{"id":660,"date":"2025-03-05T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-05T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/?p=660"},"modified":"2025-03-04T19:32:45","modified_gmt":"2025-03-05T00:32:45","slug":"genz-sober","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/index.php\/2025\/03\/05\/genz-sober\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunday Scaries to Sobriety: Gen Z\u2019s Gone Sober"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
By Anna Trevathan, Editor<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Everyone has their own reasons for going sober, I made the choice to be more health- and financially-conscious. Though I\u2019m by no means a health aficionado, I noticed that after drinking, I\u2019d spend one of my only two days off too sick to enjoy it. It felt like I was letting the \u201cSunday scaries\u201d (our generation\u2019s term for being too hungover to enjoy Sundays) and, by extension, alcohol run my life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Two
“True Story” and “Sunday Best” non-alcoholic mocktails served at Tazza Kitchen in Richmond, Virginia, featuring vibrant colors and fresh fruit | Anna Trevathan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After quitting, I was surprised to realize just how many of my fellow Gen Z-ers were quitting with me. It makes me wonder how the generation raised on Spring Breakers<\/em> and Jersey Shore<\/em> got sober. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, it\u2019s important to recognize just how much of our generation this shift includes. According to Gallup, 34% of Gen Z actively reduces their alcohol intake, while 24% doesn\u2019t drink at all, meaning more than one-third of our generation is willingly cutting back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This movement started slowly with Millennials but picked up speed rapidly with Gen Z during COVID-19. The pandemic hit just as many of us were graduating high school and entering the \u201cprime clubbing\u201d age. With those quintessential drinking milestones ripped away to leave only the current drinking scene left in its place, it\u2019s easy to see why our generation is leaning away from the traditional Saturday night out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result of COVID-19, Generation Z has started leaning away from the traditional \u201chappy hour\u201d of the previous generations. The death of the \u201chappy hour\u201d is also a result of remote jobs, having become the norm for many Gen Z employees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then there\u2019s the cost of drinking. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2023), the average American household spends $294 per year on alcohol consumed at home and a whopping $343 on alcohol consumed away from home. For a generation paying over $1,000 a month in rent in cities like Knoxville, drinking has become a luxury. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take X\u00fcl Beer Co. in Hardin Valley for example, where a 12-ounce beer costs anywhere from five dollars to seven fifty. Add a tip (because, let\u2019s be real, bartenders don\u2019t make enough), and suddenly, you\u2019re spending ten dollars on a single beer. When we\u2019re living in an \u201ceat or be eaten\u201d economy, skipping that trip to the bar becomes an easy choice.<\/p>\n\n\n