Being sober curious refers to the act of exploring your relationship with alcohol and considering sobriety, even if you are not fully committed to it yet.
While many people’s new year’s resolution is to stop drinking or participate in ‘Dry January’, the growing sober curious movement encourages individuals to become more aware of the often-unhealthy habits linked to alcohol.
The movement started gaining traction in late 2018 and early 2019 after the release of author Ruby Warrington’s book, Sober Curious. As a key voice in the emerging sober curious movement, Warrington’s book explored the question: How would our lives change if we stopped drinking altogether?
Since then, the movement has grown in popularity, gain- ing attention in mainstream media and flourishing on social media. Young people, particularly Generation Z (Gen Z), have embraced the sober curious movement.
“I think the rise of this particular topic in social [media] is a huge component of the movement itself grabbing root, especially with Gen Z, as they are very high over consumers of those particular platforms,” said Melise Panetta, lecturer of marketing at Laurier.
In fact, many researchers consider Gen Z the most sober generation.
A report by Berenberg Research found that Gen Z consumes 20 per cent less alcohol per capita compared to Millennials and less than other generations did at the same age.
Researchers have been eager to understand why, examining what sets Gen Z apart from previous generations and what factors are contributing to the rise of sober curiosity.
Noa Friedman, a senior research associate on the marketing strategy team at Environics Reseach—a market research firm specializing in social values — analyzed the sober curious movement in February of last year. Using Environics’ social values segmentations for Gen Z, Friedman explored the various motivations behind the move- ment.
“You can think of social values as someone’s deeply held be- liefs, these fundamental mo- tivations and priorities in life,” explained Friedman. “What’s interesting from a consumer behavior point of view is that so- cial values focus in on those key motivations that drive behaviors and how consumers interact with brands.”
In 2020, Environics conducted qualitative interviews to develop hypotheses about what Gen Z values most. They then surveyed a representative sample of over 1,500 Gen Z respondents and analyzed the data through live conversations with cohort members. This process led to the identification of seven analytical segments to categorize Gen Z.
“Within Gen Z, there are these different segments, and they can differ in their motivations to reduce alcohol consumption,” Friedman said.
Friedman’s research highlights health and wellness benefits — values highly prioritized by certain Gen Z segments—are among the most common reasons for reducing alcohol consumption.
Panetta also stated that one of the largest drivers of sober curi- osity among Gen Z is wellness. “Wellness is a mega trend that’s been growing in popularity since the early 2000s.”
Friedman also examined how Gen Z as a whole places a greater emphasis on connecting in small groups and fostering social intimacy compared to previous generations. As a result, drinking may play a smaller role in these more intimate, home-based gatherings rather than in bars or other public settings.
Other factors mentioned by Friedman include Gen Z’s openness to trying new low/ non-alcoholic drinks, as well as the impact of rising living costs which make alcohol a less appealing expense.
“I think the signs point that this is not just a fad and this is something that will be long- term, and these cultural shifts we’re seeing are here to stay,” Friedman said.
Panetta also noted that this shift in alcohol consumption seems to be more than just a passing trend. This insight was shared in an article on the rise of sober curiosity, co-authored with fellow Laurier marketing lecturer Omar Fares and published by The Conversation.
Panetta explained, “I think you’re going to see Gen Z’s sober curious numbers grow. I think you’re going to see it have an impact across the older generations.” She continued, “I don’t see the trend mitigating at any point, any time soon. And in fact, I think it’s just going to continue to grow.”
Sober curiosity and sobriety as a whole, is present in university students as well. Kayla Banning, a second-year communications student at Laurier, chooses not to drink.
“When I was in high school, I tried drinking, but it just wasn’t for me. I didn’t like the way that I felt intoxicated —I just didn’t like how it made me feel,” she said.
Banning explained that not drinking in a university setting, where drinking is so prevalent, can be challenging sometimes, “I find it a little bit harder to fit in just because the majority of people that I do go out with are drinking.”
She continued, “it was kind of weird for me [to not drink] because I feel like it’s so normalized to drink, especially in first year when you get away to university.”
Outside of a university setting, the pressure to drink among Gen Z may be different when compared to other generations. “Another really interesting thing that we came across when I was doing some research for this was the strength that Gen Z as a whole has around saying no to peer pressure,” Panetta said.
“That’s new, especially in the alcohol space. Going back a couple generations, Millennials and Gen X, they weren’t comfortable saying no to, for example, drinks after work. They would go and they would imbibe, and it was expected of them. But Gen Z has their own mind and they’re very clear on what they want,” Panetta said.
With these trends showing no sign of slowing down, it is fascinating to explore the many factors that contribute to Gen Z being the soberest generation yet.
Financial awareness, a strong focus on health and wellness, a willingness to try new experiences or simply a move away from drinking are just a few of the key influences driving this shift. As research shows, the sober curious movement may reflect a broader cultural shift, one that might have a lasting impact across all generations.
Graphic by Rytham Sahini
