z bar to hypothetically pretend everyone under 21 will booze at the same clip as their age 21+ peers and that’s still only 25% of what old gens drink. Young people used to get bombed all through their teens and 20s. The data couldn’t be clearer, they aren’t anymore. Boozing is very uncool.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This data is crazy. Boozing is officially boomer coded.

Over 40% of Gen Z is under 21. They also have considerably less disposable income than the other generations.

It’s not just their young age. Drinking has turned untrendy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gen Z is indeed drinking far less and most of them view drinking more than 2 drinks in a night as cringe. lol

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/opinion/2025/09/03/gen-z-drinking-less-alcohol-social-media-gallup-health-concerns-economy/85936352007/

Let's be honest, a lot of youth drinking was for a social lubricant, to lower your anxiety and cold approach peers in bars and parties. That's literally not happening anymore.

That's for sure. No wonder 60% of women under 30 and 65% of men under 35 are single now. All introverted anxious messes.

The world is overpopulated, so this is a good thing.

THC is much better than alcohol.

I only drink alcohol at celebratory events now. I don't miss regular drinking at all.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This data is crazy. Boozing is officially boomer coded.

Over 40% of Gen Z is under 21. They also have considerably less disposable income than the other generations.

This is definitely a big part of it and makes that graphic misleading. However it's also true that young people are drinking less.

But the also consume more THC.

I regret drinking as much as I did in my 20s. I was working out mental health issues in a dysfunctional way. I'm not a teetotaler or anything, but the older I get, the more I realize that being able to live life without needing drugs or alcohol to relax or deal with social situations is a mark of maturity and comfort with yourself. And also healthier.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unemployed and underemployed recent grads will end up drinking more, especially as the economy contracts.

I wear an Apple Watch 24hrs a day. I’ve never checked how anything I consume changes my heart rate. It tracks my runs. Only weirdos perseverate on health data to the granular level you describe.

Nope. It's cool to be sober. Drinking is what corny gen X parents and boomer grandparents do. Sober, clear headed, lots of sleep, fitness freaks, eating clean, hustle and grind mode 24/7.

They are eating their calories instead of drinking them. Not sure which is worse.

No way. Smart young adults are obsessed with fitness and eating clean and monitoring their health and sleep with apps and an Apple watch.

And they all have the personality of a wet sock.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Middle aged 40+ and older affluent men within earshot were asking about 0% beers. These are the type of men who’d be drinking either wine their wife at dinner or a draft IPA, bourbon or scotch.

April is long past dry January.

Science is catching up.

No. It’s the proliferation of weed and good old fashioned arrogance regarding a lack of necessity for alcohol…. Because they have weed.

You’re in serious denial. The sober addicted to fitness white collars are not addicted to weed instead of boozing. Weed is more degenerate and trashy than boozing to that crowd.

You are so clueless.

Yeah, that person has no idea what they’re talking about.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unemployed and underemployed recent grads will end up drinking more, especially as the economy contracts.

I wear an Apple Watch 24hrs a day. I’ve never checked how anything I consume changes my heart rate. It tracks my runs. Only weirdos perseverate on health data to the granular level you describe.

Nope. It's cool to be sober. Drinking is what corny gen X parents and boomer grandparents do. Sober, clear headed, lots of sleep, fitness freaks, eating clean, hustle and grind mode 24/7.

They are eating their calories instead of drinking them. Not sure which is worse.

No way. Smart young adults are obsessed with fitness and eating clean and monitoring their health and sleep with apps and an Apple watch.

Some of the heaviest drinkers on a college campus are the athletes.

Anonymous wrote:This data is crazy. Boozing is officially boomer coded.

Over 40% of Gen Z is under 21. They also have considerably less disposable income than the other generations.

The bourbon fad is definitely dead and I’m confident a lot of producers are going to go bankrupt because they have YEARS of oversupply in their pipelines and nobody to sell it to. But many of the bourbon bros moved to high end tequila.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unemployed and underemployed recent grads will end up drinking more, especially as the economy contracts.

I wear an Apple Watch 24hrs a day. I’ve never checked how anything I consume changes my heart rate. It tracks my runs. Only weirdos perseverate on health data to the granular level you describe.

Nope. It's cool to be sober. Drinking is what corny gen X parents and boomer grandparents do. Sober, clear headed, lots of sleep, fitness freaks, eating clean, hustle and grind mode 24/7.

They are eating their calories instead of drinking them. Not sure which is worse.

No way. Smart young adults are obsessed with fitness and eating clean and monitoring their health and sleep with apps and an Apple watch.

Well i'm smart young with an actual fitness watch (not apple) and still love some beer/wine/spirits. If you say eating "clean" I already know you're full of ****.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unemployed and underemployed recent grads will end up drinking more, especially as the economy contracts.

I wear an Apple Watch 24hrs a day. I’ve never checked how anything I consume changes my heart rate. It tracks my runs. Only weirdos perseverate on health data to the granular level you describe.

Nope. It's cool to be sober. Drinking is what corny gen X parents and boomer grandparents do. Sober, clear headed, lots of sleep, fitness freaks, eating clean, hustle and grind mode 24/7.

They are eating their calories instead of drinking them. Not sure which is worse.

No way. Smart young adults are obsessed with fitness and eating clean and monitoring their health and sleep with apps and an Apple watch.

This data is crazy. Boozing is officially boomer coded.