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Is Gen Z drinking less than their Millennial and Gen X counterparts?
Last year, Time Magazine raised concerns that Gen Z is drinking less alcohol than previous generations.
“It is becoming clear that, for whatever reasons, today’s younger generations are just less interested in alcohol and are more likely than older generations to see it as risky for their health and to participate in periods of abstinence like Dry January,” George F. Koob, director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, told Time.
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the number of Americans ages 18 to 25 who reported alcohol use in the past month declined to 46.2% — down nearly 5% — between 2021 and 2025.
However, other articles have since contradicted this notion. “Gen Z is in their alcohol era,” a recent Business Insider article boasted.
“Seventy-four percent of Gen Zers report having had a drink over the past six months, up from 66% three years ago, according to IWSR,” BI’s Emily Stewart reported. “That’s in line with the 76% drinking rate of the total adult population, which has remained essentially stable from where it was three years ago.” That’s an 8% increase.
While the Time Magazine and Business Insider articles certainly make bold claims, ultimately the different data sets they are using point to conflicting trends. As a result, stories about Gen Z drinking are starting to feel akin to stories on whether or not red wine is healthy — you can find articles in favor or against depending which way you Google.
We checked in with Philly’s youngest legal drinkers — not for definitive answers, but to hear their take.
Philly’s Gen Z drinking scene
Like every new generation, Philadelphians born after 1997 are dealing with socioeconomic shifts and cultural hurdles unique to them. Gen Z has grown up in a time of smartphones, shifting marajuana laws, inflation and a COVID pandemic — all of which could affect drinking habits.
Sophia Tronnes is a 22-year-old Temple student, studying public relations and political science. She said she believes that social media is affecting the way her peers go out.
“People say it’s killed club culture,” Tronnes said. “I think there’s a lot of public shame that goes along with certain things because you don’t know who’s recording. You don’t know who’s judging you. You don’t know who’s posting what.”
She’s seen instances of videos getting posted online after a night out and the person in said video getting mocked for their “sloppy” behavior the night before.
“Knowing that someone could be recording you kind of puts you on edge, so you don’t let loose and have as much fun. I think that’s something that is very unique to Gen Z,” Tronnes said.
Gianna Voges, 22, works two jobs as a contract journalist and restaurant worker. When she decides to abstain from a night out, it’s often due to cost and burnout.
“I feel like I’m constantly working,” Voges said. “So when I do have a night out with my friends, it feels like just another work night for me … I think a big issue is pricing, too. I don’t think Gen Z is drinking less. I just think they’re not drinking other places more because I haven’t seen a cocktail below $15 in I don’t know how long, especially in the city.”
Mario Rodriguez, 24, noted that when his friends drink, they often stay in.
“I feel like the majority of my peers … would be drinking a lot at home,” Rodriguez said. Or when they do go out, they are pre-gaming at home to save money.
He also noted that his generation may be drinking less due to a heightened awareness over the “effects of alcohol and alcoholism” thanks to the internet. Still, not everyone we chatted with believed that Gen Z’s drinking habits were actually so different from previous generations.
“I honestly really never understood where those (ideas) were coming from,” said 22-year-old Tess Margis. “My friends and I go out a lot. I have plans to go out to both my hometown bars and the different bars in Philly over the next couple weeks with different groups of friends.”
Margis is also “not too picky” with what she likes to order.
“I like a beer. I like a Surfside can cocktail. Sometimes I go for a mixed drink,” Margis said. “Every once in a while, vodka soda, vodka sour, amaretto sour.”
While Tronnes noted she was weary of social media, she also thinks that reports of Gen Z drinking less are overblown.
“I think it is just a bit surprising to me, because everyone, at least in my social circle, drinks,” she said. “Maybe not to the extent that their parents did or millennials did, but we all partake. We all go out to bars, and I know, myself, for certain, I drink more than, like, my parents do.”
“I’m typically in those comments, being like, I don’t know where this information’s coming from, because everyone I know personally, at least, does drink.”
Philly bars weigh in
When it comes to Philly’s bar scene, certain spots have noticed that there is indeed a shift in the way that Gen Z is coming out.
“I tend to mostly see our Gen Z customers, honestly, during the daytime,” said Renata Vesey, co-owner of Dock Street Brewery. “A lot of people will come in and work, you know, work from home. I call it ‘work from brewery,’ and set up with their laptop and we have an espresso machine.”
“Maybe coffee culture is becoming more important to this upcoming generation.”
William Reed, co-owner of Standard Tap and Johnny Brenda’s, said that he also has sensed a downtick in Gen Z’s drinking culture. At Johnny Brenda’s, which features live bands, revenue from drink sales are key to the business model.
“We actually make no money on the tickets to shows,” he said. “Usually over 85% of their ticket revenue goes to the band, and then the 15% is defraying costs related to the show.”
This is then a major issue, if younger patrons aren’t ordering as many drinks.
“What we see when we have shows that draw primarily from a 21- to 29-year-old crowd, we see people on average getting basically one drink, but that’s on average over the whole crowd,” Reed said. “So there’s probably 30% of people that don’t get any drinks at all, and it’s really making us rethink how our model is going to work.
“Every venue in the country is looking at these things and thinking about it, right?” he said. “Because you’re just sort of like, do I have to change my whole business model to figure it out?”
Vesey is facing a similar problem.
“I really don’t see a lot of them drink very much, but I would definitely say they go more for cocktails than beer,” Vesey said. “I don’t know exactly why that is. If I did, I would have a really great recipe for success and be able to sell that secret.”
Both Vesey and Reed pointed to a number of factors that could be affecting business.
“I talked to one of our staffers, our manager Abby Stover, who is 22. She is really wise beyond her years, and she’s Gen Z, so she’s kind of like our resident Gen Z voice. And sometimes I’ll have an idea that is so millennial-coded, and I ask her about it, and she’s like, you know, yes or no, or whatever, and we go back and forth,” Vesey explained.
“She said that Gen Z is more likely to want to smoke marijuana or consume it in some way, vape or edibles, rather than drink a beer, and that’s just what she notices with her friends and people that she talks to.”
Reed also pointed to smartphones as a potential culprit.
“I think having cellphones in everybody’s pocket and everybody’s hands is part of the reason,” he said. “The socialization and the feel that you’re getting socialization is scratched to some extent by people scrolling on social media.”
“I don’t think it’s quality time with your friend,” he added. “It’s sort of like the junk food equivalent of it.”
“Everyone in the industry is worried,” Vesey said. “I am knocking on wood right now, but I feel OK. I feel like we’re positioned well because we do so many experiential things, and we have such a great wood-fired pizza program and such great food that we don’t rely on alcohol sales as much.”
Still, even with all the uncertainty, Reed didn’t want to say whether this trend he’s seen is here to stay.
“It’s not all across the board. Like other people, we started to notice some upswing that maybe that trend’s not going to hold forever,” Reed said. “It’s hard to say. It’s a little early to say whether it’s coming back [or] how much it’s going to be coming back.”
