This article was written by The Zillennial Zine’s spring editorial intern Amna Faheem. Find her on Instagram at @amnaf.aheem. If you would like to share an article with The Zillennial, send us an email at thezillennialzine@gmail.com.
Party culture in America has been overrun by excessive drinking and the pressure of engaging in alcohol consumption to be able to have fun. The idea of going on sober is met with curiosity and sometimes disdain- “How can you go out and have fun without drinking?” Drinking has taken over our ability to genuinely enjoy our time together and to connect with one another on a night out authentically. Having fun has become a game of who can drink the most, how drunk one can get before blacking out, how many shots one can take, which cocktail is the best, and which beer is the cheapest. Laughing and dancing are not possible without the boost of vodka and talking to people is unlikely without chugging a Beatbox prior. We forgot how to have fun and not drink.
The History Behind Alcohol
Drinking culture in America is ingrained in our social lives. Gatherings are not attended without pre-gaming before, and the presence of alcohol is usually requested in addition to people bringing their own beverages. It didn’t always used to be like this, though. Alcohol used to be a necessity, a substitution for drinking potentially unsafe water before its required purification. Between the late 1700s and mid-1800s, alcohol consumption rose from 5.8 gallons to 7.1 gallons per year. The 19th century saw alcohol being consumed at around three times more than the present day. Taverns and pubs became places to congregate with friends after long days at work, drinking beers and laughing your woes away. Its evolution is interesting- from something that was needed to stay safe to something that is now regularly abused.
Alcohol largely came to a halt during the prohibition. People were supposedly- forced to learn how to have fun and not drink. However, the 18th Amendment that banned the production and sale of the beverage did not sway the people. Motivated by the growing concerns about how alcohol was influencing families and society as a whole, the Women’s Christin Temperance Union, among other organizations, pushed for the drink to be outlawed. In 1984, the legal drinking age became 21, thanks to the National Minimum Drinking Age Act. Drinking driving and fatalities related to the crime were rising, alarming families and communities. Ironically, the prohibition did not decrease alcohol use and production but just made it sneakier and unregulated. The effects alcohol had were starting to get noticed. Domestic violence, poverty, crime, organized crime, and overall societal complications began to arise at the hands of increased alcohol use.
While having fun became reliant on drinking, so did the troubles of our culture.
As time went on, drinking started to show up in media and entertainment as a vital ingredient in the recipe for going out and partying. Television shows and movies told us we needed to drink to have a good time. Crazy nights out and stories to last a lifetime were not possible without drinking; Sobriety was not in the equation and even hindered your chances of taking advantage of the night fully. Alcohol was a stress reliever. It was a focal point of celebrations, of being more confident and relaxing. Social anxiety was cured by it. Euphoria was caused by it. Troubles were solved by it, and joy was created by it. ‘Liquid Courage’ was the key to being comfortable and being able to socialize.
Peer pressure also plays a heavy hand in alcohol use. Even if you know how to have fun and not drink, sometimes the company you keep doesn’t let you do that. To stay included, you have to finish this cup or take this shot. Cultures are created around drinking; traditions are kept alive by signature drinks. We can no longer seem to have fun without drinking copious amounts of alcohol.
How We Approach Drinking Now
Presently, drinking is not as common as it used to be. Millennials and the generations following do not seem to engage with it as much as previous age groups. The health impacts are more known. Liver damage. Heart disease. Mental health. Cancer. These potential effects on the body have increasingly deterred our generation from drinking more and more. Blacking out and waking up with mysterious injuries and bruising is no longer a writ of passage. Hangovers are unattractive, and memory loss is unappealing.
A majority of us have decided that drinking is not worth it anymore. Dry January gathers a wider audience each year, with a 36 percent increase happening as previous years have passed. Between 2023 and 2025, there was a five percent decrease in Americans drinking alcohol, and 65 percent of Gen Z declared they don’t plan on drinking alcohol as they ring in the new year. California sober- coming marijuana and not engaging in anything else- is garnering a large fanbase.
New Wave of Being Sober
Having fun and being sober is not the unsightly idea it was once. With more individuals becoming ‘sober curious,’ the way in which we consume alcohol and view it as a facet of our social life has been scrutinized. People are taking care of their health in ways they didn’t before. Wellness, both physically and mentally, has taken precedence, and sleeping with your head in the toilet after coming home is not the fun it was thought to be decades ago. Non-alcoholic options are becoming more popular, and even N.A. beers and wines have started taking space on shelves.
When people go out now, they want to be present. Forming true connections and engaging in conscious conversations is a must. There is an air of understanding now when friends and guests decline an alcoholic beverage that was not there before. A Friday night used to mean dressing up and abusing alcohol at the bars, barely making it home, and not remembering anything the morning after while calling it ‘a movie.’ Now, there are alternatives. Drunk driving is not the brag it used to be and has transformed into an action that is greatly frowned upon. Even people with religious reasons for not drinking, like Muslims, are no longer as ridiculed as they used to be for not partaking in the activity.
Drinking is no longer all the rage it once was. As our culture has changed and shifted, so has our view on the substance. We have learned how to have fun and not drink.
Have you been sober, or have become sober curious? Have you ever done Dry January? Let us know in the comments below!
Leave a Reply