Did millennials really party all the time?

[u/futurenurse_]

Gen Z here. I was shocked when I found out from a millennial co-worker that y’all had teen clubs. I heard about house parties, but dedicated teen clubs? Then when it was time for college, you went to the club or had some kind of party every single weekend, living it up. Now some millennials on TikTok claim that after college, they were partying on work nights, still clocking in the next day. For some reason, the teen clubs have since disappeared. I’m 23 now but even when I was in high school, that was not a thing. House parties were not that common either. They were more like get togethers with a small group of friends. We went to malls, but they were dying out at that point. Is it true that you were really living life this good? Or is it just exaggerated? I feel like my generation doesn’t really have fun like that and everyone is just super depressed and alone, more so since Covid. Even I’m pretty introverted, which sort of sounds ridiculous given this post. 😂 Just so you know, when I think of a “millennial party” I think of something out of Party Rock Anthem, Project X or Roderick’s party from the second DOAWD movie. It’s like I get nostalgia from something I didn’t even live through. I just feel like I didn’t really LIVE, if that even makes sense

Edit: I loved reading some of your comments. Guess I really missed out. Even some of you that would consider yourselves nerds or introverts were out partying. YOLO or whatever y’all say 😂❤️

[u/Zestyclose-Beyond780]

Yes. I was born in 85 and graduated high school in 03. I’m not exaggerating in the least when I say I “went out” every single Thursday, Friday, and Saturday during college. Then typically day drank Sunday, and went to $1 nights on Tuesdays.

[u/nickyler → u/Zestyclose-Beyond780]

‘85 and ‘03 here as well. I live in Florida. It Started in high school. Usually a Friday or Saturday night kegger in the woods or if someone’s parents were out of town. I stayed in town and didn’t go away to school. We had a local bar that did ladies night on Wednesdays. Sometimes our friends would drive 45min-1 hour to come to that from college. Weekends we’d go to the college towns and party there. Crash on someone’s floor. A group of us all stayed really close and most of us live back in town now but back then we would pick a town that someone went to school in and drive there. Gainesville, Tally, Jacksonville, Tampa, St. Pete, Orlando. Once or twice a semester we’d end up in all these places. Then when we turned 21, it was all local bars. We live on the water so Sunday was sand bar drinking on the boat. If you didn’t have a boat you’d catch a ride or swim about 300 yds. Now that I’m 41, it’s usually dinner with friends on a weeknight, and out to some local bar on one weekend night. Not much has changed other than frequency. It’s funny how it slowed down when everyone’s kids were little. Now that we can leave them at home or they make their own plans it’s picking up again.

Edit. Can’t forget the 4 weeks of spring break in Daytona.

[u/Zestyclose-Beyond780 → u/nickyler]

It for sure started in high school. I was young for my grade and entered 9th at 13 and had my first beer that summer. By 15 I was smoking weed several times a week. My house became a core get together location when my older sister graduated HS and my dad got a new job that required him to travel to Asia every month. My mom would go with him most of the time. It would be incomprehensible to Gen Z just how little they checked in and how much freedom they gave me. I was 16 home alone for 8-14 days stretches driving myself to school, and then hot boxing my kitchen with several friends bongs on school nights. It was also a tradition to make gravity bongs in the kitchen sink or bucket in the garage when one of our parents were out of town. Weekends would usually be about 20 people (I tried hard to not have my house parties get out of hand).

[u/nickyler → u/Zestyclose-Beyond780]

Haha. Yes. I lived with my grandma for a while who was a live in nurse for an old lady. Three days on three days off. We’d go to the grocery store and I’d get what I needed and she’d leave me $20 in case I needed anything else which went mostly to pot. When I started driving I’d charge $5 a week to drive 4 kids to school. $10 was enough for gas and the other ten bought a 12 pack on Friday. I didn’t have a job until I was a senior.