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Recent global figures on alcohol consumption showed that Boomers have the lowest drinking participation rate of any generation. Some outlets are saying this is proof that Gen Z aren’t big on moderation after all. Here’s why they’re wrong.
This is why statistics without context aren’t worth acknowledging.
Market research firm IWSR released its latest figures on alcohol consumption this week. Its twice-yearly survey includes data from thousands of adults across major global markets and provides a picture of how alcohol participation, drinking frequency, and consumption per occasion differ between generations.
The revelation immediately jumped on by digital outlets was that Boomers drank less than Gen Z, a cohort we constantly read are synonymous with moderation. While Boomers posted the lowest drinking participation rate of any generation at 71%, 74% of legal-drinking-age Gen Zers reported consuming alcohol at least once in the previous six months.
In that same period, more Millennials consumed alcohol than any other generation at 81%, and Gen X followed on 77%.
‘The narrative that Gen Z is the generation of moderation is now conclusively debunked,’ concluded IWSR president and managing director Marten Lodewijks. A handful of digital outlets have also gone with headlines about the Gen Z moderation ‘myth.’
So what’s going on? This whole time have we had it twisted about Gen Z being more selective and cautious than their predecessors when it comes to drink?
Nah, at least not according to the evidence presented here.
For one, moderation and abstinence are being treated as interchangeable when they aren’t. Moderation can mean drinking less frequently, consuming less per occasion, or taking extended breaks of sobriety. The statistic used here though only measures whether someone had a single alcoholic drink in the last six months.
By this metric, a single glass of champers to toast someone’s birthday is indistinguishable from eight doubles and four sambucas consumed in the beer garden every Thursday. The figure tells us that more young adults are participating in alcohol than three years ago, it doesn’t tell us how heavily or regularly they’re drinking compared to previous generations at the same age.
Even by the study’s limited measure, Gen Z participation was second only to people between 60 and 80 years old. The Ozzy Osbournes and Ricky Gervaises of this world aside, you’d assume that those under 30 and in the prime of their social lives are probably drinking more than those cashing in on their pensions or going to weekly hospital appointments. And even then, we’re only talking about a 3% discrepancy.
The main evidence behind IWSR’s argument appears to be that overall Gen Z participation has risen from 66% to 74% since 2023, bringing it closer to the 76% rate recorded across the whole adult population. In terms of the volume Gen Z drinks, there’s a stark absence of information. Those details are conveniently available for Boomers, though, who averaged 2.6 drinks per ‘session’, but alone they don’t support either side of the argument.
