Decline in teen drug use continues, surprising experts

Gen Z here and people are definitely still doing drugs and drinking, but it does seem massively less.

Just a personal anecdote, but there’s still a lot of house parties and stuff going on, and most people will have a couple drinks, some will have none, etc. But you are absolutely expected to handle yourself appropriately, getting too drunk or taking drugs you couldn’t handle isn’t tolerated and you’ll find yourself uninvited to future events. It is significantly more socially acceptable to drink no alcohol and take no drugs, than it is to get too drunk and act inappropriately.

> It is significantly more socially acceptable to drink no alcohol and take no drugs, than it is to get too drunk and act inappropriately

From what I’ve seen, this is partly a function of embedded social media. A drunk night at a friend’s isn’t just a bad decision, it reflects poorly on everyone in the room, including the host, in a semi-permanent and semi-public way.

Handling your stuff isn't all that new. Unless you're hanging with very close friends you always needed to not be a problem or you wouldn't get invited back.

I'm curious what GenZ+ thinks about the movie "The Boys & Girls Guide to Getting Down" which is a tongue-in-cheek, funny look at mid 00's partying culture in LA. That's not really my generation, but is a bit of a window into what I think was the last generation to really embrace intoxication.

As a millennial this is just great.

The more i read about GenZ’rs and their attitude to work and life the more i like this generation.

Yes, people should be expected to handle themselves appropriately. Getting black-out wasted with alcohol is not cool. It’s just unhealthy. Way to go!

  getting too drunk or taking drugs you couldn’t handle isn’t tolerated
  and you’ll find yourself uninvited to future events. It is significantly
  more socially acceptable to drink no alcohol and take no drugs, than it
  is to get too drunk and act inappropriately.

That doesn't sound all that different than previous generations. SXE's been a thing since the 80s. Not everyone is Bret Easton Ellis. I don't think that attitudes have changed all that much, but circumstances have. Inflation and wage stagnation mean less discretionary spending. Fentanyl analogues mean street drugs are significantly more lethal than in generations past. Legalized marijuana means there's less mystery and motivation to experiment further.

I've interacted with a number of Gen Zers in their 20s and Millenials in their early 30s, some in passing and some on a more regular basis. In my experience that cohort spans the gamut. Some are teetotalers, sure. Most use drugs (cocaine, ketamine, assorted off-label prescription stuff, marijuana, etc.) at least occasionally, some daily. It really doesn't seem all that different from when I was their age. Excluding peer pressure, most of the societal ills that drove my peers to experiment with drugs still apply. Conversely I've seen a lot of my peers start to dial back drug and alcohol use as they get older.

It certainly was cool and expected to get “too drunk” when I was in high school and college. It was really not cool to have zero drinks.

It reminds me of Mitki[1]. Their way to go to the party is to bring a bottle of vodka and drink it in one go before knocking at the door. Such a guy would seems ok and would be welcomed by the host, but in a 10 minutes he would become really drunk, while everyone around him is still 100% sober.

Completely non-gen-z way to behave, I suppose.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitki