Possibly a cause for shame but more likely something we should probably be pretty chuffed about: young people are sinking around half as much piss as they were 10 years ago.
The study targeted Australians, but Dr Michael Livingston, who helmed the study at La Trobe University‘s Centre for Alcohol Policy Research, says that this trend is happening more or less worldwide.
He says changes in how we socialise could be the reason, but there’s no real evidence yet to suggest that:
“My favourite theory of the many is that it is something to do with the way interaction has changed.“This is a cohort of young people who have grown up embedded in online interactions … the way they’re meeting each other, the way they interact with each other is quite different to previous generations.”
The study combed through population surveys of 124,440 Aussies aged 14 to 79 and also found that teen drinking is way down, with a 40% reduction in kids aged 14 – 17 hitting the grog, which means either they’ve found better shit to do, got into drugs instead or become better liars.
Source: ABC.
