I'll drink to that Why Gen Z may be shedding the reputation for clean living

Gen Z have long been hailed as "generation sensible" – dozens of articles have charted how they drink less alcohol, exercise more, eat healthier and have ditched nightclubs for book clubs.

- Jessica Murray

But could that be about to change? Recent data has shown the proportion of Gen Z – those born roughly between 1997 and 2012 – who have consumed alcohol in the past six months, while being at the legal age to do so, rose by 7% between 2024 and 2025.

Alcopops are apparently all the rage among Gen Z customers, with booming sales of Smirnoff Ice, Bacardi Breezer and BuzzBallz, while last year's Charli XCX-inspired "brat summer" was said to herald the end of clean living.

The reality, experts say, is more complicated than that.

"We're seeing a generational recalibration, not a simple return to hedonism," said Ivo Vlaev, a professor of behavioural science at Warwick University.

"This isn't a simple return to the past – it's a complex blend of coping, compensation, identity expression and socioeconomic constraint. The behaviours may look familiar, but the psychology behind them has evolved."

He said the fact that Gen Z came of age during a Covid pandemic, climate crisis and increased cost of living pressures was a recipe for "psychological whiplash".