[treve]

My understanding is that going out, (binge-)drinking has actually significantly gone down in the last decade.

I can't vouch for these specific stats, but I've come across multiple articles over the years that support this. Here's at least some data I found:

https://www.childtrends.org/indicators/binge-drinking

Anecdotally, tons of clubs have closed in since the 90's with no replacement where I lived (Toronto and North Netherlands). Everything at least in my circles suggests that drugs, drinking, partying is all happening less now compared to the previous generations.

Ymmv depending on where you are from though.

[rorykoehler]

I randomly landed and browsed through Courtney Loves Twitter today and she posts lots of pictures of partying in the early 90s with other celebs. It’s the antithesis of what is cool today. Just looks like a train wreck really.

[dragonwriter]

Er, Courtney Love was widely perceived as a trainwreck in the 90s, so her Twitter being full of now-seen-as-trainwreck stuff from the 1990s probably isn’t a good measure of change from the 1990s to now.

[rorykoehler]

But her scene and the train wrecking was seen as “cool” by kids. I don’t think that is the case anymore. Kids look up to Elon Musk and YouTubers want to do startups and content instead.

[dragonwriter]

> But her scene and the train wrecking was seen as “cool” by kids

Not very broadly, even among “the kids” (who, then and now, are far from monolithic.) She was more seen as a trainwreck that was in cool circles, not as a cool trainwreck.

> Kids look up to Elon Musk

Yeah, kids looked up to successful business and tech figures in the 1990s, and there are trainwreck entertainment industry celebs today, too.

It's not the case that Musk is idolized by a similar segment of the youth as would have idolized Love in the 1990s.