Gen Z’s greatest fault is being really lame.
A record-low 54 percent of U.S. adults say they consume alcohol, according to a Gallup Poll released Aug. 13. That’s the lowest percentage on record since Gallup began tracking American drinking habits in 1939.
“From 1997 to 2023, at least 60% of Americans reported drinking alcohol,” Gallup reports. “The figure fell to 62% in 2023 and to 58% in 2024.” Among young people, the decline is even sharper. Self-reported drinking in young people dipped from 59 percent in 2023 to 50 percent in 2025. (RELATED: There’s Another Gender Gap Nobody Is Talking About – And It Just Might Doom Democrats)
Is it just a health fad?
Nightlife-hating Gen Z now planning morning raves with espresso shots — and no tequila https://t.co/l9mWrDQ38a pic.twitter.com/64MPCsMy1z
— New York Post (@nypost) June 22, 2025
Young adults are increasingly likely to believe moderate drinking is unhealthy, according to Gallup. Two thirds of young adults polled agree: “One or two drinks a day” is bad for health. Half of adults aged 35 to 54, and a little less than half of adults aged 55 and older, also agree with that statement.
Podcasts like The Huberman Lab, hosted by neuroscientist Andrew Huberman, may have popularized teetotalism in Gen Z.
The 3 major changes that even low-to-moderate alcohol consumption cause to your brain, body & psychology over time. Full episode at https://t.co/TphgkozQyg pic.twitter.com/aiuPILq3Vw
— Andrew D. Huberman, Ph.D. (@hubermanlab) August 26, 2022
“Zero [drinks] is best, two is probably fine, three, four, five, six, seven, is where … you are going to shorten your life by a significant amount,” Huberman tells Rhonda Patrick in a clip from her podcast, FoundMyFitness. The clip has over half a million views.
“I don’t have anything against alcohol … I understand it’s part of the fabric of most every culture, and that says something. But to my mind alcohol, if you don’t like it or you care about your health more than you care about alcohol … Don’t drink, it’s pure and simple,” Huberman concludes.
Accept that alcohol is bad for your health. Since when have people, en masse, stopped doing things because they’re unhealthy?
The obesity rate among Americans aged 18-24 is 19.5 percent, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The total percentage of obese Americans was 13.4 between 1960 and 1962. Surely, people have not become less aware that being fat is bad for you.
For a drink-to-drink comparison, consider energy drinks. Most contain natural flavors, emulsifiers, gums, sugar alternatives, extracts, acids, and colors. None of these facts have inhibited their growing popularity among young people.
“I drink a glass of red wine with dinner, for my health,” and “I don’t drink at all, for my health” are probably both post-hoc justifications for one’s drinking habits.
Every day I see studies on how Gen Z is drinking less, smoking less, having less sex etc. This is because they’re doing everything less.
Their entire existence is on their phones. Escapism to the nth degree. This is beyond bad.
— Noah Ryan (@NoahRyanCo) July 25, 2025
People usually drink to smooth social friction. To feel more confident, less in their head. Young people are increasingly unlikely to encounter social friction in the first place, because they don’t go outside.
Nearly eight in ten employees aged 18 to 22 reported feeling lonely “sometimes or always,” according to a Cigna study from January 2020 — before the government decided to put our lives on hold for a year or two. Lockdowns exacerbated loneliness among most people, but they interrupted critical developmental periods for children and adolescents.
One in four young American men now report feeling lonely, according to a May 2025 Gallup Poll. Young American women aren’t far behind at 18 percent.
Multiplayer video games and dating apps are poor substitutes for friendship and dating. Even those who shirk socialization in the flesh intuitively know this. But online is easy. And familiar. And, in the case of dating apps, more or less mandated by women with a hostile attitude towards flirting in other contexts. (RELATED: Lefties Cook Up New Reason To Hate Men)
The Internet is a good tool. The Internet is a bad friend.
Follow Natalie Sandoval on X: @NatSandovalDC
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