As an older gen z, I find this to be especially true.
Partying was a thing my friends and I did from about 16 to 22. It was fun, it was social, it was just “what everyone did”.
What changed it for me was watching the effects on my older peers and friends. Seeing people a few years ahead of me visibly degraded from that lifestyle was a real wake up call imo. The skin, energy, and health issues showing up way too early. For some reason, I find my generation caring about this stuff a lot more.
Club culture itself also just stopped being appealing. Everything started looking sloppy + dirty.
But the shift is probably bigger than personal preference:
→ we grew up on the internet w/ full access to what alcohol actually does to your body and your overall health.
→ everything is filmed now. every night out is documented on someone’s phone so the cost of being sloppy became permanent evidence.
→ going out got absurdly expensive. a single night at a club can run hundreds, meanwhile a gym membership is $50+/month and a run club is mostly free.
→ the pandemic forced everyone to stop going out & a lot of people realized they didn’t miss it.
→ mental health awareness got REALLY normalized for our generation. Therapy, self care, etc.
→ aspirational content shifted. The coolest thing on social media used to be bottle service/ club photos. Now it’s gym progress, run clubs, morning routines, clean girl aesthetics, wellness.
→ Dating apps replaced bars. You don’t need to go to a club to meet people anymore.
Overall just think our generation collectively realized that taking care of yourself isn’t boring, and we’re more skeptical on what we waste our money on since the future we were promised as kids doesn’t really exist anymore.
Andrew Yeung@andruyeungClubbing is dead and has been replaced by fitness & wellness. Ppl used to party to socialize and date but now they do things like HYROX, bathhouses, and running raves. The death of clubbing is something to be studied: — US has lost 12% of its nightclubs in the last 24 months — 25% of US adults didn’t drink at all last year — Gen Z drinks 30% less than Millennials did at the same age On the flip side: — According to Strava, the number of running clubs recorded on the platform increased 3.5x in 2025 — 72% of Gen Z go to run clubs to meet new people — Sauna and spa market: $11.8B → $22.4B by 2034 The post-alcohol economy is gonna be a massive category.
