The decrease in alcohol consumption is very real. About 35-40% of my friend group (25-30yo) has quit drinking since covid.

Based on observation of friends, coworkers + other randos I meet that don’t drink,
1. - health and wellness and
2. - financial aspects
are ‘feel good’ excuses to explain why they don’t drink… not the real reason.

1. - If they quit for health reasons, one would expect them to also eat healthy/avoid fast food, minimize screen time, get exercise, etc… but from what I’ve seen, this is not the case. They are no different than the degenerate alcoholics in these areas.

2 - While a night out drinking is absurdly expensive nowadays (at least where I live 🇨🇦), the sobers are no financially better off than the non-sobers. They are just spending their money elsewhere… sporting events, gambling/sports betting, car mods, man toys, impulse online purchases, etc. They aren’t actually being financially responsible, it’s an easy excuse.


So what is actually the reason they quit drinking then???
Answer = DOPAMINE.

Back in the early 2000s, the only readily accessible way to get quick dopamine was go to the club/bar and have some drinks. What else would you do for fun on a Friday night… sit at home and read a book? cook up a nice dinner? renovate the house you bought for $100k? go for a sunset walk?
All boring. You’re going out boozing and so is everyone else.

But nowadays when you’re bored there are infinite options for ‘fun’.
- scroll 1 of your 50 social media accounts
- watch a new show recommended to you by the algo
- watch streamers do any imaginable activity
- watch any sporting event taking place in any country on earth
- play video games
- gamble on anything you want
- …
the list goes on.

With so many other options, you don’t need to go drinking to get quick dopamine, you can sit in the comfort of your bed with your phone and get a bigger dopamine hit than the club.

There are simply too many other lower effort options than drinking… easy choice, quit drinking and spend that energy on another vice.