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News
Young adults shun boozing for health benefits
A new study has revealed 66% of young people believe alcohol is “not important” to their social lives, with “health consequences” cited as the most common reason for abstaining.
Only 3% of those surveyed said that alcohol was an essential part of socialising for them
A nationwide UK survey by think tank Demos has revealed that almost 20% of 16 to 24-year-olds do not drink at all, and of those who do drink, four out of 10 believe that alcohol is “more important” to their parents’ social lives than to their own.
The official statistics, which were collected by YouGov on behalf of the body, found that only 3% of those surveyed said that alcohol was an essential part of socialising for them.
An “increased awareness” in the health consequences of drinking was most commonly cited as the reason for the decline in young people drinking – two-thirds of young people thought this had contributed either a “great deal” or a “fair amount” to the decline.
In addition, 55% believed the drop was caused by young people being less able to afford alcohol in comparison to 10 years ago, while 46% stated “negative media portrayals” of anti-social behaviour linked to drinking as a factor.
According to the National Office of Statistics, young people between the ages of 16 to 24 have stopped drinking completely in a bid to avoid being photographed drunk and “cyber shamed” on social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter.