A 27-year-old woman recently turned to TikTok to share her feelings about the younger generation.
Olivia Waldron (@oliviajadew) explains that she has a "real issue" with how sensible Gen Z is after noticing this trend on social media and having a recent conversation with her 20-year-old cousin.
The key account manager told Newsweek: "I don't think the younger generation is missing out by not being big drinkers, per se—but I think they're missing out on letting loose, making a few silly mistakes, and having a laugh.
"You've got your whole life to be sensible and focus on wellness. You're meant to have no cares and responsibilities when you're young; they should make the most of that."
Indeed, those born between 1997 and 2012 have a different attitude towards partying than their older counterparts. In August, a study by Gallup titled "Alcohol Consumption Increasingly Viewed as Unhealthy in the U.S." found that alcohol consumption among young adults has significantly declined.
In 2001-2003, 72 percent of adults aged 18 to 34 drank alcohol, whereas today, only 59 percent do—a 13 percent drop. This shift may be influenced by changing perceptions, as 65 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds now consider alcohol harmful, the highest rate of any age group.
Currently, drinking rates for adults 55 and older are similar to those of the younger group. Middle-aged adults have the highest rates, with 69 percent of those aged 35 to 54 drinking and 58 percent among those over 55.
Generational trends expert Daniel Levine told Newsweek: "Gen Z's focus on wellness and sobriety will turn them into priggish parents whose children will rebel against that prudery. In the trends world, this is known as a 'generational pendulum' in which behaviors or traits swing back and forth from one generation to another.
"Gen Z might be healthier than the binge drinking generations before them, but no one will argue that they had more fun."
Newsweek also discussed the clip captioned, "Make some terrible choices and come back to me," with Ruth Camp-Hernandez, a mental health counselor at AddictionResource.net.
"Gen Z are staying true to themselves," she said. "They are not going anywhere with their alcohol and finding ways to have fun elsewhere. They are firmly upending the notion that you need to drink in order to have fun and hang out with friends."
In her video, Waldron, who lives in Manchester, England, explained that she expects gossip from her cousin, who studies in the same city. However, she doesn't get any of it, as Gen Z prioritizes their health and well-being.
Waldron told Newsweek: "The skincare revolution is so apparent on social media too—you ask anyone my age if they had a five-step skincare routine at university, and they'd laugh at you.
"You'd usually wake up in last night's make-up, but that would be sacrilege to a 20-year-old today, it seems."
Waldron shared her advice for Gen Z with Newsweek: "Less matcha, more morning debriefs with your friends, and swap the fancy skincare for fancy dress; live a little."
TikTok Reacts
So far, the October 22 video has 37,800 views and more than 130 comments.
One user said: "Social media has everybody to scared to go out and be wild! personally, everybody having a camera on their phone is the reason I no longer do kareoke."
"As a 20 year old at uni - we can't afford it!!! We also can't afford to miss lectures etc if we don't do well we won't afford to live," another user said.
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