To think 16 year olds don't go out to clubs and parties anymore?

[Todayisaday]

I was in secondary for the 90s, and at around 16, we were all clubbing and going to raves, pubs, gigs and generally having a whale of a time. I know my parents generation were out a lot too by 16.

I know quite a few 16 year olds children of friends and relatives and they don't seem to go out very much at all like that.
Am I unreasonable to think that this generation are not party people??

Asking as so much culture and new music was created in generations past and fuelled by younger generations pushing boundaries. But either I am old and zi just dont know about these things, or youth culture is genuinly stiffled. They seem to all listen to 90s music atm 😂or mainstream music?
What do you think about it? What do you know that I don't as I am too old 😂

18 year olds don't seem to be doing much of it either tbf.

I don’t think you’re wrong OP. I was 15 in 1990 and started going to pubs and nightclubs then, there were places well known for underage drinking and the clubs never asked for ID. Summer-born DS is in yr 13 and only the 18+ kids go to clubs. They do have house parties though not at my house.

It's very much an ID thing and the inability to get in with fake or no ID - a lot of teens are suddenly clubbing and pubbing all the time once they turn 18. (In fact it's quite common to go to a club on the dot of midnight if you have a weekend birthday).

Before that it's house parties.

Teenagers do.seem younger these days
But im.51_I think buying a flat in your gasp year would have been unsusal even 30/40/years ago.

I was a teenager in the 90s and your experience is nothing like that of my friends or me. We went clubbing occasionally, maybe once a term, but we were doing things like music, Guides and ballet classes in the evening and studying for A-levels.

No one bought a house until at least mid 20s.

Although I believe it's factually true that current teens drink less alcohol. I think that's a good thing.

They do around here! Certainly much harder to go to pubs etc due to them being far stricter but definitely house parties with music and drinks, or meeting in parks/fields etc in the summer. Obviously not all teens but definitely groups from each year.

You clearly know different 18 year olds to me :)

TBF it can be awkward for 18 year olds if half their friends are still 17, so can't go to the same places as them.

Gasp year! Love it.

I used to find clubs really boring. Liked a good pub.

This is what I used to do to get into clubs. We made sure a few people were in between us though!

Mine (Y12) is out all the time! Mostly friends houses, or the beach. They all go out to eat too, to Nandos etc. They go to the driving range or Goals. They still go out to play football. None of them are big drinkers.
They are quite happy to walk or public transport, but we (parents) do offer lifts and some are new drivers 🙈
They aren't legal and licensing is much stricter than it was in my day.
Music wise, absolutely all sorts

Technology has improved so much it can hound out fake ID''S.

My friend's son borrowed some fake ID, it was scanned at the door and he
was refused entry as the actual person was already in the venue.

Drinking at house parties seems to be a popular thing still - lots of those (limited amount of low alcohol drinks bought by willing parents who tend to stay in the house during the party, but out of sight). Usually single sex rather than mixed though.

I feel there is a huge gap in the market for things that 16-18 year olds can go to - I’m involved with our local YFC and they have only really started letting 16 year olds into parties which is great, obviously they can buy alcohol but at least they are getting out and socialising with other kids their age! When I was 15 I made myself a fake ID and away I went but it’s almost impossible for an U18 to get into late night venues these days!

Who are in the clubs where you are then?

DC didn't club or pub until he turned 18, then he was out loads. They could shuffle a few fake ID kids in once a few of them were 18. It seems the norm where we are, though things are slower right now as many are doing ALevels.
If I do into town at the weekend, the streets are full of young people, many clearly younger than 18 - I think these kids drink/smoke in local parks.

I'm coming up to 40 and still get asked for ID sometimes. I don't think 16 year olds have much chance of getting into a club or served in a pub.

My ds is 17...when I was his age I was getting drunk, going clubbing...he seems to have no interest in those things. He goes to the gym and occasionally plays football in the park with his friends. That's about it really. I find it quite sad in a way...not that I want him getting pissed but I just assumed he'd have the same sort of teenage years as I did

Totally agree. And especially fun, indoor social spaces for girls age 16-18 but also mixed sex.

McDonald’s seems to be filling this gap currently. It needs public funding as will never be commercially viable but so important for youth development and wellbeing.

(response to @Matilda1981 )

My early 20s nephew only had a short phase of going out. Now hes more into keeping fit. Rarely goes out to nightclubs.

A lot of younger people literally can’t afford to go out every sat night though like we did, as have you seen the price of drinks in a bar recently?! They have more options now in how to meet people, in regards to dating, so again is going out on the pull, as we used to call it, not a thing now? ha ha! my life centred around Saturday night in my late teens to mid twenties, to let off steam and have a laugh with friends.

I did the same as you OP. I think it’s a shame my DC won’t follow the same “right of passage”. It was such fun, and the music in the clubs!

The same with going into town to buy a new outfit for going out, as high streets are so dire now. So DC and friends order clothes off the internet. That’s a shame too.

Loved the 90s.

Yes agreed. I was in nightclubs at 15. Not necessarily sure I want DD doing the same, but ID tightening has meant it’s impossible. DD (in Y12) is on the more introvert end of the scale, but even her more sociable friends seems to rarely attend house parties etc.

Loved going into town on a Saturday afternoon to buy something new to wear that night, was such a good feeling!

@Comedycook but what makes it sad?
I was dragged along to pubs/gigs/clubs a few times by my mates in my late teens and I was bored out my mind at them.
There was very little socialising as you couldn't hear yourself think let alone have a conversation 😂

Clubs and pubs are really really strict now. If you’re not 18 or have someone you look likes Id you are not getting in. We’ve been challenged as a family when our teens weren’t even drinking alcohol. So it’s not their fault to be fair.

I was a teen in the 80s, turned 15 in 87. I was a typical teen going out all the time, (certainly typical in places I lived, the people around me, everyone used to be out at our - really shit and limited - “clubs” where I lived, and also where we went to uni etc) id was rarely asked for and I looked much older than my age and actually had been into pubs even before that age (not drinking before that tho). So, yeah much partying was had over those years! I even went to my favourite pub from about aged 16, yet celebrated my 18th in there too! It is far more strict with regards to id these days tho, but not only that, i recently read a report saying that (i think) around 1/3 of venues (including small music venues etc as well) have now closed permanently since the pandemic and that number is going down still, and it’s such a shame. I’d imagine in uni towns and cities it wouldn’t be as bad but generally I guess that any teens over the last 5 years will actually be growing up with less of a clubbing culture anyway. Such a shame, really!