We wrote a recent post yesterday about alcohol-free spirits not as “alternatives”,  but as ritual-preserving tools that allow people to remain part of the social moment without compromising wellbeing.

It opened a bigger conversation:

If rituals are shifting… what are they shifting toward?

Because alcohol is not the point.
Ritual is the point.
Belonging is the point.
Shared identity is the point.

And the rituals that create belonging are changing,  generationally.

Baby Boomers & Gen X

Ritual: Pub Culture — Work → Drink → Unwind

For Boomers and Gen X, the pub was not simply a place to drink.
It was the third place — the social anchor outside home and work.

The ritual solved:

• The pressure of duty

• The need for shared release

• The desire to say: “We got through it,  together.”

Communal drinking acted as a mechanism of solidarity, emotional discharge, and identity formation (1, 2, 3).

This was less about intoxication, and more about belonging through shared endurance.

Millennials

Ritual: Coffee Culture, Brunch, Craft, “Experience”

Millennials didn’t remove alcohol,  they reframed the ritual.

Connection became tied to:

• Taste

• Aesthetic identity

• Space and atmosphere

• Brand alignment

Meaning shifted from consumption → to curation.

Coffee shops, brunch venues and “experience-led” dining became spaces for identity expression and social bonding (4, 5).

The ritual solved:

• Who am I?

• How do I belong?

• Where is my tribe?

Gen Z

Ritual: Presence, Clarity, Shared Grounding

Gen Z enters adulthood:

• With sleep and stress data visible in real-time

• Experiencing burnout before 25

• Hyperconnected digitally yet socially fragmented

So their rituals are different.

They seek:

• Run clubs

• Cold water dips

• Communal saunas

• Breathwork circles

• Alcohol-free nights

• Mental health gatherings

These are not “wellness activities.”

They are belonging structures.

They say:

I want to feel connected without losing myself.
I want to be here, fully, consciously, and well.

This is ritual as regulation — intentionally shaping nervous system state together (6, 7, 8).

The Generational Pattern

Rituals evolve because the emotional needs of the era change.

The Cultural Pivot: The Rise of Social Wellness

People are no longer seeking:

• Escape

• Numbness

• Obligatory socialising

They are seeking:

• Presence

• Co-regulation

• Emotional clarity

• Connection without the biological cost

The new “night out” looks like:

• Ice bath + sauna with friends

• Saturday run club + coffee

• Shared meals, phones down

• Beautiful alcohol-free cocktails

• Intimate live music

• Conversation rather than distraction

This is not anti-alcohol.

It is pro-conscious participation.

The Future of Social Life

The future isn't:

• Wellness done alone

• Self-optimisation as isolation

• Rejecting culture

The future is:

Social Wellness - living well, together.

Rituals are not disappearing.
They are being redefined around:

• Belonging

• Presence

• Nervous system support

• Emotional connection

• Sustainable performance

In other words:

We are moving from escaping our lives to being in them. Together.

References

1. MacGregor, S. (2020). The Pub and the People. Addiction, 116(2), 407-411.
2. Dimova, E., et al. (2023). Local alcohol availability and drinking norms. Drug and Alcohol Review, 42(3), 691-703.
3. Pracha, A. (2025). Perceived pub culture in Toronto. https://doi.org/10.32920/30433048
4. Sudarman, D. (2023). Cultural impact of coffee shops on millennials. Santhet, 7(2), 318-326.
5. Godwin, M., Drennan, J., & Previte, J. (2016). Social capital behind drinking rituals. Journal of Social Marketing, 6(3), 294-314.
6.  Hrnčíř, V., Chira, A., & Gray, R. (2024). Alcohol and social evolution. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3685937/v1
7.  Servadio, L. & Östberg, J. (2023). Consumer culture and state influence. Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, 16(2), 125-152.
8.  Wagner, A. (2018). Norms of emotional expression online. Social Media + Society, 4(1).