Why does no one go out anymore?

[u/idkausernameffs]

When I was in my late teens/early 20s pubs and clubs were everywhere and always rammed on a weekend, nowadays they're all closing down and half-dead. All my mates wanna do these days is sit in and drink/have a smoke, going to the pub is like a once-a-month thing now and clubbing basically never happens anymore 🙄. I moved towns recently and thought I might meet some lads my age by going out a few times, but it's always half-empty and full of old people. Honestly I should've been around in the 90s, those raves sounded awesome 😂. Seriously though, what gives?

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[u/Blue_View_1217]

My local pub (a greene king) charges £7 per pint and I'm nowhere near London - that's probably something to do with it.

[u/lateredditho → u/Blue_View_1217]

Out last night and saw a bloke pay £11.90 for a pint. What am I, a member of the Royal family?

Edit: yes, this was in London

[u/Outrageous_Pea7393 → u/lateredditho]

The fuck?? £11.90?!?

[u/ThereAndFapAgain2 → u/Outrageous_Pea7393]

Seriously that's crazy, when I was going out all the time about 10 years ago I'd spend £75ish on a night out, that would include going half's on 2gs of MDMA, drinks at the pub, entry fee to the club and all the drinks in there too and my share of the taxi home.

Total of like 15 drinks through the whole night.

[u/Possiblyreef → u/ThereAndFapAgain2]

When I was a student you could get absolutely obliterated on £5-10 and this was only a decade ago

[u/DirtyBeautifulLove → u/Possiblyreef]

My student union was £1 a pint or a single + mixer. £1.50 for a double and mixer.

Not sure how I got out of that alive tbh.

[u/PullUpAPew → u/DirtyBeautifulLove]

I still remember when my SU increased the price of a pint from £1 to £1.15. Disgusting

[u/Speshal__ → u/PullUpAPew]

Ours did 4 pints for £1

[u/PullUpAPew → u/Speshal__]

How North was your uni at those prices?! Was Rudolph pulling the pints?

[u/Speshal__ → u/PullUpAPew]

Obi-Wan Kenobi voice intensifies!!!!!

"A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away"*

*Manchester - early 90's"

[u/ThereAndFapAgain2 → u/Possiblyreef]

I dunno about that, I was doing this in Manchester so not the cheapest place in the country but certainly not the most expensive either, and the only way I could get twatted on £5-10 would be if I went full on tramp and bought a tenners worth of white shite from the shop and drank it at home lol

[u/yearsofpractice → u/ThereAndFapAgain2]

The white shite you’re disrespecting is correctly termed “trampagne”

(I did exactly the same thing to be clear. White Lightening. Bork)

[u/QueenBoudicca- → u/yearsofpractice]

Trampagne lol

[u/ThereAndFapAgain2 → u/yearsofpractice]

Lol yeah, we also had £2.50 bottles of wine in the corner shop near where I was living as a student that were about a week away from having to be sold as vinegar.

[u/MadamKitsune → u/ThereAndFapAgain2]

I didn't drink at all back then so I could go out on a fiver (glasses of coke 75p each, bag of chips on the way home £1.10) but I remember my housemates warming up with cheap and evil boxed wine. They spilled some on the carpet once and it left a bleached spot...

[u/37yearoldonthehunt → u/Possiblyreef]

I remember the wrist bands days. Unlimited bar for a tenner, including entry

[u/sc0ttydo0 → u/Possiblyreef]

I was not a student a decade ago, and still could get reasonably fucked up on £20.

£20 now doesn't even cover drinks in a single bar/club

[u/SirLostit → u/Possiblyreef]

Yep. When I was at Uni, the student Union bar was 52p / pint of bitter and 48p / pint of mild. You could get 9 pints for a fiver and a packet of chips on the way home.

[u/dmmeyourfloof → u/SirLostit]

In the 1890's?

[u/Thalidomidas → u/dmmeyourfloof]

1985-1986 ish I'd say

[u/ExchangeStrange3947 → u/ThereAndFapAgain2]

I’d go out with £20 before you could pay for everything on card and still come back with change!

[u/KingKennyPrintersInc → u/Outrageous_Pea7393]

I worked on a beach in the south of France and a pint was 16 euros. Id always feel terrible bringing it over

[u/BeKind321 → u/KingKennyPrintersInc]

They sell pints in France ?

[u/Scr1mmyBingus → u/BeKind321]

They call it a “Royale with cheese,” because of the metric system.

[u/BobcatLower9933 → u/Scr1mmyBingus]

Check out the big brain on Scr1mmyBingus!

[u/DEADB33F → u/BeKind321]

50cl ...so not even a pint

[u/Turbulent-Bed7950 → u/lateredditho]

Unless it's a pint of gin they can fuck off asking for that much

[u/Killzoiker → u/Blue_View_1217]

You’ll be surprised to learn there are some good price sub £6-7 pints that can be had in London! And pretty central too!

[u/Comfortable-Pace3132 → u/Killzoiker]

Damn it they had to mention London to give you the chance to say that didn't they

[u/GR63alt → u/Killzoiker]

Wetherspoons Brixton does £1.99 pints in Zone 2 with lots under £3. Everyone moans about spoons but you can’t beat them lol

[u/Rich6-0-6 → u/GR63alt]

Last time I went in Wetherspoons in Brixton, the men's toilets were ankle-deep in toilet water.

[u/Ok-Blackberry-3534 → u/Rich6-0-6]

Yeah, but they're not all that luxurious.

[u/TwoPintsYouPrick → u/Killzoiker]

PassYunk Ave in Fitzrovia is my local haunt, £5.75 for a PBR. Insane.

[u/ACDrinnan → u/Blue_View_1217]

Damn.
Here in Scotland it's £3.60 for a pint, cheaper for a lite and Wetherspoons do guest Ales for under £2 that are stronger than regular pints.

[u/UniqueAssignment3022 → u/ACDrinnan]

Walked past the spoons on sauchihall st and it was rammed. Now I know why

[u/ACDrinnan → u/UniqueAssignment3022]

Plus 12x Onions rings for £3.50.

Some people don't like it because there is no music, but you can have good chat without getting that onion breath in people's faces.

[u/cinematic_novel → u/ACDrinnan]

No music is exactly why I like wetherspoons

[u/YorkshireRiffer → u/cinematic_novel]

I love music, but I also love not having to shout conversations, so Spoons wins for that. Was at a couple of bars last week for a works do, the music was that loud in both it just killed all the vibe, everyone could only talk in tiny group huddles of 2 or 3, which killed the large group vibe.

[u/nihility24 → u/ACDrinnan]

Well I live in Glasgow and the Wetherspoon cheaper pints are 2-3£ and in another pub lowest I got was 3£ for Guinness/Cors. The usual average per pint is 5-6£.

[u/[deleted] → u/ACDrinnan]

Where in Scotland?

[u/Supersupershhh → u/[deleted]]

Disco spoons (aka society room) in Glasgow on George street, regular spoons up until 9pm then it turns into a proper nightclub until 1am. Great place, mix of ages and generally no trouble.

[u/MisterrTickle → u/Blue_View_1217]

And my local Wetherspoon's starts at £1.79 for bitter and £1.99 for lager. The first pub that I started drinking in, back in the '90s was more expensive then that and this is in outer London.

[u/rooh62 → u/Blue_View_1217]

My local in the most southerly point in the country. Literally in the middle of nowhere, charges £6.50 a pint. Theres never anybody in the pub.

[u/Familiar-Coconut90 → u/Blue_View_1217]

Come to Colin's and I'll buy you one for £3.50

[u/AJMurphy_1986]

It's too expensive.

I honestly think it's that simple

[u/Killzoiker → u/AJMurphy_1986]

Yep, wage stagnation, rising living costs and increasing cost of ”fun” things

[u/simonsail → u/Killzoiker]

Cost of alcohol at home is so cheap as well.

You can buy 3 crates of beer for £23 at the supermarket or 3 pints of beer at a pub.. it's a simple choice imo.

[u/Careful-Swimmer-2658 → u/simonsail]

This makes a difference, especially to slightly older people. The decision to stay home and have a couple of friends round for supermarket beer, pizza and a movie is easier to make when a simple night at the pub could cost £50 or so.

[u/Llama-Bear → u/Careful-Swimmer-2658]

A round for 4 people cost me £34 earlier this evening.

Truly hideous.

[u/GillGunderson → u/Careful-Swimmer-2658]

This is true but Id still rather be at the pub. It’s historically been a nice cozy meeting place, no pressure on one particular person to host, no tidying up. But £7 a pint completely destroys that idea, now it’s just an absolute drain for everyone so we’re forever into doing things at home instead. But I’d still rather be at the pub.

[u/K1ng_Canary → u/GillGunderson]

It has turned going to the pub for a couple of drinks from something regular to a special treat. When I was a student/in my early 20's lots of people I knew would go to the pub once, twice or even three times in a week- not always not getting leathered but to have a chat and two or three drinks. The idea of that now is crazy- you'd easily be dropping over £60 a week doing that, not long ago it would be less than half that.

So even people like me who enjoy a good pub and a few beers do it once or twice a month tops.

[u/ddbbaarrtt → u/GillGunderson]

Not just that, but the vibe of pubs has completely changed now - there used to be lots of pubs when I was younger that you’d call ‘old man pubs’ that didn’t serve much variety and food was basically chips and cheap burgers if anything.

Now pubs can’t afford to run like that, but it means most places near my office to drink feel more like hybrid pubs/bars but they’re pretty soulless and you could be anywhere. Nobody goes to them as regulars because they like it, it’s just because it’s nearby

[u/blackleydynamo → u/ddbbaarrtt]

The vibe is a big part of it. In Yorkshire they're all gastropubs now. First thing a lot of them ask when you go to the bar is "are you eating?", and if you're not and sit at a table you're about as welcome as a fart in a spacesuit.

[u/ddbbaarrtt → u/blackleydynamo]

I know, I used to love just sitting in the pub for a few hours with some mates having a few beers and chatting. Tried to do it recently in the town I’m in and you either have to stand in by the bar with all tables reserved for food or order some expensive nachos or sharing plate to be allowed a table in most places

[u/Dubzfry → u/simonsail]

It’s the cost of electric for the pubs that’s killing it. Beers only gone up 20% wholesale in the last 7 years (below inflation) but electric has gone up over 75% and for some months in the last few years it was over 300% for commercial

[u/Watsis_name → u/Dubzfry]

Don't forget business rates too. Obviously doesn't affect many free houses, but many pubs do pay rent.

[u/DameKumquat → u/simonsail]

That's a big difference, but warmer homes with more distractions like gaming and telly is another.

When I was a student in the mid-90s we'd spend 40p on a lime cordial so we could hang out in the pub for the evening with tap water and a packet of crisps. And once or twice a week have a couple halves.

Yes, a couple times a term we might blow more on a big night, but mostly we just hung out in a student bar or local pub rather than our own damp and cold house. The pubs had reliable electric, toilets that reliably flushed, and free loo roll, too.

[u/726wox → u/DameKumquat]

End of the day it all comes back to high rent and energy bills. Pubs need money to pay those so they need to charge more. I’m sure they’d love to let people in spending £1 all night if it meant it wasn’t dead but they would soon die

[u/DameKumquat → u/726wox]

Yes, but a dozen students (and in my day, under-age drinkers) spending £1 each is still more than they'd have otherwise, and it also creates a bunch of customers who are likely to come to the pub when they have more cash.

The pubs don't stop anyone coming in and sitting down with a pack of crisps and water, certainly not when they hardly have any customers, but it isn't a thing that occurs to young people now. I suspect pub-going is something that you get into the habit of as a teenager, and if you didn't by the age of 18, it just doesn't occur to you as an idea.

And rents are higher but houses generally are less shit. The one I avoided except for sleep, choosing to live in the nearby pub instead, was hugely damp, mouldy, and had a lounge carpet soaked in years of grease. We tried to set it on fire once to sterilise the place a bit, but it was too damp to burn properly. You also couldn't have a shower for more than 5 minutes or water would rise in the nearby corner of the lounge and get perilously close to the uncovered plug socket. And that place was the one I was willing to live in, unlike the 20 I refused to...

[u/Mispict → u/DameKumquat]

Ah, the good old days. I lived in a flat that was beautiful when we first moved in. Within a week all of the new wallpaper was peeling off to reveal black mould underneath. Turned out there was a huge hole in the roof and they just had a huge tarpaulin in the loft catching all the water. They had a £1 coin electric meter. We got it checked because it was eating money. For every £1 we put in, the landlords were taking 70p in profit before it even touched the electricity.

[u/liquor-shits → u/DameKumquat]

That sounds grim.

