The new year brings countless resolutions. For some, it starts with Dry January, a month-long challenge void of any alcohol consumption.
However, a new generation may not need the challenge at all. They already aren't drinking.
Many young adults are stepping away from alcohol entirely, choosing sobriety as a lifestyle, rather than a 30-day endeavor.
Cierra Boone, 25, has been sober for almost three years. Her abstinence weaves into a larger trend: Gen Zers, those born between 1997 and 2012, are not drinking, and they haven't been. Between 2001 and 2023, global research firm Gallup reported a 11% dip in adults between the ages of 18-34 who had at least one alcoholic beverage within the past week.
"I don't think it's a blip at this point. If anything, I think this trend is going to continue to strengthen," Dr. Jared Harp, addiction psychiatrist at Cleveland Clinic, told USA TODAY.
