Bring Back the Booze (Responsibly)

Why Gen Z Should Drink More

I recently celebrated the Fourth of July with a small group of friends. We drank Everclear—95% alcohol by volume—and had a grand old time celebrating America's 249th birthday. We're fortunate to live in a free country where such merriment is both permitted and possible.

Sadly, Gen Z has largely spurned the bottle, and I see this as a net negative development. Of course, drinking too much or too often poses serious health risks, and thousands of individuals and families have been devastated by alcoholism. It's also a good thing that my generation is more responsible with alcohol than our forebears. We can call an Uber rather than drive home after a night at the bar, for instance.

However, alcohol has long been a key feature of most societies because it is generally consumed in a social context and helps lower our inhibitions. A beer with colleagues after work, for example, makes it easier to loosen up and connect. Humans are social animals, and the fact that young people now spend less time with friends and more time on their phones than previous generations likely contributes to higher rates of anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges among Gen Z.

While socialization doesn't require drinking, it has historically occurred in that context across nearly every culture. The decline of alcohol consumption among young people feels like a classic example of Chesterton's fence: the idea that if you come across a fence, you shouldn't remove it just because you don't see its purpose. Instead, you should first understand why it was put there. What seems like an unnecessary or outdated social custom, like drinking, may actually serve an important function that's not immediately visible.

Personally, I believe drinking in moderation is beneficial. An equilibrium where more young people drank responsibly would be healthier than the extremes of either excessive drinking or not drinking at all.