It’s a Friday night. Classes have finally – and politely – fucked off for the weekend and campus is buzzing. Typically, we would see large groups of first years heading to a friend’s room in the halls, to get ready and pre-game for town. You want evidence, brave the Outback’s bathrooms, there’s your evidence. Along with the kiddies going to cause whatever mischief they can, groups of 20-year-olds would head to a nearby pub, order some rounds, maybe some chippies and fried chicken for the table, and have a casual night together. Honestly, when you think about the usual weekend activities as a uni student, you’re often looking at ingesting some type of alcohol, and depending on your vice, end the night with your head in a toilet. Classy shit.
Well, lately there has been a shift in the usual weekend practices of the average uni student. Supposedly, the percentage of hard-core drinking for kiwis aged 18-24 has dropped roughly 14.2% in the last 18 months. The national health organization has recorded seeing one of the fastest decreases in average alcohol consumption in a specific age group in over 20 years. Drinking is no longer a majorly pushed social norm on the average uni student, and low-alcohol to zero-alcohol lifestyles are on the rise. This isn’t to say that drinking in our generation of students has stopped completely, I think that would require a miracle no god could give, but the statistics behind how much, and how frequently we’re consuming liquor are dropping. So…why are we drinking less?
Let’s find out! (I’m ever so sorry if reading this shit makes you want to drink more)
A big difference we are seeing with our generation, in comparison to the previous, is our compassion towards each other. We, collectively, have loosened the tightrope that is social norms and allowed some slack for self-expression and personal preferences. I think there is less pressure on us to use alcohol and mass drinking as a vice for all of our life problems. We seemed to have discovered slightly healthier ways to cope. Choose a door: Sambuca or Therapy? When with others, especially in a uni setting, it seems less stigmatised to decline a drink or just have a lower ‘alc’ drink. Our version of fun and community doesn’t revolve around the number of shots you can down in an hour or how many beersies you can scull before upchucking; all it requires is connection, laughs and friends. Whether that includes a cheeky vodka RedBull or not is entirely up to you.
Declining societal pressure is a great reason to see a lower alcohol…dependency…in our generation, however there are some less cool reasons to why this dry spell is happening with our generation of uni students. Restrictions on alcohol consumption on campus, in halls and even in town have skyrocketed. No open vessels outside of rooms, noise restrictions and curfews, along with rules on having guests creates a hesitation and almost distain for binge-drinking.
In Hamilton town, Hood St, there has been massive changes to the rules and culture of clubbing. Most major clubs: House, Outback, Bank, and Coyote, have become 20+ for most of the weekend. Due to this, less uni students choose to go to town as, most are younger than 20, and those that aren’t typically have friends that are. It’s no longer a fun pastime with your group of girlies or mates as many of them can’t even come. The rules in town are also much stricter than they have been in the past. Destruction of any property typically results in a ban and security have been instructed to deal with less and less ‘drunk’ behaviour. The rates that young boys and girls are getting kicked out of town are so high that the vibe of clubbing is less appealing. Who wants to drink while also walking on tiptoes? Even if all of these rules didn’t deter you, the DUI you can get for riding a lime scooter into town is not a risk many are willing to take. Trust me, my scooter skills are at their peak when I’m nine mimosas in.
Honestly, I think drinking no longer carries the weight it used to. Of course, most of us will still have a beer or two, or a crazy night out every here and there, but the desire to get plastered on a Tuesday just isn’t it anymore. The idea of sitting through a sociology lecture with a wicked hangover is my personal nightmare. So, have a drink, a mocktail, or even just a cheeky cigarette and allow yourself to feel free in your decisions. 2026 is the year we need to say goodbye to peer pressure and say fuck yeah to choices.
