Kim Macdonald: Shift in the way younger people socialise the simple reason why Gen Z aren’t boozing

Nightclub operator Jon Sainken made a profit at his Club Bay View every week for 35 years — until it was hit with two forces the likes of which the world had never seen before. The first was COVID. The second was gen Z. Life is different for this generation of sober-curious online addicts, the sons and daughters of millennials and gen X nightclubbers who used to spend half their weekends drunk or hungover. Sainken recently closed Club Bay View in Claremont, ending its decades as a western suburbs institution, claiming he did not know how to turn a profit from a generation that is saying no to booze and outrageous nightclub behaviour. As the kids would say, it’s just too cringe. New research from Flinders University shows gen Z were nearly 20 times more likely to not drink alcohol compared to baby boomers, even after adjusting for sociodemographic factors. Millennials and gen X — aged 29 to 60 — take the cake for binge drinking. But young Australians aged under 28 tend to drink moderately, and they are not alone. Multiple studies have discovered the same sustained change in behaviour of young people across the world, including Europe and America. But what is driving it? In my view, the shift in the way younger people socialise is a massive factor. My party days long, long ago took place in a very different social landscape. Socialising was usually crammed into one night a week and alcohol was a social lubricant which helped people to bond with others, let off steam or confront an enemy. In many cases, the “popular” students and young adults role modelled drinking. It may have been that alcohol facilitated what some psychologists note as a hallmark of popularity among young people — and that is the ability to effectively use relational aggression like bullying, or to engage in prosocial behaviour, which is sharing, caring and kindness. But these days, young people don’t need to be drunk to say “I love you man,” or to exclude someone from the group. That’s what social media is for. Young keyboard warriors can write “You look gorgeous babes,” or post a vomit emoji on social media without an ounce of Dutch courage. It seems the goals of achieving connection and social status have remained the same over the decades, but the way young people go about it has shifted online. And given alcohol is something that people usually consume in the company of others, there is less opportunity these days now that a lot of face-to-face interaction has been replaced with group chats, particularly amid the cost-of-living crisis. The rise of social media and phone cameras also seems to have made younger people highly conscious of how they look. A bad photo with the panda eyes, sweaty hair and a sloppy drunken expression is not a good look. At the back of their mind, they are aware of their digital footprint, and the images or footage they don’t want immortalised online. Social media has also seen the rise of wellness influencers appealing to the sober-curious. Substantial numbers of kombucha-drinking youngsters have embraced mindfulness and are aware of the need to protect their mental health, which they know is worsened by excess alcohol. (If only they would realise the impact of excess social media.) While peer pressure will always exist in some form, overt pressure to drink is not considered cool these days. Gen Z is more accepting of differences and personal choice, embracing a “you do you” mentality when it comes to drinking, drug-taking, gender orientation and sexuality. One popular, young, teetotalling friend told me that the times she has declined alcohol at a party has usually led those who offered to apologise genuinely and profusely. And then there is Paul Dillon, who speaks at many high schools as part of his role at Drug and Alcohol Research and Training Australia. He has somehow managed to make responsible drinking or abstinence cool. My young friends tell me his photo is sometimes glued on cups and walls at parties, reminding young people whether they are drinking alcohol or not, they should enjoy an occasional water break and eat some food. Janis Joplin would turn over in her grave if she knew. But it is a change that was probably long overdue.