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U.S. alcohol consumption drops to a 90-year low, new poll finds

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Re: U.S. alcohol consumption drops to a 90-year low, new poll finds

#191

Post by sillyfluke »

Balgair wrote: post #138
atsushin wrote: post #14

There was a pretty good Kurzgesagt video posted earlier today on alcohol in general: https://youtu.be/aOwmt39L2IQ The shift in perception of alcohol is certainly a good sign. Even outside of the health benefits, a night out at the bar is expensive now (at least on the East Coast) and honestly speaking other drugs are simply more cost-effective. I still have the occasional cocktail when going out with friends but now…

> a night out at the bar is expensive now I mean, I understand the economics of it. Rent, wages, pricing, supply and demand, etc. But, like, how messed up are things that hooch is too expensive. Like, it literally grows on trees (if you leave it there a bit). Booze is the thing where sales go up when things get worse (lipstick too, right?). I'm not saying this is a bad thing that we're not drinking as much, but I am…

This stat is way less interesting when it turns out the main driver for the drop is the economy, which my bet is on, and which is why the article buries that cause and puts it towards the end of the article. If the stat can't survive a booming economy it's kind of meaningless.

But it might be very interesting for another reason: it might be confirming the perception of the economy is at an all time low as well.

Re: U.S. alcohol consumption drops to a 90-year low, new poll finds

#192

Post by sillyfluke »

weinzierl wrote: post #56
chiffre01 wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anecdotally it seems like alcohol is being replaced with weed or other things. But it doesn't bode well for the future of mental health if social drinking is being replaced with solo drug use or just solo everything.

Quite to the contrary. A big part of alcohol use is group pressure. Much better for everyone if people enjoy their drugs alone.

Yeah my guess is that this stat won't survive a booming economy. Younger generations are social drinkers and they are skipping drinks when eating out and going out less in general since they're cash strapped.

So it's meaningless in this regard, but the stat might still be useful in showing just how fucked the economy truly is.

Re: U.S. alcohol consumption drops to a 90-year low, new poll finds

#193

Post by FMecha »

dadrian wrote: post #121

It's because GenZ is addicted to nicotine and millennials are all using legal weed. We've just replaced one substance with some others, rather than started abstaining.

>It's because GenZ is addicted to nicotine

Which IMO speaks into failure of tobacco control and why "tobacco harm reduction" is a lie (dogwhistle, even) designed to sell and even invent more neo-nicotine products (vape and pouches, among others) while distorting smoking statistics (and statements - people saying they "quit" by switching to neo-nicotine products, while in reality they just switch their addiction intake).

Re: U.S. alcohol consumption drops to a 90-year low, new poll finds

#194

Post by FMecha »

mrtksn wrote: post #23

Such a sad development, Young people need to drink more and socialize. No wonder the virginity rates are skyrocketing. You don't get into situations by getting stoned at home. Sure it is bad for your body but when used in moderation the benefits are much much more than that risk. What a scam the weed culture is. Maybe we should ban it again together with the social media to save the birth rates and the society in gen…

>No wonder the virginity rates are skyrocketing.

This makes me wonder if society being taught importance of soberity in (sexual) consent is also a factor as well. Knowing that, they might as well avoid alcohol as well.

(Dicslosure: I grew up in place where alcohol use is not the norm. I don't drink either.)

Re: U.S. alcohol consumption drops to a 90-year low, new poll finds

#195

Post by moi2388 »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #186
moi2388 wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can’t just test their liver to see if they have alcohol damage? Generally most patient who come in present no indications of alcohol poisoning whatsoever

Alcohol damages more than the liver, and tests are not always accurate nor comprehensive.

Ah yes. Tests fail to detect any of the detrimental effects of alcohol, so it’s the test that is flawed, you actually have severe damage that is somehow undetectable. Sounds legit dude

Re: U.S. alcohol consumption drops to a 90-year low, new poll finds

#196

Post by doright »

gwbas1c wrote: post #120
afroboy wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One drink lead to another.

For an alcoholic, yes. I have that problem with candy and junk food. Other people have it with video games. It's better not to judge.

Yeah, I consider myself lucky I avoided drinking decades ago. I say "lucky" I because I was able to view alcohol consumption as a risk-reward tradeoff and guessed (correctly) that I was abnormally vulnerable to addiction due to upbringing. I sometimes feel smart for figuring it out, but honestly if I had just been invited to more parties early on I might still be going to AA meetings by now.

So I do not at all blame the newer generations for following in my footsteps, regardless of the reason. This stuff can be life-ruining with the correct combination of nature and nurture.

I think for some backgrounds like mine, the only way to avoid the worst outcomes of addiction is to declare that such a background precludes any consumption of [substance], full stop. It's not something people want to hear, but I believe there really was no other choice for me in hindsight.

Re: U.S. alcohol consumption drops to a 90-year low, new poll finds

#197

Post by lotsofpulp »

moi2388 wrote: post #195
lotsofpulp wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Alcohol damages more than the liver, and tests are not always accurate nor comprehensive.

Ah yes. Tests fail to detect any of the detrimental effects of alcohol, so it’s the test that is flawed, you actually have severe damage that is somehow undetectable. Sounds legit dude

My comment does not imply any amount of alcohol causes severe damage. Your comment implied that a liver test was sufficient to claim alcohol was not causing damage.

Re: U.S. alcohol consumption drops to a 90-year low, new poll finds

#198

Post by comte7092 »

darth_avocado wrote: post #140
thewebguyd wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> being replaced with solo drug use or just solo everything. Solo everything is definitely happening. People are getting priced out, and the third place ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_place ) has pretty much disappeared everywhere. Gen Z is considered the loneliest generation, and its easy to see why. COVID messed things up too, and there's a lot of kids and young adults that have not been properly socialized.…

> people are getting priced out Alcohol is still cheaper than pretty much all the substances that are replacing it and you don’t need to go to a bar to have it. You can get 30 rack for about $20 and hang out in a park with your buddies to finish it.

You can get an ounce of weed for $20 in Oregon right now.

For reference, that will get you and your friends absolutely blasted for way more than a single evening.

Re: U.S. alcohol consumption drops to a 90-year low, new poll finds

#199

Post by cedws »

socalgal2 wrote: post #63
atsushin wrote: post #14

There was a pretty good Kurzgesagt video posted earlier today on alcohol in general: https://youtu.be/aOwmt39L2IQ The shift in perception of alcohol is certainly a good sign. Even outside of the health benefits, a night out at the bar is expensive now (at least on the East Coast) and honestly speaking other drugs are simply more cost-effective. I still have the occasional cocktail when going out with friends but now…

> The shift in perception of alcohol is certainly a good sign. Is it? That same video, in the last 2-3 mins, mentioned all the positives of alcohol and ton of possibly related fallout from social drinking going down. People being lonely and depressed instead of socializing. If I had to choose between living an extra few years but being lonely and depressed vs living a few less years but enjoying them a bunch more I'd…

I live in Japan at the moment and from what I've observed, people enjoy the night a lot more than in London. I'm 24 and almost never see people my age in central London - it's simply too expensive for anyone to really hang out there. The busy pubs that people do go to are £8 a pint and have terrible service.

I feel that Japan is a place where you can really enjoy yourself at night. You don't have to worry about your phone being stolen, being ripped off or drugged, or having to pay for an extortionate taxi ride as long as you can wait long enough for the first train. London nightlife is worse in every way besides nightclubs.

Re: U.S. alcohol consumption drops to a 90-year low, new poll finds

#200

Post by socalgal2 »

Symbiote wrote: post #181
socalgal2 wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You might be right. Maybe it's solely cultural inertia and the fact that there are tons of izakaya that can take a group from 2 to 24 and up, whereas there aren't many places to play boardgames. You can offer someone's house but that's usually less convenient geographically in my experience. Someone's house might not be clean, they have to plan ahead. Someone's house might not have snacks. They either have to get som…

The cards was an aside. What you describe sounds very similar to going to a pub in Britain, a tapas bar in Spain or a beer hall in Germany. (Presumably some traditional American equivalent, but I don't know the name.) "And sometimes going to 2nd, 3rd, or 4th outings" is called a pub crawl or bar crawl in English.

I think pub in Britain, tapas bar in Spain, beer hall in Germany are all similar to izakaya in Japan. In the USA though, the USA arguably doesn't have an analog to those. The USA has sports bars. Sports bars have 12 to 50 TVs up to watch sports. It's not the same vibe at all. Sports bars have very bad food, unlike izayaka (and maybe tapas bars).

In the USA you also generally have to drive which limits the drinking. I don't know about Germany/Spain/Britain in general but certainly places like Berlin/Barcelona/London it's easy to go out drinking without having to drive.

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