Sunday Scaries to Sobriety: Gen Z’s Gone Sober

By Anna Trevathan, Editor

Everyone has their own reasons for going sober, I made the choice to be more health- and financially-conscious. Though I’m by no means a health aficionado, I noticed that after drinking, I’d spend one of my only two days off too sick to enjoy it. It felt like I was letting the “Sunday scaries” (our generation’s term for being too hungover to enjoy Sundays) and, by extension, alcohol run my life. 

After quitting, I was surprised to realize just how many of my fellow Gen Z-ers were quitting with me. It makes me wonder how the generation raised on Spring Breakers and Jersey Shore got sober. 

First, it’s important to recognize just how much of our generation this shift includes. According to Gallup, 34% of Gen Z actively reduces their alcohol intake, while 24% doesn’t drink at all, meaning more than one-third of our generation is willingly cutting back. 

This movement started slowly with Millennials but picked up speed rapidly with Gen Z during COVID-19. The pandemic hit just as many of us were graduating high school and entering the “prime clubbing” age. With those quintessential drinking milestones ripped away to leave only the current drinking scene left in its place, it’s easy to see why our generation is leaning away from the traditional Saturday night out.

As a result of COVID-19, Generation Z has started leaning away from the traditional “happy hour” of the previous generations. The death of the “happy hour” is also a result of remote jobs, having become the norm for many Gen Z employees. 

And then there’s the cost of drinking. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2023), the average American household spends $294 per year on alcohol consumed at home and a whopping $343 on alcohol consumed away from home. For a generation paying over $1,000 a month in rent in cities like Knoxville, drinking has become a luxury. 

Take Xül Beer Co. in Hardin Valley for example, where a 12-ounce beer costs anywhere from five dollars to seven fifty. Add a tip (because, let’s be real, bartenders don’t make enough), and suddenly, you’re spending ten dollars on a single beer. When we’re living in an “eat or be eaten” economy, skipping that trip to the bar becomes an easy choice.

Of course, bars are more than just drinks; they have long served as third spaces – places for informal social interaction – which are rapidly disappearing in our generation’s loneliness epidemic. With smartphones in hand from a young age, Gen Z is both the most connected and the most isolated. We have constant access to loved ones, yet we lack the motivation to reach out. That is, if we even take out our headphones long enough to make new connections. 

At that point, the question becomes: If we have friends, do we have time to grab a drink with them? For me, it’s simpler: If I have time to see my friends, why would I drink and risk forgetting parts of it?

At the core of this sober movement is a shift toward physical health. With Gen Z’s fixation on self-image, it’s no surprise that skinnier physiques are making a comeback. Trends like the 75 Hard challenge – popularized on TikTok – exemplify this, with Gen Z-ers taking an extreme approach to health and wellness. 

The challenge lasts 75 days and includes: two 45-minute workouts per day, maintaining a strict diet with no cheat meals or alcohol, drinking a gallon of water daily, reading 10 pages of a nonfiction or self-help book, and taking a daily progress photo. For many participants, it was a revealing experience– users reported better sleep, reduced stress, and overall improved well-being without alcohol.

Beyond Gen Z, casual sobriety is becoming a broader cultural trend. Millions of Americans participate in Dry January, abstaining from alcohol for the month. More and more people are becoming “sober curious,” exploring a lifestyle with less alcohol without committing to full sobriety.

While prioritizing health is undeniably beneficial, I can’t help but wonder what this push for a “pure, non-toxic body” means culturally. Are we leaning back into Puritan roots? After all, America has a long standing history of moralizing health and self-restraint. In today’s political climate, the obsession with Pilates feels eerily reminiscent of women’s fixation on Jazzercise in the ’80s. Both of these hyperfixations in women are happening in a time where there is heightened scrutiny over the female body.

The real question is: What’s our motivation? Are we avoiding alcohol to prevent a beer belly? To be more productive in a capitalist society? To dodge the unknown toxins lurking in our drinks?

Regardless of your reasoning, there’s never been a better time to explore sobriety. Even celebrities like Tom Holland (also Gen Z!) are embracing it—he recently marked two years sober and launched his own non-alcoholic beer brand, Bero. Major retailers like Kroger and Walmart are also expanding their selections of non-alcoholic wines and beers.

It’s not just grocery store shelves that are diversifying—bars are, too! At several bars in Knoxville, including a personal favorite, Fly By Night, mocktails are becoming a menu staple.

The rise of mocktails challenges the long-standing idea that socializing and drinking must go hand in hand. Bars are becoming more inclusive spaces, where choosing not to drink no longer means being stuck with a water bottle all night. There’s a broader shift toward mindfulness in America, as people rethink their relationship with alcohol—and realize that a night out doesn’t have to lead to regret the next morning.