Gen Z May Be Killing Happy Hour By Not Knowing What It Is

We live at a moment in human history where we may be more divided than ever, but if you were trying to come up with something that everyone could agree was a good thing, I think that a good option would be happy hours.

Who doesn't enjoy cheap drinks and food specials? 

Well, according to an article from The New York Post, at least in New York City, happy hours are on the decline because for Gen Zers the idea of happy hour is completely foreign to them.

I don't know about you, but when I stumble across a good happy hour, it becomes imprinted in my brain and becomes a go-to spot. Even a "meh" happy hour is a good happy hour. 

In fact, the only ones I don't like are the ones at restaurants that go rogue and say, "Our happy hour is Monday through Thursday from 1 pm to 3 pm."

Oh, you mean when the overwhelming majority of people can't go. Thanks for that…

However, according to this article by The Post's Lydia Moynihan, everything from drinking habits to the way we work has caused happy hours to start disappearing.

"People used to work from 9 to 5. And you were happy at 5:01 because your workday ended," Eugene Remm, co-founder of Catch Hospitality Group is quoted as saying in the post. "But now there is no beginning of work and there is no end to work."

Okay, but do people not like taking breaks from their unending work schedules for discounted well drinks?

Hey Gen Zers, the people in this photo are at something called a "happy hour." Traditionally, they take place around the time people get off of work. See those plates of what appear to be pita chips and some kind of dip? Yeah, those were probably half the price of what they normally are. (Getty Images)

Well, not entirely, because it's not just the work schedule, it's that tee-totaling is one of the biggest trends with Gen Z, right up there with raw-dogging flights and bed-rotting (for the geezers out there, that means you just lay in your bed… yes, Gen Z had to come up with a new word for that).

But again, do folks in their early 20s not understand that happy hours usually include food specials? Like, if you don't want to drink some cheap domestic beer, that's your decision, but who is passing up half-priced fried cheese curds or spinach and artichoke dip?

Gen Zers, I guess.

I feel bad for Gen Zers because I don't think they're hell-bent on killing happy hours — although it sounds like they're off to a good start — I think they're just ignorant to them through no fault of their own.

So, I think we need to spread the good word about happy hours to the younger generations. It's the only way that the rest of us can continue to get cheap booze and nachos on weekdays between the hours of 4 pm and 6 pm.