In case you’ve missed it, millennials aren’t drinking as much — with many straight-up tossing booze aside for a life without hangovers, according to The Atlantic.
“I drank pretty regularly in my 20s, especially in social situations,” Leanne Vanderbyl, of San Francisco, tells the magazine. “It wasn’t until I hit my 30s that I realized that alcohol was no longer my friend.”
Atlantic writer Amanda Mull says she interviewed more than 100 Americans in their 20s and 30s over the past few weeks “who have begun to make similar changes in their drinking habits or who are contemplating ways to drink less.”
She also spoke to Britta Starke, an addictions therapist and the program director of the Alcohol and Substance Abuse Center at the University of North Carolina, who has “noticed some worrying attitudinal trends toward alcohol among her younger patients.”
“There does come a time when there has to be some introspection,” Starke said. “Folks in the millennial generation have maybe a better sense of balance. Some do yoga or meditation or are physically active, so they don’t need to find stimulation and stress reduction in substances.”
Another factor that could be playing a role, according to Starke, is the increasing use of marijuana and prescription drugs among millennials.
“It still seems like this is a generation of self-medicating, but they’re using things differently,” she told Mull.
“I smoke weed to unwind,” explained Vanderbyl. “I can wake up in the morning feeling ready for the day.”
According to Mull, Generation Z could see an even greater decrease in drinkers — with data showing much lower rates of boozing among adolescents than previous generations.
“For many people, when they’re honest with their friends [about wanting to skip out on drinks], their friends are like, ‘Oh my God, I was thinking about that too,’” Starke said. “I don’t know too many people who have gotten a negative response.”
