As it stands, and my friends and I are finally 21. We're extremely excited to be able to go out to bars and "get lit" as the kids say, but due to the pandemic, all of our plans have been put on hold. We'd rather wait and go when it's safe than risk spreading the infection and hurting our loved ones. So, we've all been quarantining apart, getting on the occasional wine zoom call. This made me wonder if anyone else our age were doing the same thing.
Then, I discovered this survey: We Surveyed Millennials And Gen Z About Their Quarantine Drinking Habits — Cheers. Here are 3 things that I discovered through the survey results.
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Drinking rates have increased.
The survey data showcased that 54% of people have begun drinking more than they did before the quarantine. This wasn't too surprising to read at first. It makes sense that while people are home, they might have an extra glass of wine in the evening. Some of these people probably also fell into the category that my friends and I did of just becoming 21. This group went from not drinking to drinking, which would make them part of the "drinking more" category. However, it is concerning that over half the data responded to drinking more than normal. Upon looking over the data, over 50% of people drink 4+ days on average during a week. And a little under 50% have 3 or more drinks at a time. This data didn't show what kinds of drinks or how many ounces they were having. I know from my own friend group that my version of a drink can vary from someone else's version, so it can be slightly concerning to see this data.
Here's a resource to finding out How Much Alcohol is Safe to Drink posted by VeryWellMind.com
5 o'clock somewhere really does apply.
Another thing that this survey showed me was the phrase, "5 o'clock somewhere" was becoming more than just a phrase, but an actual guideline many seemed to be following. Almost 25% of people said they had their first drink at 5 PM. I was surprised by this because I honestly thought it would have been a little earlier due to many people, especially college students, having very different schedules than regular. It's interesting to know than many people are having their first drink around the same time though.
The participants' alcohol of choice.
I was surprised to see that 43% of people picked wine as their drink of choice. I expected that beer would be higher in all honesty. Beer sat in the middle at 27% while cocktails came in last at 18%. Cocktails are what my parents drink, so I assume that that number may be higher if this survey interviewed older generations. Wine however makes sense when I think about my own friend group's taste in alcohol. There are many cheap wines that my friends rave about!
Here's another resource on Safe Drinking Tips from Oklahoma State University.
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