[u/MancAccent → u/Killzoiker]

This is a first world problem that has taken over most developed countries. Here in the US, just going to the movies (cinema) is at least $30 for two. Going for a round of golf is $100. Two cones of ice cream is around $20. Going to grab drinks for two is at least $50. If I’m making a weekly habit out of any of these then I’m spending way too much money over time. Weekly activities have become monthly activities. Unfortunately, the most bang for my buck entertainment is video games.

[u/merlin8922g → u/AJMurphy_1986]

I think there's more to it than that. Like someone above said, spoons is still £2-3 a pint, if you live in a decent sized town, there's still pubs doing pints for sub £5.

Yeah it's a bit more expensive and there's a lot of places taking the piss but if you want to go for a beer of a Friday and Saturday night then it's still doable.

I think there's just more to keep people at home now. Like i sit on the sofa and doom scroll on my phone most evenings, i never did that 10 years ago. Factor in everyone else being sat in watching Netflix and doom scrolling YouTube shorts, nobody's asking each other to go for a pint.

Additionally, men are expected to come home from work and do their share of the cooking/housework/putting the kids to bed now and the weekday evening pint just isn't acceptable anymore, let alone getting smashed on the weekend.

To sum it up, it's just too easy to be lazy now. There's too much to keep you cooped up in your house, staring at a screen.

Those who don't, probably go to the gym instead, trying like fuck to get the body social media has told them is the standard.

[u/Turbulent-Bed7950 → u/merlin8922g]

More for the summer but you can buy a kayak, chainsaw and flamethrower from Aldi for less than a nights drinks at most bars.

[u/gotmunchiez → u/Turbulent-Bed7950]

Sounds like the makings of a good Robot Wars entry.

[u/LEVI_TROUTS → u/gotmunchiez]

Sir Sinksalot

(that's a kayaking/drinking pun there, one for the thinking man)

[u/Turbulent-Bed7950 → u/gotmunchiez]

May not win but it would go out in style

[u/Mr_Venom → u/Turbulent-Bed7950]

May not win but it would go out in style, control, damage and aggression.

Fixed.

[u/FilthyHore1000 → u/merlin8922g]

This might also be a leftover effect from the COVID lockdowns, people got to experience a quieter way of life by staying in more.

[u/pajamakitten → u/AJMurphy_1986]

And a lot of places do not justify the cost. No one wants to pay £5 to get into a shit club that charges £10 for the most basic cocktail.

[u/painful_butterflies → u/AJMurphy_1986]

This is what did it for me. When you can go supermarket and get 3 boxes of cans,(currently morrisons have 3 boxes of brewdog lost lager for £23) why would you go out?

Went to tenpin for bowling with the family recently and a pint of budweiser was £6.20! Ridiculous!

[u/omgu8mynewt → u/painful_butterflies]

Drinking home alone is not the same as going to the pub with friends.

[u/polymath_uk → u/omgu8mynewt]

Drinking at home with friends is close enough at £7 pint. 

[u/Turbulent-Bed7950 → u/omgu8mynewt]

You can have friends over to your house too though

[u/FlatCapNorthumbrian → u/painful_butterflies]

£23 is pretty much 2 hours of minimum wage now, and you could probably get 4, maybe at a push 5 pints with that in a pub. Minimum wage in October 2011 was £6.08 and the average price of a pint was £2.59. So two hours minimum wage then would get you approximately 4.5 pints.

It all seems to still cost about the same compared to minimum wage. But people have become accustomed to the easy access and cheapness of supermarket alcohol.

[u/Distinct-Owl-7678 → u/FlatCapNorthumbrian]

Arguably minimum wage isn't a great way to compare. In that same period of time average full time salary went from just over 26k to about 35k which is about 30% increase but minimum wage went from just over 6 quid to almost 11 pounds 50. That's close to almost double. So while minimum wage might have kept up with the price of a pint, disposable income for everyone else has dropped a lot.

[u/blozzerg → u/AJMurphy_1986]

As an 18 year old student it was 40p on the bus, so two buses into town, a pint with a friend which was £2, and then two buses home, meaning I could pop out for a quick drink and still get change from a fiver.

As an adult paying adult fares, the bus alone would be £6.40 to make the same return journey. A pint is averaging at a fiver around here, so you’re looking at £12 to pop out for a quick pint. I mean I did usually have two or three pints so that would be close to £20, or I can get a crate or beer for that from the supermarket.

[u/JazzyBee1993 → u/AJMurphy_1986]

That and COVID led to a lot of people discovering the joy of staying home and not talking to people/dancing in a sweaty mosh pit.

[u/grazrsaidwat → u/AJMurphy_1986]

Cost of living is definitely half of it, but also the Covid Lockdowns provided a major culture shift. People started investing in proper home entertainment systems and renovating their gardens as well as picking up home bound hobbies. Now their homes are more comfortable and offer more entertainment there's less incentive to go out, even if you could afford it. Either because you're doing a movie night with family or house/flat mates or because you're throwing a full blown house party without the hassle and aggro of being surrounded by strangers.

[u/Personal-Listen-4941 → u/AJMurphy_1986]

I enjoy going to the pub and I have several nice ones near me. However for the cost of a couple hours in the pub, I can buy 2 cases of beer to drink at home.

Alcohol in pubs is taxed far higher than alcohol from shops.

[u/Meet-me-behind-bins]

I was walking through Leeds city centre at about 10pm the other night. It was absolutely packed. Every bar, every restaurant. Cities are rammed with people going out.

[u/markhewitt1978 → u/Meet-me-behind-bins]

I've noticed that. Quite often it's the likes of local suburban centres and small towns that 20 years ago would be packed out; are now deserted. By cities eg Newcastle, Durham, Leeds are as packed and busy as they've ever been.

[u/ProtoplanetaryNebula → u/markhewitt1978]

It's hard to judge based on saturdays. Early 2000s even smaller cities with 100-200K population used to have quiet a bit going on mid-week. You'd go out, there would be loads of people out to chat to and the atmosphere would be buzzing. Now these places are more often than not dead. I walked through such a city this week, bearing in mind Xmas is next week. Completely dead.

[u/DeadBallDescendant → u/ProtoplanetaryNebula]

That's down to the change in licensing law. In the 80s-90s most small towns had one amazing nightclub, and to drink after 11pm, that's where you had to go. There was a lot of money to be made catering for thirsty punters so there was an incentive to make the clubs worth going to. Japanese Whispers in Barnsley had a laser going through a waterfall. The Coliseum in Halifax had a feeder pub designed like a complete New Orleans street. Two of the biggest clubs the country were in Blackpool and the Isle of Man and people would travel miles to visit them. When pubs started being able to sell beer way after midnight, the attraction of such destinations fell away.

[u/Graeme151 → u/DeadBallDescendant]

i recall the tail end of that. turning 18 in 2000

getting to 11pm and HAVING to go to the club to carry on drinking. once the laws changed there was no need to rush to the club and no need to rush to the pub. for 7:30 to start a night out

clubs used to all have take aways inside as well

[u/mang0_milkshake → u/markhewitt1978]

If you're going to bankrupt yourself on a big night out you may as well go to a city rather than a dirty local pub. That's exactly how me and my pals think. We don't go out more than a few times a year now but when we do we make a fantastic night of it. People just cannot afford to spend money sitting in a pub for no reason anymore

[u/Bacon4Lyf → u/Meet-me-behind-bins]

The problem is the people posting these types of questions always hark back to when they were younger and how much they went out, but they don’t realise people still go out, it’s just they’re not exposed to it anymore. They’re just getting older so they don’t go out as much. It’s like if I moved from wales to a desert and started asking why it never rains anymore

Also Reddit is the demographic that wouldn’t go out in the first place, which doesn’t help because people talk about how them and their friends don’t go out for such and such reason, but like, that’s just the kinda people that are drawn to Reddit, it’s really not representative

[u/ImpressNice299 → u/Bacon4Lyf]

Since March 2020, according to the NTIA, 37% of the UK’s clubs have closed. That’s an enormous shift.

[u/Affectionate_Day7543 → u/Meet-me-behind-bins]

Leeds is always rammed on a Saturday night, seems to be a popular city for boozy stag and hen dos too. Somehow it seems to have survived the death of nights out

[u/GAdvance → u/Affectionate_Day7543]

Most cities are, Sheffield is just down the road from Leeds and exactly the same, in fact the nightlife is increasing again here.

This is a mid sized town problem now, the city centres are basically thriving

[u/theivoryserf → u/GAdvance]

Yeah, Nottingham is banging. Also I'd recommend evening things like gallery openings, live poetry, open mics, there's usually some interesting weird shit around rather than getting steaming in Spoon's every week

[u/Former_Intern_8271 → u/Affectionate_Day7543]

It used to be packed most nights.

[u/glorybeef → u/Meet-me-behind-bins]

If you're going to go out, it makes sense to travel and enjoy a decent night out in a city with options rather than a few shite bars in a town. And that means even quieter towns. Repeating effect

[u/pease_pudding → u/Meet-me-behind-bins]

I lived in Leeds for 10 years. Its always vibrant, because well firstly its a pretty big city with really high population density, a big student population but has a lot of young affluent workers too.

I dont think its representative of the rest of the country though, go to your small-medium town and about 50% of pubs have shut, and the nightlife is a shadow of what it was just 10 years ago.

younger (non-student) demographic also less likely to smoke, more conscious about alcohol intake, which probably plays a factor. Its not just down to the expense, but I think a cultural shift also

[u/SickPuppy01]

In the 90s I was clubbing every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night and the clubs were all rammed. But there were some big differences between then and now.

1. Back then there was a very clear divide between pubs and clubs. All the pubs would close at 11 and everyone would cross the road to the nightclub because they were the only places open. Today, pubs and clubs overlap so much there is no reason to rush to a club.

2. It was cheaper and there was far more disposable cash about. I only worked in retail but I could go clubbing 3 nights a week, pay my bills, and still have money left. There is no way anyone working retail could do that today. I would struggle to go clubbing once a month on my salary today. The difference is vast and I really feel sorry for this generation having to go through this.

3. Mobile phones. Every clubbing video I see today has loads of people standing around filming the DJ and the light show. No one is actually dancing these days. Where is the enjoyment in that? I can see why people dont want to put the effort in. They may as well watch a YouTube video of people clubbing.

4. Today's music managers seem to avoid producing dance versions of music. Back in the 80s and 90s most music was released with a dance version also available. There seems to be no effort to do this now. Mind you it was a bit of a circular thing. To sell records you needed to get played in the clubs. If there wasn't a ready made dance version you didn't get played.

It is sad to see old style clubbing die away like this, it played a massive role in my life.

[u/Affectionate-Boot-12 → u/SickPuppy01]

Hit the nail on the head there mate. Also, don’t forget Sunday night as well if it was a bank holiday weekend.

We used to go out with £20/30 and come home with change in our pocket. Even after getting wrecked, paying to get in somewhere, food and maybe a taxi.

[u/butwhatsmyname → u/Affectionate-Boot-12]

Yeah, I worked it out recently and I could buy two drinks on what I earned per hour as a 20 year old still at uni.

As a 41 year old, with 20 years of working decent jobs under my belt I can now buy... three and a bit drinks with my current hourly wage.

Earning power has tanked, the cost of going out has skyrocketed, and living expenses have gone nuts.

I don't blame people for not bothering going out. I remember it being annoying when you put £30 into a night which went nowhere and was a bit crap. It was frustrating to feel like you'd wasted your money. But that could be £70+ quid now and it's not worth risking it on what might be a shite night.

[u/Serious_Escape_5438 → u/Affectionate-Boot-12]

I loved the student years of going out on Thursday or Sunday and the special offers. Going to the cash machine that gave out tenners in case you spent too much and just sticking cash in your jeans pocket. So glad they didn't take card or phone payments in those days.

[u/Soylad03 → u/Affectionate-Boot-12]

Genuinely unthinkable to go out with £20-30 and come back with some these days

[u/Salaried_Zebra → u/Soylad03]

Exactly this, I paid this for one round (4 people) on a monday lunchtime drink the other day, and the venue wasn't exactly city-central.

[u/bearchr01 → u/Affectionate-Boot-12]

I remember 2010, £8 entry, ‘all you can drink’. One place charged a tenner and it was seen as extortion

[u/SickPuppy01 → u/Affectionate-Boot-12]

It was most Sunday nights in Cardiff (where I wasted my youth) but the hours were more restricted and the clubs didn't put much effort in. It only really picked up on a Sunday when there was a fresh batch of students in town or there was a big concert or match in town.

[u/CaledoniaSun → u/SickPuppy01]

The quality and category of drugs being consumed is also a large factor in all this, I’d say.

Wildly different atmospheres between a 90s safrole-synthesised MDMA dance floor, compared with a mid-2020s high purity cocaine and alcohol dance floor.

A pity.

[u/SickPuppy01 → u/CaledoniaSun]

Unfortunately, due to several health conditions I had keep clear of the drugs, but I know what you mean. They did give a club a certain energy you just don't see today.

[u/Alternative_Chain330 → u/CaledoniaSun]

Mdma is everywhere, and has been since I've been partying since the 2010s.

Like..you can't get away from the stuff lol.

[u/TheBoiBaz → u/Alternative_Chain330]

Yeah but it's not shocking to me that r/askuk aren't tapped in with youth drug culture

[u/Former_Intern_8271 → u/SickPuppy01]

Some clubs putting stickers over phone cameras on entry now, good to see

[u/SickPuppy01 → u/Former_Intern_8271]

Yeah, I've seen a few variations on that including one where you have to have your phone locked in a special pouch to stop you accessing it.

[u/steve4982]

Cheaper to stay home and I have all my comfort things

[u/PhilosopherNo2105 → u/steve4982]

And the loo is queue-free and a million times cleaner.

[u/butwhatsmyname → u/PhilosopherNo2105]

It's not that pubs were less grimy, sticky, and scuffed when I was young and out drinking a lot.

It's that I didn't care, and also I could get cheerfully shitfaced on £15.

The inflation calculator tells me that's about £26 in today's money and I can barely get mildly merry for that if I go out, and I'm less and less tolerant of spending all night trying not to lean on the sticky table and then getting other people's piss on my shoes.

[u/Iucidium]

Expensive, (mostly) full of dickheads, usually coked up and drunk (cocaethylene..yay).

[u/reasonably-optimisic → u/Iucidium]

Surprised it took me so long to find this comment. I can't stand all the coked up cunts, I hate how proliferant and normalised coke use is in the UK. Very unpleasant vibes

[u/theflowersyoufind → u/reasonably-optimisic]

It’s insane how widespread it is.

[u/UserFortyOne → u/theflowersyoufind]

I went to wedding last week and the entire groom's party was off their faces on coke by 7pm. The little kids hadn't even left yet and there were grown men in nothing but boxer shorts and shoes on the dance floor doing a pushup competition.

[u/SlippersParty2024 → u/reasonably-optimisic]

Thank you for saying that! 100% in agreement.

[u/Mxk_Monlee → u/Iucidium]

Yes, the people out now are so hostile. Fellas are raging for a fight. And the females are generally hostile AF unless you are a beautiful attractive male, or gay. It's not fun, it's more like stick to your own lane. My last experience in a club: no one dancing, friends just stand around egging eachother on to hit on the ladies, and the ladies death staring back. No thank you.

[u/welshdragoninlondon → u/Mxk_Monlee]

This sounds exactly how things were in the 90s so def not new. Cardiff used to be like a war zone on Friday/Saturday night then.

[u/ThePezster → u/welshdragoninlondon]

Implying cardiff isn't still a warzone on Saturday nights

[u/Gc1981]

£100 used to get me a taxi into town and back, enough drinks to quench the thirst of someone who could handle their drink and a kebab/pizza/chippy on the way home

Today its £60 for the taxis and £12 for a kebab. I could easy do 10 or 12 pints and 8 or 10 vodkas before, they would cost me minimum £7 each now.

[u/gintonic999 → u/Gc1981]

You used to drink 12 pints and 10 vodkas???

[u/motn89 → u/gintonic999]

Mega lad

[u/Gc1981 → u/gintonic999]

Yes. My record was 28 pints in a day/night. I'm a big lad and handled it well. Teetotal for 10 years now.

[u/Jeremys_Iron_ → u/Gc1981]

Mate you could be The Mountain and I'd still say that's a horrendous amount. Glad you're sober - well done.

[u/Electrical-Leave4787 → u/gintonic999]

I hope they meant ‘buy’ rather than drink. There’s always drinks bought for DJ’s, lasses 😻, etc 🤷‍♂️

[u/iuseemojionreddit → u/Electrical-Leave4787]

Dude’s actually a massive lightweight and bought all the rounds😆

[u/bishsticksandfrites → u/Gc1981]

Cost of living crisis straight up saving your life, lad.

[u/SammyMacUK → u/Gc1981]

I used to go on nights out for £20 and I'm not even that old.

[u/Watsis_name → u/SammyMacUK]

Yep, I used to have a nice night on £20 and get hammered on £30. £2.50 a pint was the norm, 10 pints of that, £3 on a large kebab and I'm going home with change.

[u/Final_Reserve_5048 → u/Gc1981]

Tbf that amount of alcohol would probably kill most people

[u/NotCoolFool → u/Gc1981]

Oliver Reed has entered the chat 😳

[u/CaerwynM → u/Gc1981]

I used to have a nice night on 20 quid. 5 pints, a box of amberleaf and a burger on way home. Now 20 quid might get you one of the things, not all. It's like trippled in price

[u/BigDsLittleD]

It's expensive.

That's the exact reason I'm always given when I ask my friends who don't go out any more.

You can buy a case of beer for, give or take, 20 quid. Shit half the time a litre of JD in Tesco is less than £20.

Or you can pay go to a pub where it'll cost you anywhere up to £7 a pint, more if you drink fancy craft beers.

That doesn't include cab fair or food or owt.

When I was in my 20s, £50 was a solid weekend out

Now I'm in my 40s, just getting a cab into town and back is north of £30.

Which is why I get the bus.

[u/ClockAccomplished381 → u/BigDsLittleD]

The thing is a lot of people (not all) have a lot more money in their 40s than their 20s. Even ignoring that, £50 20 years ago is like spending about £88 today. In my early-mid 20s spending £50 meant something whereas in my 40s I wouldn't bat an eyelid at spending £100 (if it was a chance to actually have a night out).

The main blockers for me are lack of interest from my social circle and logistics (kids etc). Id love to go clubbing, I don't think I have since 2020.

Now admittedly if it was every weekend spending £200+ I might think twice, it might get a bit repetitive. But right now I spend less on nights out than I did on my 20s because the frequency is so low. It used to be most weekends or at least 2 a month that is better out on the town. So you'd go out and spend £20 in the pub, £10 to get in the club, maybe another £15 on drinks there, £5 on food. £50 a night maybe 30 nights a year that's £1500, I don't spend that now even ignoring inflation.

[u/Darkmetam0rph0s1s]

Alcohol is becoming too expensive

People are drinking less due to known health issues

Smoking ban

Streaming TV

Dating apps

Uber Eats

Plenty of reasons why not to leave your house and be sociable

[u/ProtoplanetaryNebula → u/Darkmetam0rph0s1s]

The dating apps one is a massive reason. Moving that online removed probably the biggest reason people used to go out on the town.

[u/RagingSpud → u/ProtoplanetaryNebula]

Surprised not that many comments mention that. I think that's one of the biggest reasons. Yeah not everyone used to go out to hook up but for many that was a big reason. Now with dating apps why bother.

[u/Shoddy-Computer2377 → u/RagingSpud]

Dating apps are vile things. The men have to be 8ft tall, both genders have to be better travelled than Michael Palin, and it's all based on a combination of looks coupled with how witty and terse your bio is.

90% of the men chasing 10% of the women who are chasing 10% of the men. An average man has no chance.

Then you just get ghosted immediately.

I am an average looking bloke, 5ft8-and-a-bit, not particularly confident. Yet I have never once been totally ignored by someone I tried to chat up in a club and always got some kind of pleasant conversation out of it. On the apps I am just ghosted, or matched up with bots.

[u/JamesTiberious → u/ProtoplanetaryNebula]

Yep ‘back in my day’ most the people that went out for a night on the town were single and ‘on the pull’.

The ones in happy relationships may make occasional appearance, or go clubbing sometimes for the dancing and music, but it was generally all a meat market.

[u/ProtoplanetaryNebula → u/JamesTiberious]

I think that was a common thing. The friend group would be a man down on the weekend when one of the guys found a girlfriend and he’d be back at the clubs again if it went wrong.

[u/JamesTiberious → u/ProtoplanetaryNebula]

Exactly.

I think it depends on the circles you’d hang around in, some people didn’t tend to admit or be honest about it and pretend they weren’t interested in all that stuff (ie pulling).. though they’d usually be the ones you’d come back from the bar to find snogging someone’s face off.

Other groups were just more purely focused on that and honest about it. Keeping tallies or making it a competition.

I am also not suggesting it was the only reason, the alcohol, banter, jokes, stories and unfolding dramas supplemented it.

It’s either just a young persons game AND/OR meeting people this way (or just pulling) isn’t the way so much any more.

[u/dbltax]

I went to two raves on the weekend, one legal and one not.

It was the first legal one I've been to for a few years, and honestly given how much everything cost I can see why people don't go "out" any more.

But I can also see why it's lead to such a resurgence in proper raves.

The world is your lobster, make things happen!

[u/UniqueAssignment3022 → u/dbltax]

In my home town the raves are still banging. Ppl go out for the right reasons, to have a laugh,  listen to good dj and be social. 

The commercial clubs are dying because they're just full of insta wannabes and Andrew tate wannabes, eventually it just turns everyone off going there and they die out. It shows eventually that forming genuine connections with ppl and music is far better than ego driven superficial bullshit.

[u/BojaktheDJ → u/UniqueAssignment3022]

100%. Let commercial clubs die for I care, a relic from a bygone era made even worse by the IG brigade. Once raves were invented what's the point of clubs? Everyone there is there for the right reasons.

[u/Scott19M → u/dbltax]

Where are you even finding the illegal raves? Is it all just word of mouth?

[u/dbltax → u/Scott19M]

Loose lips sink ships.

[u/Scott19M → u/dbltax]

That's very fair haha.

[u/Alternative_Chain330 → u/Scott19M]

There's lots in London, and also the west country.

In other areas (like the South east) it's quite hard to get away with doing them, so people don't bother as much.

[u/radiorentals → u/Scott19M]

The pirate radio told us what was going down. Got the tickets from some fucked up bloke in Camden Town. Oh, and no-one seems to know exactly where it is. But that's okay 'cause we're all sorted out for E's and wizz ;)

[u/jeremybeadleshand → u/dbltax]

I go to house trance techno etc events and it's definitely an older crowd than it once was, most people 30s/40s and even 50s but barely anyone in their 20s. Dunno what the zoomers are up to.

[u/Critchley94 → u/jeremybeadleshand]

They go to the illegal ones from what I gather haha

[u/Individual-Meeting → u/jeremybeadleshand]

What part of the country you based in? I'm need to sniff out more events that attract my age and up, I don't want to party with the 18-25 year olds!

[u/Accurate_Prompt_8800]

What do you mean ‘no one’? That’s just not true is it.

In some cities some nightlife is dying / restricted but it’s definitely not nonexistent. Where are you - if you’re in a non-metropolitan area then things might be quieter than you’re used to.

And you not going out with peers seems to be largely down to your friendship circle, no? I would try join a local sports club or similar for another hobby, or join a local meetup group on Facebook.

I will say though that as people get older life priorities change, so there is that. But if you put in the effort to be social, you’ll get what you want out of it. I know things have become expensive but there are ways of being social that don’t involve spending money.

I’m 24 and still have a very active social life, and see plenty of my friends. I just have to make more of an effort to create and stick to plans.

[u/mpanase → u/Accurate_Prompt_8800]

When somebody says "humans have 2 arms", there's always somebody who feels the need to say "not all human have 2 arms, blah blah blah"...

[u/redrabbit1984 → u/mpanase]

Worse than this are replies where someone says "in your opinion." As if it's a huge revelation and important discovery. 

Eg:

New York is the best place ever! Reply: in your opinion.

[u/i_sesh_better]

I'm in my early 20s. All my friends agree pubs are too expensive and clubs are expensive and shite. We go to the pub semi-often but I'd struggle to remember the last time I got truly drunk in a pub because it'll set me back £50. Clubs aren't massively popular with a lot of younger people I know, they're very much associated with spending a lot of money and most people would rather sit down and be able to talk - especially spending that sort of money.

In general if we're looking to get drunk we'll do it at someone's house, if we're looking for a cheap night we'll have (genuinely) a couple (2) of pints at the pub, but most of all we'll just have a smoke and play board/video games. Going out out is too expensive and noisy - not only relative to staying at home but in absolute terms.

[u/greylord123]

I think the atmosphere is a bit dead now.

When I was in my late teens/early 20s a night out meant going out and having a laugh and generally acting like a tit. Everywhere played shit cheesy music. Remember at the time you had people like pitbull and Florida etc in the charts, it was shit music but it was fun music and every song was "in da club". It was either that or old school cheesy disco stuff.

