I've done a fair amount of research on alcohol consumption and behaviour in the night-time economy (see here, and here, and here, with more research accepted for publication that I will blog about later). That research was based on fieldwork conducted in 2014 and in 2019 in the Hamilton CBD. The one thing we most noticed about how nightlife had changed over that five-year period was how much quieter things were in 2019 than in 2014. The people who were drinking were just as intoxicated in 2019 as in 2014, but there were fewer of them. The decline was especially noticeable on Thursday and Saturday nights.
Such a rapid change in the nightlife came as a real surprise to us. But it may simply reflect a generational change in drinking behaviour, as outlined in this 2020 article by Rakhi Vashishtha (La Trobe University) and co-authors, and in this article in The Conversation this week, by Sarah MacLean (also La Trobe University) and co-authors. MacLean et al. first note that:
Young people in Australia, the UK, Nordic countries and North America have, on average, been drinking significantly less alcohol than their parents’ generation did when they were a similar age.
They then outline a number of possible explanations for this generational shift, including:
...uncertainty and worry about the future, concern about health, changes to technology and leisure, and shifting relationships with parents.
In relation to uncertainty, MacLean et al. note that:
A couple of decades ago, getting really drunk was widely regarded by many young people as a “rite of passage” into adulthood and a good way of taking time out from the routines of work and study.
Now, young people feel pressure to present as responsible and independent at an earlier age and some fear drinking to intoxication, and the loss of control it entails, will jeopardise their plans for the future.
Although, people who do drink may still do stupid things, especially if they suffer from FoMO.
On health concerns, MacLean et al. write:
Health and well-being also seem to be increasingly important to young people.
Research from 15-20 years ago found young people viewed the consequences of heavy drinking (vomiting, unconsciousness) positively, or at least ambivalently.
More recent studies suggest this has changed, with young people expressing concerns about risks to mental health and long-term physical health related to their alcohol use.
However, Australian and Swedish research also found some young people regard the social benefits of drinking as important to their well-being.
For many young people, however, this seems to involve moderate alcohol consumption, in place of the “determined drunkenness” observed in the 1990s and early 2000s.
In relation to changes in technology, MacLean et al. note that:
Technology has reshaped how young people socialise, with contradictory effects on youth drinking.
Social media provides new (less regulated) avenues for alcohol companies to promote their products. Holding a drink is de rigueur for a photo on social media celebrating a night out.
Yet, young people are also careful to manage their online images...
Our research found young people worry about who might see images of them drunk on social media (such as friends, family and future employers), a risk that is unique to this generation.
Finally, on relationships with parents:
Young people also spend more time with their parents, potentially developing more communicative relationships that reduce their need to drink and rebel.
It is interesting that there has been such a change in drinking behaviour among young people over a very short time. MacLean et al. have raised some interesting explanations for why, which may also apply to New Zealand (see this post for more on the shift in behaviour in New Zealand). It would be interesting to see what the relative contributions of these different explanations are to the change in behaviour, and indeed if there are other factors at play as well.
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