Americans' Drinking Remains at Record Low: Gallup Poll | Hacker News Reader

Americans' Drinking Remains at Record Low: Gallup Poll

news.gallup.com

There are so many other ways to self medicate now! Why be a lonely drunk when you can be a social media trolling energy drink swilling porn addicted sports gambler

One of the reasons people don't drink anymore is because they don't go out with their friends that much.

We're a very lonely generation.

Since the drinking reduction is across all ages, we're a very lonely people...

1. Hangovers are awful.

2. There are viable alternatives (THC; mocktails; 0.5%/0% beer that is drinkable).

3. The Third Place is dead and people don't socialize as much anymore.

4. Economic conditions are abysmal and directly affect prices and extra money to spend.

I really don’t get this “third place” thing. People can still just go do stuff like they always could. Clubs, teams, community events all still exist.

People can still just go do stuff, but they don't. They stay inside and watch screens all day because they're poor and sick and depressed and exhausted and addicted to their phones.

Too many people sure, but it’s doomerism to say third places are “dead”. Bar trivia is still packed, there are still pickup games in the park, and your local library still needs volunteers. I think this online attitude probably causes some people to not even look for third places in the first place.

The idea that anything important is online seems to be ruining in-person activities. Many of those activities you mention are poorly advertised online and easily drowned out by advertising / ragebait / influencer slop. My local food court has a trivia night but the most prominent advertising for it is at the food court itself with posters.

There are always going to be reasons to not get out of bed in the morning.

I could be wrong, but I thought the "third place" thing more specifically refers to a pretty local institution such as a tavern or coffee shop where people meet regardless of club/team affiliation(s).

There may be more coffee shops now, but there are a LOT less neighborhood bars - or at least it sure seems that way in my Chicago neighborhood where one can see evidence of long closed bars on every other block.

I've starting thinking that the constant use of "there are no third places anymore!" is more cope and deflection of blame than an actual description of reality, often from people who want to use The Man or The System as a scapegoat for their own lack of socialization. There are still tons of third places, people are choosing to stay home instead of using them.

It's the same with "The Village" when deciding not to have kids. Everyone is allowed to move back to their hometown, or ask family to move closer. It's not always simple to do, but it's a choice people make not to.

I could take a $200,000/annual pay cut to move back to my hometown and live in an area devoid of things to do; but, you're right: I chose to move away and live somewhere that offered my children things I did not have and thus choose not to do that. I am also not sure how I could have my parents make the choice to live in an area that's more egalitarian and diverse; however, you're right, again: they choose not to.

If you have the privilege of a $200k delta then you have the middle ground of buying your parents a house near you.

I already pay for the house I no longer live in but my ex-wife does as well as my own with a 7.6% APR. But, them not having a house has nothing to do w/it; they don't want to live somewhere like this.

Thanks for the idea though!

I wonder how legal marijuana ties in? I know plenty of people that have switched.

This is pretty much the explanation---the decline in alcohol revenue mirrors the rise in cannabis sales. The alcohol decline started in 2012, when the first states legalized marijuana.

https://www.visualcapitalist.com/cp/daily-cannabis-vs-alcoho...

I still prefer alcohol as it's self-regulating for me. It lets me know the next morning when I've overdone it.

Weed hangovers are definitely a thing that happens

This is no doubt part of the reason why the farm bill loophole is being closed: lobbying pressure from those whose bottom line has been impacted.

Also, help for alcohol abuse is more accessible and socially accepted than ever before. Sober movements overall are having a moment in the US, even though some traditional recovery membership like AA is slightly declining.

I'm sure that's a huge part of it. I also wonder if GLP1 meds are having an impact.

I suspect there is more to this story. Post pandemic, I wonder if there are more people drinking on their lonesome as a coping strategy with fewer people drinking socially because it is too expensive to do so.

My father was in the former category, and ultimately it was alcohol that killed him. He thought he was a moderate drinker, not an alcoholic, and I doubt he would have self-reported drinking 'heavily' with his beer-goggles on. As far as he was concerned, he had always enjoyed a glass of wine with a meal, to have spirits as a 'night cap' and beer on sunny afternoons.

I saw the progression, and I went the other way, from 'enjoying' a drink on special occasions, always socially, never home alone, to complete abstinence. I decided that I no longer wanted to enable the alcohol dependent person by drinking, or have the health complications.

Looking back on the drinking I have done over the years, it was always people that brought me pleasure, not that vile alcohol stuff that brought us together. Motivation for going to the pub was meeting certain people, not drinking particular beverages.

As you can imagine, I am going to gleefully report 'I never touch that poison' to a pollster, whereas my father would never report drinking more than he used to, because he didn't see what was going on with his liver (and wallet).

It's not just liver. Alcohol damages your brain to the point you become a literal brainlet.

Cocktails, on average, are like $15.

What did the industry expect?

Cocktails are margin error on drinking stats

Beer at bar $7. What did industry expect?

And, if you want to be overly precise, can you tell us the average prices and consumption for cocktails, shots, wine serving, and beer?

The rent is too damn high.

Totally not what the numbers say in TFA. Big shift from beer to liquor (which I presume to mean cocktails for a big share of that.)

Exactly. Add in tip + tax and you're not leaving without spending ~$40 for two cocktails and ~$60 for 3 cocktails. Many, if not most, people sit at bars doom-scrolling on their phone and generally are anti-social. It's just not a fun, enjoyable experience most of the time.

I'd love to see the drinking stats for male millennials over the past 15 to 20 years. I bet there's a big drop as they age out of prime beer drinking age and start moving into middle age. I say this as I'm part of that demographic, and I hardly drink anymore after having one or 2 craft beers a night in my 20s.

Edit: The downturn in drinking has huge ramifications for restaurants as they make a lot of profit on alcohol.

The real question is why the younger generations aren't adopting the same behaviors. Is there something special about millennials that they drank more or something special about Gen Z that they drink less?

When you see that "X" did shit to you parents then you probably won't want to use "X" anymore if you are remotely sane person.

Wait until future kids see what X (Twitter) does to society today.

I wasn't talking about that but yeah, both microblogging platforms, short form content and alcohol make a sponge out of your brain. Alcohol does it physically tho.

Kind of a junk article if it doesn't mention the effect of Ozempic/GLP-1s.

Americans drinking "alcohol". I thought this was about depletion of potable water.

"Drinking" in isolation refers to alcohol in idiomatic American English.

I wonder if any language doesn't assume "drinking" refers to alcohol?

I'm American, and had thought the same thing at first glance. My brain had expected the word "water" to be there, but wasn't.

Americans' disposable income and time remains at record low: Sofa Poll

Reply on news.ycombinator.com