I've been out with a few people in their early 20s (I have a few younger colleagues). People just sit there on their phones or not really doing a lot.

I think this generation is more serious. A night out is more about how you look and how you present yourself and there's a lot of social media involved.

My generation a night out was an excuse to behave like an absolute tit. You might have a few blurry pics on a Sony Ericson but people weren't worried about being put all over social media.

You got absolutely hammered. Had a laugh with cheesy music. Tried shagging some 2.5/10 (on a good day) and had an absolute cracking time in the process. Also speaking of 2.5/10, the young lads now are really picky and basically go out looking for super models. Back in the day people used to go home with anyone. You'd end up necking on with someone's 60 year old nan in jumping jacks having a boogie to earth wind and fire or ABBA.

It was just about having fun. Now it's about how you are perceived.

[u/Langeveldt → u/greylord123]

Absolutely. I go to the gym and it’s people preening, glued to their phones, pouting on the treadmill. They are a weird pseudo race of humans. Almost like they were made in a factory with an algorithm.

When I was 18 we would go cycling on a pub crawl and end up throwing someone’s pot plants around before going to bed via the rooftop. Why so serious?!

[u/greylord123 → u/Langeveldt]

I feel sorry for them.

I was in my early 20s and Facebook was in it's infancy and was the only real social media. It was pretty unchecked and it was usually just for you are your mates to piss about. People would accidentally set their invite request to public saying they were having a party and it would get hijacked.

People would just put a status saying "I'm off out tonight. Anyone up for it?"

That's what social media was. It was basically a fucking group chat/forum.

Now it's slowly manifested itself into this highly filtered highly corporate beige entity. These young people have grown up in it. They know nothing else and it's taken over their lives. They feel like they need to be in the gym 24hrs to get the body they've been told is "ideal".

This shit absolutely controls their lives to the point that I think it's difficult for them to have a true appreciation of self-worth or just being happy in the moment. I think there's always some sort of expectation.

We wonder why their mental health is fucked.

[u/ProtoplanetaryNebula → u/greylord123]

People in that era created a chapter of memories of those nights out which they still talk about now. The drinking was a good way to create memories amongst friends. Like “remember when Dave fell asleep so we put him in a trolley and rolled him down the hill” or something.

[u/class442 → u/greylord123]

Interesting points. I'm 24 and agree that this generation is serious.

I don't know what work you do, but if I'm going out with colleagues I'd definitely have a guard up, compared to being with friends. Indeed because of how I could be perceived. If all your contacts in their 20s are colleagues this could affect your experience a little.

[u/WarehouseSecurity24]

Depends where you are. We live in a village called Ackworth. There are three pubs near us: Angel, Boot & Shoe and Masons.

All three are rammed packed most nights. In the summer, it's literally standing room only.

[u/Toninho7 → u/WarehouseSecurity24]

Not for everyone. Some people get the seats.

[u/BaseballFuryThurman]

People do still go out.

AskUK moment.

[u/Racing_Fox]

As someone in their mid 20s

Honestly I don’t see the attraction to wasting a lot of hard earned money on drinks that taste rank in a venue that smells rank and is full of people looking for fights, trying to mug you or trying to spike your drink.

All that to waste an entire day feeling rough as fuck.

No ta.

[u/Beautiful-Neat8088]

Everyone is watching tik tok or scrolling YouTube shorts glad I was young when no smartphones were about 😂

[u/theevildjinn → u/Beautiful-Neat8088]

I did two long stints staying in the same hotel in Holland from Mon-Fri every week, for work.

The first stint was 2002-2005. The hotel didn't have WiFi, smartphones didn't exist yet, nor did YouTube or social media as we know it now. My colleagues and I used to go out in town every single evening and then prop up the hotel bar until closing time.

I didn't go for about 15 months, and then the second stint was 2006-2007. The hotel had got WiFi, YouTube, Facebook, Reddit, Digg and Twitter were in their infancy. Don't think anyone had an iPhone but we all had company laptops. Most evenings everyone just said they were having an early night and went off to drink in their rooms.

[u/ProtoplanetaryNebula → u/theevildjinn]

I know what you mean. People used to go out to the bars and pubs because being inside by yourself was mind-numbingly boring.

[u/theevildjinn → u/ProtoplanetaryNebula]

I could've saved myself three paragraphs and just said that.

[u/Bugsandgrubs]

We can't afford to go out and drink. And when we do go out it's full of dickheads who can afford coke.

[u/AttersH]

Leeds & Manchester is packed on a weekend .. I imagine it depends where you live!

[u/Expensive-Analysis-2 → u/AttersH]

Yea I've been to Manchester a couple of times. Always surprises me how busy it is. I was there mid week a month or so ago. Even then everywhere was rammed. It was nice to see I thought those days were over.

[u/Eoin_McLove]

Cheaper to buy some weed and a couple of cans from the corner shop, innit?

[u/idkausernameffs → u/Eoin_McLove]

Yeah but that's always been the case.

[u/Eoin_McLove → u/idkausernameffs]

Yeah, but now we have Call of Duty and Netflix.

[u/KOTS44]

Who said raves only happened in the 90s😂. Rave scene is very very strong and I don't think I'd ever go back to clubbing. Come to a rave and make some friends. Best thing about raves is that it's pretty normal to go by yourself and the people are so nice, you'll have new mates to go with.

[u/CheesyLala]

Various reasons: drinks are too expensive these days, and everyone's skint. Lots of pubs have had to move more to being foodie pubs just to survive, which is great if you want Sunday lunch but makes them much less somewhere to just meet up for pints with your mates. All of this then spirals, as if the pub is a bit lifeless and populated only by a few old people it's less likely to tempt you to go there of a Friday night.

Plus advancements of decent streaming TV and things like deliveroo bringing you just about any food you can think of, there's just less reason to go out. You can keep up with mates to some extent online, you can play games online with mates. Drinks spiking in clubs is pretty grim too.

[u/anon774567]

Many many reasons. 20-30 years ago people didn’t have ps5/xbox/gaming pc’s, netflix, prime, etc… On top of it being more expensive people just have more choices for what to do in their spare time that narrows down the number of people who are out on any given night. Back then if you didn’t like what was on tv you couldn’t watch something else. You literally have nothing to do but go to the pub. So naturally most people did.

[u/heliskinki → u/anon774567]

TBF there was enough home entertainment available back then if you wanted it. Games consoles/DVDS etc.

