Data from MyFitnessPal "shows that its 200 million users, on average, have cut their drinking by almost one-third since 2020."

I'm mean sure it's fun to drink once in a blue moon for a special occasion. But if you drink on the regular basis you need help.

I definitely drink less than I did in 2020; but I wasn’t drinking a ton then either.

You find it implausible that people drink less now than they did at the height of the Covid pandemic?

I think a lot of people drank way more heavily in 2020 than they have before or since.

covid19.nih.gov

Alcohol Use During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Although alcohol consumption has returned to pre-pandemic levels, alcohol-related deaths increased in 2020

Open link

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Totally believable. Lots of people changed their habits for the much better or much worse during Covid; I’d expect that those using a fitness app would be more likely to be among the former. Also, many of the outlets for binge drinking culture shrank during Covid, and many likely just didn’t start back up.

I am not believing that for a minute.

People probably drank more during the lock down but from what I see with my running buddies, they drink as much as usual. Which is usually to much anyway.

I'd be interested to see that data for users under the age of 30.

~100% of people drink less when they graduate college and enter the real world. I'd reckon that's a big portion of the "far less alcohol" group.

Certainly in my country the 'Instagram' generation are a lot more image focused and hence don't want beer bellies. They just get coked off their heads at every opportunity instead

The vast majority of people don't drink at all, and therefore can't reduce their drinking. So either these 200 million users all drank, or only some did and stopped drinking drastically.

For example, 100 million didn't drink, and 100 million did, and the latter reduced by 2/3, for an overall average of 1/3.

either A) this app attracts a far drunker population than average or B) it doesn't, but those who it does attract quit really quick.

Probably people just entering as calories vs drinks. Can choose other items, because you know your data is being sold.

I definitely cut back, used to be a moderate drinker pre-Covid, became a problem drinker March-November 2020, then decided I needed to mostly stop because of my weight, hangovers, and running performance. Have only drank 3 times in 2023 and only to the point of being mildly buzzed. NA beers have been a massive game changer by the way.

The majority of Americans in pretty much every demographic has had alcohol in the past year.

On #2, that might be selection bias. People who increased their drinking during the pandemic and decided to improve their health choices later are the type who would download and regularly use an app like myfitness. It’s not a general poll of the public.

This is totally anecdotal but it fits my experience. I'm in my 40s and more than half of my friends have basically stopped drinking all together and that includes me. It's been almost 2 years since I've had alcohol and with all the greats and a beers out there, and I am aware they have a very low amount of alcohol in them, I have no plans to start drinking again anytime soon.

It used to be only people who had problems totally quit but I just feel better mentally and physically.

I was a moderate drinker. I quite completely in 2017. Have no plans to start again. I feel way better. Mainly because I sleep better.

Not that I'm proselytizing. To each his own. I have friends who drink the same as always, and a few who drink less. I'm the only one who stopped.

I know one person who drank a lot more in the pandemic. He was an extreme extrovert and just could not handle lockdown. He eased up once we could all go back to work, and bars, and travel.

Tech company presents data to suggest its product helps people. Shocked.

200 million users, eh? Is that 75% bots? Or, do they count a "user" as each time a person opens it (so 1 person could be 30-40 users in a month)?

Trust me, there are not 200 million individual users of MyFitnessPal! There aren't 200mil who have heard of the app.

Yeah. Fitness trackers show people how much their sleep quality degrades when they drink, which encourage people to quit drinking. This has nothing to do with the pandemic or what the average American does.

The part in quotes means that they took a selected non-random sampling of 5-10 users. Then, they selected a week from the last 3mos and compared it to a week in 2020 that gave them an average of almost 1/3 less alcohol consumption for these individuals. Then, this average reduction is applied to the 2mil instances (“users”) that the app has been used since its inception.

They easily could have found that 100% no longer drink, but people might be suspicious of that finding.

Young people are doing more drugs that ever. That’s the reason. I hope they go back to alcohol, so they don’t f up their lives before it’s too late.