Gen Z has been hailed as the “sober-curious” generation, with rates of risky behaviors such as drinking alcohol, as well as having sex and using drugs, falling to historically low rates. But one study recently put an even finer point on the trend: Young men in particular are the ones giving up binge drinking, defined as having five or more alcoholic beverages in one sitting for men, or four or more for women.
Fewer Gen Z men than women reported binge drinking in the last month between 2021 and 2023, according to the April 2025 study in JAMA. Though the gap between men’s and women’s drinking rates has been narrowing over the past several decades, in recent years women’s alcohol use has outpaced men’s for the first time ever.
The findings have raised alarm bells over women’s high binge-drinking rates. But a closer look shows that the closing gender gap is driven as much, if not more so, by falling bingeing rates among men, especially young adult males. So what’s inspiring young men to drink less or not at all? We looked into it.