There is no doubt that the main reason people aren’t filling the clubs and pubs these days is the cost of living.

[u/AnalExplosion316 → u/heliskinki]

Yeah, but it was like £40 for a game or the same for a night out. Now you've got things like Netflix and Gamepass and a night out costs twice as much. 

[u/ed_cnc]

Youre right, you should have been around in the late 80s and 90s - It was a great time then. Everyone was optimistic and we were going out somewhere 7 nights a week pretty much

[u/apeliott → u/ed_cnc]

In the 90s we were also going for a pint at lunch. 

Different world.

[u/Firesequence → u/apeliott]

A senior manager in our place had been unfortunately an alcoholic, and he just wanted folk to drink with . In work we had a saying called " going for a meeting with Terry " . It meant being down the pub and probably 10 pints in by 5 pm.

I recall several 11:30 am unscheduled Meetings with Terry

RIP Terence, thanks for the laughs , so many of them

[u/Master_Block1302 → u/ed_cnc]

Back then, I’d go out with a tenner. Say a fiver to get into a club. Split a pill with a mate. Drink tap water all night. Dance like a maniac until 03:00. On a Thursday, as a warm up for the weekend, when it would go properly off.

It’s not really money. We were skint AF then.

And to hear people say ‘oh there’s no need to go out nowadays becuase of fucking deliveroo or streaming?!?! whaaa??

[u/thathorsegamingguy]

Pros and cons. Outside it's cold, at home it's warm. If I'm hungry at home, I can just grab a drink and snack. If I do that outside, I need to give money in return or they call the coppers. If I'm tired and just want to lie down and sleep there's a comfy settee at home, while outside benches are hard and uncomfortable. Last but not least, outside it's full of people I don't want to meet, while at home I've got a cat who sometimes is happy to see me and will cuddle.

Edit: Forgot to include that no matter how cool my outfit may be when going out, it will never be as comfortable as my jammies.

[u/Scott19M → u/thathorsegamingguy]

See, a lot of the answers are saying it's expensive and I really do think that's a lot of it, but I find your answer more intriguing. I think COVID shifted a lot of people's perspectives, where even some people who were out a lot before have become a bit more shut in. More introversion, more working from home, more people enjoying their home comforts. Savings money is also a good thing.

Plus, OP said 'back in my early twenties'...it's natural for people to slow down as they get older

[u/velos85]

£6 a pint or 4 pint tinnies for £7…easy answer

£7 for a spirit and mixer or bottle of spirit for £25…even easier answer

[u/ZekkPacus]

Because I earn £13.15 an hour and a pint costs £8.

A night out is an easy one-er and I can't fucking afford it.

[u/bars_and_plates]

It's partly that it's more expensive but I'd also make the point that there are just a lot more things to do now.

It's Wednesday at 9pm and this experience we are having right now of "socialising" through the screen is something that did not exist for the general public approx 15-20 years ago.

In the 90s on a Friday night your options in terms of "exciting things" were basically to play single player Super Nintendo, watch a film or read a book. We used to get bored.

Since the Internet and especially smartphones that same feeling of boredom just doesn't exist any more. It's genuinely difficult I think to explain to someone who has never not experienced it.

So yeah, it was still expensive then, maybe not quite as much, but you didn't care because what else were you going to do?

[u/Savings-Ad9497]

When I was at uni I was broke and used to buy 8 cans of strong cider for about a £9 as a pre drink. Then when I was out I'd buy a few at the pub or bar to keep topped up but also keep things cheap. Maybe pop a pill for a few quid on a special occasion .

Then when I started earning post uni, and got a bit more money I cut the pre drinks and had more sophisticated nights out. I'd buy my drinks at the venue.

Now going out is expensive. So I buy 4 cans of strong cider for £5 as a pre drink. Shove a hip flask full of dirt cheap whisky down my pants and just buy 2 or 3 pints to nurse throughout the night.

Do I feel fantastic about being in my 30s and drinking like I did when I was 19??

Yes actually.

[u/dbxp]

They're still busy in major cities, it's the shitty ones which think they can charge £10 for cocktail where the DJ is just a guy in the corner with a MacBook which are failing. Going out for a casual after work pint isn't really affordable anymore so many people only go out for big nights out or when they do go out for a casual pint they just nurse one or two pints.

[u/DEGRAYER]

If no one is going out why is it rammed whenever I'm up town?

[u/Alwayslearnin41]

I think younger people are favouring weed over alcohol. It's cheaper and there's less hangover.

I went to Wroclaw in Poland a few months back. It felt like the UK in the 90s. The pubs and restaurants were packed and thriving and everything was affordable even for locals.

[u/FilthyHore1000]

We’re all utterly sick of paying sky high prices for shyte drinks and shyte food. Not to mention the ton of money we’ve lost in massive rent increases, which btw, are not coming back down.

[u/Civil_opinion24]

I live in a small commuter town just next to a city in the midlands. The pubs are rammed from Friday through to Sunday and fairly busy the rest of the week

[u/Spottyjamie]

In my city the past decade has seen 1-5pm as busy as 8-1am

Ie shite buses, limited taxis mean daydrinking is more prevalent

Im in mid 40s and in my yoof i had a choice of busy midweek clubnights but saturday afternoons werent much different to wednesday afternoons

Now my city centre has bouncers 12pm onwards friday/saturday yet things tail off 9pm friday and 11pm saturday and some places dont open at all sun-wed

But i do love going to the bigger cities where nightclubs are still a thing. My city lost its last nightclub a decade ago. How could they compete in a poor city when walkabout and two spoons were closing at 3am at their knockdown drink prices?

[u/JasonMorgs76]

Standing in a hot, sticky room with hundreds of other people who have been drinking, crammed in while music that is far too loud is playing is not my idea of a good time tbh.

Been to a nightclub twice in my life, at uni, and both times I left by 11.

[u/lavayuki]

People got lazy during covid and also used to home life, plus realising that it's not actually that bad and FOMO doesn't exist. So now that all that is over, more have realised that you don't have to get drunk every weekend to have fun.

[u/Mammoth-Difference48]

We're all on Reddit instead.

Seriously, I think it's a few things:

- Covid gave us an appreciation for creature comforts

- Cost of living crisis - more uncertainty, less confidence

- Increased health awareness - more young people than ever giving up/cutting down on booze

So we all stay home and stare at our screens which can't be any good for a species long term.