Dry January doesn't have to mean sober January — at least for the 21 percent of participants turning to cannabis or CBD to make it through the month.
According to a survey by Civic Science, 67 percent of Dry January participants, or those choosing to abstain from alcohol consumption for the month of January, reported they are replacing alcohol with something — whether that be mocktails and alcohol-free beers or sodas and seltzers.
The largest share, 21 percent, said they would enjoy cannabis or non-psychoactive CBD in place of alcohol. The preference for substitutes wasn't uniform across all respondents. Cannabis was the most popular substitute among the youngest respondents with 34 percent of 21- to 24-year-olds preferring it. Among the 55 and older crowd, by contrast, just 9 percent reported they'd enjoy cannabis or CBD instead of alcohol, and 54 percent reported they'd stay the course without any support.
Dry January's Growing Popularity
Interest in Dry January has climbed over the recent years. At the close of 2022, about 41 percent of respondents in a separate survey by Civic Science reported they were "somewhat to very likely" to participate in Dry January come 2023. That's in-line with pre-pandemic data for the start of 2020, but slightly behind 2022 responses, which rebounded after a lag in interest during the 2021 pandemic year.
As with the preference for cannabis, interest in Dry January tends to vary by age — and younger generations are leading the charge. For the year of 2023, more than half of the youngest respondents, aged 21 to 24 years old, said they were "somewhat to very likely" to participate versus just 41 percent of those 55 and older.
Studies suggest social media is contributing to a growing reluctance to drink with younger generations fearful of consequences if their drunk escapades are documented on the internet. According to 2019 research from Google, 49 percent of Generation Z reports their image online is "always at the back of their mind when they go out socializing and drinking." Some 76 percent reported it is important to have control of "all aspects of their life at all times," according to the research.
Shelli Avenevoli, Ph.D., the deputy director for the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), joined Cheddar to discuss concerns about the devastating impact the pandemic has had on the nation's youth. While mental health issues have been a point of concern for the populace at large, Avenevoli talked about how vulnerable young people have been during the COVID-19 crisis. "It's important to keep in mind, for children and adolescents, that the pandemic is occurring during a time of very formative development when social connection is vital for health and optimal function," she said. Avenevoli also noted broad political and social upheavals that have contributed to the issue but also things that can be done to help minors with their mental wellbeing.
Cheddar Innovates gets a look at the satellite that's searching for the earliest light from the big bang, plus a former Nike executive breaks down what the new era of sportswear looks like.
A packed Thursday pod: Carlo and Baker cover the latest developments in the Ghislaine Maxwell, Jussie Smollett and Elizabeth Holmes trials. Plus, Dems are losing the Hispanic vote, Boris Johnson in trouble again, and is it possible that Adele has peaked?
Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, faced withering questions on Capitol Hill about the reports the social media app was aware of the severe mental health impacts it was having on teenage girls. Karen Kornbluh, the director of digital innovation and democracy for the German Marshall Fund, joined Cheddar to discuss the rare show of bipartisan outrage on display at the Senate hearing. "The senators came really loaded for bear on both sides of the aisle," she said. Kornbluh explained how senators like Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) set up fake Instagram accounts with teen girl profiles in order to research the effects firsthand.
A mental health crisis among young people is looming, and a large part of it is online. Cheddar News speaks with digital policy expert Karen Kornbluh on the issue.
Back in 2010, several large companies pledged to work towards stopping deforestation by 2020. Companies like Nestle and Carrefour even went further to say that they would eliminate deforestation from their supply chains altogether. However, fast forward to 2020, many of these companies have failed to reach that goal. Associate Director of Forest at the CDP Nadia Bishai, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
A new study by Pfizer-BioNTech found that a third dose of their COVID-19 vaccine is effective against the emerging omicron variant. The pharmaceutical giants also look to manufacture a vaccine specific to the omicron variant by March 2022.
