Addiction affects over twenty million Americans every year, including adolescents and adults of all ages. While it is more prevalent than ever before, it is not a new problem – people have suffered from addiction throughout human history. As such, it cannot be attributed to one or another generation.
However, as the millennial generation came of age, addiction experts noticed that substance abuse was hitting them harder than other generations. That trend has continued, leading to particularly high rates of addiction among millennials.
Why are millennials at greater risk of addiction? Let’s take a look at the reasons for the problem, its scope, and what we can do about it.
Prevalence of Addiction Among Millennials
Before we go into the statistics of how prevalent addiction is among millennials, it is necessary to first identify who is considered a millennial.
Generations are not objective constructs, as it is not always easy to define the commonalities among people of certain generations, and so there is debate about where the millennial generation begins and ends. However, millennials are typically defined as individuals born between 1981 and 1996.
Research suggests that millennials are more likely to engage in binge drinking, prescription medication misuse, and digital addictions (e.g., social media and gaming) than previous generations. The rise of digital technology and widespread access to the internet have contributed to new forms of addictive behavior, further complicating traditional addiction treatment approaches.
It is not just in comparison to older generations that millennials stand out. Statistics from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) indicate that millennials also report higher levels of alcohol and drug use compared to Gen Z while also experiencing elevated rates of behavioral addictions.
What is it about the millennial generation that leads to the problem of high substance abuse rates?
Who are Millennials?
This is where the defining characteristics of the millennial generation become pertinent. What is it that connects people born between the early nineteen-eighties and late nineties?
There are a number of factors that influenced the lives of the millennial generation in a specific direction. Millennials grew up during an age of transition. In their early childhoods, digital technology was the domain of businesses and techies. Then, everything started to change. Soon, every home had a computer and children were eager to learn to use them to play games, do projects, and understand their inner workings.
The internet and its widespread adoption accelerated the transition beyond what anyone could have expected. Where once access to information was restricted by locality and resources, now the floodgates were open. As millennials grew into adolescence and then young adulthood, smartphones brought the internet into the palms of their hands.
Social media was the catalyst for even further transformation. People were suddenly connecting throughout America and the globe, and even those living in sheltered communities gained access to a much wider world.
But didn’t the older generations go through this too? And what does this have to do with the risk of addiction?
The Millennial Experience
The biggest difference between how millennials and older generations experienced the start of the digital revolution is the age they were when it occurred. Gen X and their elders were already adults. Their main developmental years were in the past. Millennials, on the other hand, were in the prime of those developmental stages.
In other words, technology did not shift the entire paradigm of how older generations saw and interacted with the world in the same way it did for millennials.
Still, what does this have to do with the risk of addiction? To understand this phenomenon better, it is worthwhile to look at how Gen Z differs.
Gen Z and Technology
Research suggests that Gen Z is at lower risk of addiction. Since Gen Z have grown up with this ‘new’ paradigm of the digital age, how do they differ from millennials?
When you look at members of Gen Z, you see people for whom digital technology is as much a part of their lives as a first language. They did not need to adapt to the internet and its offerings as they grew up with it.
In contrast, millennials experienced it in its newness, before anyone knew where it was going or how it would affect people. They were suddenly living in a much bigger world, and one which no one seemed to know anything about.
This leads to the factors which put millennials at greater risk of addiction.
Why are Millennials at Greater Risk of Addiction?
Stress
Addiction has many causes and cannot be pinned down to just one or another factor. However, stress and mental illnesses like depression and anxiety are significant risk factors. The millennial generation tends to experience more stress and be more vulnerable to depression and anxiety for a number of reasons.
Broader geopolitical awareness
Not so long ago, the person who could speak with expertise on local politics was rare. It took intention and effort to gain access to information, and even then it tended to be limited in range. But since the nineties, young people have gradually been exposed to countless events at home and around the world.
While knowledge can be power, too much of it can also be overwhelming. There is so much going on in the world at any one time. Also, it tends to be the bad news that gains exposure. It is far too easy to know about disasters and political upheaval happening everywhere at any moment, leading to a sense of anxiety and lack of control.
Gen Zers are more adept at compartmentalizing and not getting overinvested in every negative event. Millennials struggle to do the same.
Socioeconomic struggles
Unfortunately, some of the biggest stressors are closer to home. Previous generations experienced a sense of economic freedom, with wages relatively high and the cost-of-living relatively low. The population grew and some resources became scarcer. In particular, land was no longer as readily available. A millennial who grew up in a single-family home may have the same type of job as their parents but can’t afford anything more than a small apartment.
Wages have also not kept up with inflation. The cost-of-living is higher than ever before, but people are still earning wages with which they couldn’t make ends meet ten years ago.
Job opportunities
Millennials have also had to navigate a rapidly changing job market. Professions that were lucrative in the past are becoming defunct with technological advancements. Competition in the job market has made it necessary to rack up the achievements and experience in order to get a good job. Many have been left with no choice but to get two or more jobs just to pay for the basics.
The Impact of Digital Technology
In addition to the stress millennials have had to face, they are also the generation most impacted by the negative effects of digital technology.
Gaming and social media addictions
Behavioral addictions are more common among the millennial generation. In many cases, it is gaming and social media addictions that have become so prevalent. Unfortunately, as millennials were growing up, there was not much known about the potential for gaming addictions, considering that home consoles and PC gaming was new. The protective measures taken by parents of later generations may not have seemed so necessary then.
This was exacerbated by social media. Social media seemed like an innocent and worthwhile addition to the internet. Because it blew up so quickly and new platforms were released year after year, the potential for social media addiction was not initially understood.
Millennials, adapting to the changing world, adopted the use of social media without realizing that they might struggle to moderate their usage.
The mental health impact of social media
Even those who did not become addicted to social media were not immune to the mental health struggles it has caused. It took a few years for data to emerge that showed the potential negative impact of social media on mental health. It is well-known now, but that was not the case in the early days, when millennials were the main target audience.
The mental health struggles caused by social media increased the risk of addiction for millennials. Whereas older generations were not as affected and younger generations wiser to the need for caution, millennials took the biggest brunt.
What Next?
Millennials are at a higher risk of addiction, but what can be done about it?
Awareness is the first step towards prevention, as millennials can take extra caution when considering using substances. Also important is the expansion of access to affordable mental health care. For this, digital health initiatives may be helpful, as well as workplace policies that support work-life balance and financial stability.
Additionally, leveraging technology for harm reduction – such as AI-driven therapy apps and online peer support communities – can help those struggling with addiction find accessible resources.
Addiction can affect people of all ages, although millennials are at higher risk. If you or a loved one are struggling with addiction, reach out to Seasons in Malibu for expert treatment today.
Sources
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): 2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) Releases. Accessed February 2025.
- National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI): Generational Trends and Patterns in Readmission within a Substance Use Disorder Treatment System. Accessed February 2025.
- PubMed: Binge Alcohol and Substance Use Across Birth Cohorts and the Global Financial Crisis in the United States. Accessed February 2025.
- Trust for America’s Health: Millennial Generation Deaths Due to Drug Misuse up 400 percent Since 1999; Deaths from Drugs and Suicide at All-Time Highs. Accessed February 2025.
