To wonder why the young people don't enjoy drinking alcohol

[OptimismvsRealism]

I mean I know some people have always not really liked it but why as a generation do they feel differently about it?

(Come to mind because I've decided to go sober for a few weeks and it's NO FUN and I want to know their secret).

Wacky baccy.
Wobbly eggs.
Molly.
Wonk.
Plus the fact that alcohol is really expensive these days compared to the quid-a-pint or two quid bottle of Mad Dog/Thunderbird that loomed large in my 1980s teenage years.
Ah...bright orange vomit, I don't miss that one bit...

Is it generational? I know plenty of young people who drink quite a lot. I was a teenager in the 90's and while I tried drinking a few times in my teens I just stopped bothering with alcohol by the time I was 18. I have no idea why other people are so enamoured by it myself.

I suppose looking back there was some idea that if you didn't drink their was something odd about you like it was something religious or you were an alcoholic neither of which are true for me it just leaves me cold.

I will say not drinking all my adult life has been wonderful for my skin, most people who drink frequently it does a number on their skin, especially once they get into their 40's and beyond, it all catches up with them so if younger people aren't drinking so much then good for them.

What’s to like about drinking alcohol..? I don’t like it - can’t see any positives to be honest!
tastes awful, makes me feel ill even after one or two glasses. Next day is so much harder! I enjoy the idea of a nice drink but the reality is always crap.

Neither of mine drink alcohol. One of them doesn't even drink fizzy drinks because they can't stand the bubbles. I'm not a drinker but my DH drinks every now and then. Both mine don't smoke either - they really hate it and hate the smell of vapes even more. It's just the way they are which is fine by me!

i don’t think that’s the norm either, they seem to abstain or be very moderate with alcohol substances. It’s an interesting demographic

More health conscious, more interested in looking good, worried about the risks of poor behaviour as everything is filmed and put on social media these days and never disappears.
I'm so glad I had my teen years before social media and video phones, I would not want pics of the states I got in still floating about somewhere.

drinking alcohol is not all that and i say that as someone who used to hit it hard every weekend/week. At 35 i gave up. Id just had enough of feeling like shit, wasting my weekends with hangovers etc. i felt great after a month, and now its great to always have a clear head, can drive when collecting teens at night etc. i don’t honestly think id ever go back to drinking 7.5 years on

My teenagers drink and so do all of their friends. They also take drugs. And go to the gym. And hold down jobs.

I do think they're drinking less though because as one of mine put it, why would they spend shitloads of money on getting drunk and then feel like shit the next day, when they could just spend a tenner on a pill and have a great night?

They seem more into the drug scene coke etc (not saying all ) but my niece who’s 17 says most of her friends do it instead of drinking

Because they've seen people who can't go out without getting blitzed and making a fool of themselves and don't want to be like that.

Is it? No judgement but I’ve never thought of an evening meal to be crap without a drink. I don’t like wine to be fair so I’m probably in the minority.

My son said drinking out is really expensive. He was starting to resent the ‘it’s your round’ because he doesn’t really like alcohol that much either and it was costing a fortune. When I was young you could go to a club and have a few drinks every weekend, it didn’t break the bank.

I’ve become quite paranoid about the health of my liver since watching a programme that your liver condition can contribute to dementia. Having cared for my mum with it till she passed it’s something I take seriously.

All the young people I know drink, but they tend to go for expensive cocktails rather than pints of Snakebite like I did. We drank to get drunk back in the day. Young people seem to be a lot more sensible regarding alcohol. It doesn't have to be an all or nothing thing though, there's nothing wrong with enjoying a glass of wine with dinner, just not every dinner every night.

Didn’t I just read an article that said alcohol is a lot more harmful for you than previously thought?
Even wine?

www.who.int/europe/news/item/04-01-2023-no-level-of-alcohol-consumption-is-safe-for-our-health

That's interesting.. Mine are 8 and 6 and we have never introduced anything other than water or milk at home.

They are given the option of squash, juice or a fruit shoot if at a party or we eat out (whatever is on the kids' menu!), but 9 times out of 10, my eldest will just ask for her water instead.

My youngest does however like a juice or fruit shoot and I wonder if that is the curse of the youngest having a sweeter tooth by virtue of being allowed more sugary things at a younger age when the eldest was having it! (I don't think my eldest touched chocolate before she was 3 or 4 🤣)

A shift in culture ? Not all cultures are as boozy as the Brits (whom the Romans noted liked binge drinking).

Sometimes it only takes the smallest shift in one place to effect a massive shift elsewhere. Given that Islam is hardly a cult these days, maybe having say 5%* of any given population as non-drinkers has some bearing on the rest ? And that is not to ignore the fact that Hindus and Rastafarians also shun alcohol (ironically an Arab word) as well as some Christians.

Meanwhile my friend Jenny thinks it's because we have run out of fun names for cocktails.

*No point doing too much research here, no one wants facts anyway.

Yeah for me a glass of wine is part of an excellent savoury meal. I'm never drunk and I don't get hangovers but I like everything about a glass of wine with food. It's delicious! To me, I get that not everyone likes it that's fine. But the earlier posters going on about how it's pathetic and my food must be disgusting are a bit odd. No need to get cranky if you're happy with your own choices.

The programme I watched recently said the glass of red wine is good for you was just a marketing ploy (rather like breakfast is the most important meal of the day, which was a marketing ploy by Kellogg’s in their earlier days, and it stuck.

It’s always a bit concerning if someone thinks things aren’t fun without alcohol. It’s probably a good thing to be cutting down OP, it certainly won’t hurt.

If you need alcohol go have fun then you’re drinking for the wrong reasons.

Don’t get me wrong I love a drink but I don’t need one to have fun.

Young people are much more health conscious these days.
Its also ridiculously expensive.

Even when I was young and drank a lot, I would binge on the weekend but I wouldn’t have it regularly like you do.

I definitely think having a regular drink with dinner or in the evening to relax, is more of an older person thing and always has been.

Most of the teens I know are athletes and that's why they don't drink!

It's not really a fun Friday night after you've swam 12k on a Friday, done an hours gym and then are back for training at 6am Saturday morning 😂

The ones I know at uni that have been athletes don't drink much but I suppose it's because they never really did or continue training.

The few I know that drink enjoy indulging massively 😂🤦‍♀️

I don't think anyone here needs it to have fun. I just like it. It's like saying do you need chocolate to have fun??

No. I just like it.

I don't really drink - I maybe have 4-5 drinks a year. I'm 35.

I enjoy the taste but not how it makes me feel afterwards, so I save it for special occasions and when I know I can "write off" the following day. Even one/two drinks impacts my sleep and makes me feel rubbish.

I've never linked alcohol to fun so can't really relate to that.

Drugs and social media are their life

Personally a glass of wine with a meal is the height of civilisation, after welfare, sanitation, housing, and all that boring stuff no one really wants.

Also if you miss it that much it might be time to cut down tbh!

Yes I recently heard that. I feel lucky really that I just don’t like alcohol very much. I was out with a couple of friends recently for lunch, they shared a bottle of wine and I had a mocktail. I never feel
pressurised to drink. My sons don’t seem that bothered by alcohol at all but I know my eldest did party hard at Uni.