Monday, 15 October, 2018
The Guardian, Richard Godwin
You don’t need to spend much time adrift in the 21st-century mediascape to conclude that there is something seriously wrong with young people today. Millennials are more narcissistic, anxious, annoying, entitled, communist and fond of avocados than any generation ever; millennials are killing everything from mayonnaise to diamonds to the car industry; millennials are making everyone else feel bad; millennials – get this! – don’t even drink any more.
The figures just released by the Health Survey for England lend weight to what is becoming a familiar trope. In 2015, one in three 16- to 24-year-olds were completely teetotal, compared with one in five in 2005. Lifetime abstainers rose from 9% to 17%; meanwhile rates of harmful drinking have declined. In 2015, 28% admitted to drinking above the recommended limits; 10 years previously, it was 43%. The 10,000 participants reported that complete abstention was becoming “mainstream”.
What's going on? Read the full article here...