From Friday pubbing to running clubs: Why Gen Z is making a surprising lifestyle switch in this country?

For generations, the local pub has been the heart of social life—a place where colleagues unwound after work, football fans packed in to watch matches, families celebrated milestones and friends gathered every Friday night. But for many young adults today, that tradition is slowly giving way to a different kind of social scene, according to a report by CNN. 

Instead of heading to the pub, more members of Gen Z are choosing running clubs, padel courts and alcohol-free coffee raves. Experts say the shift reflects changing attitudes towards health, productivity and socialising, and may also be contributing to the challenges facing Britain's pub industry.

The trend comes at a time when pubs are already under financial strain. According to a study published in May by the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), 161 pubs across England, Wales and Scotland closed between January and March this year—an average of nearly two every day. Since 2000, the number of pubs has dropped from 60,800 to 44,650.

Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the BBPA, said rising costs and taxes remain major pressures on the industry. But sociologists say economics tells only part of the story.

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A different idea of a Friday night

The social rituals that defined earlier generations are no longer as appealing to many young adults.

Thomas Thurnell-Read, a sociologist at Loughborough University who studies leisure and consumption, said drinking was once deeply woven into workplace and social culture.

"For a lot of professions and industries a generation ago, it would have been the norm to go to the pub on a Friday or go to the pub during lunch time, whether it's a three-pint lunch, and then back to the desk. Things like that sound nostalgic," he said.

He added that younger generations increasingly see heavy drinking differently.

"This is a generation (that's) grown up with Instagram and TikTok… you have to be seen doing well," he said.

"That kind of vision of time in the pub, or the morning lost when you're sleeping off the hangover, is viewed as wasted time."

Research by alcohol awareness charity Drinkaware also points to a growing interest in low- and no-alcohol drinks among younger adults.

Sport is becoming the new social hub

For 24-year-old Rhys Lloyd from south Wales, running has replaced many Friday evenings at the pub.

Living in a town where, as he puts it, "there's not much to do bar going to the pub," Lloyd took up running during the Covid-19 pandemic and soon found a new social circle through community park runs.

"Don't get me wrong, I still drink, but I've cut down a lot compared to when I didn't run as much. I feel like you're more aware (of) how to live a healthy life and you realize how awful drinking really is, and the sooner you cut it down the better you'll feel," he said.

The trend is reflected in participation figures. More than one-third of runners in this year's London Marathon were aged between 18 and 29. Padel has also exploded in popularity, with around 860,000 people in Britain trying the sport by the end of 2025, according to the Lawn Tennis Association.

Many padel clubs now market themselves as community spaces, combining sport with cafés, co-working areas, live music and social events.

Alcohol is no longer the centre of social life

Emily Nicholls, senior lecturer in sociology at the University of York, believes Gen Z increasingly sees alcohol as something that gets in the way of wellbeing rather than improving it.

"Generations such as Boomers were more likely to frame alcohol as a solution to the stress and pressures of life and work; alcohol has instead been reframed for Gen Z as part of the problem rather than the solution," she said.

She argues that rising living costs, economic uncertainty and the pressure to "get ahead" have intensified this mindset among younger adults.

The same shift is driving the popularity of sober events such as coffee raves. Coffee Culture UK, which organises alcohol-free daytime dance events, said around two-thirds of attendees are aged 18 to 24.

Founder Tanya Thadani said Gen Z is "looking for new ways to socialise" and increasingly values experiences built around "community, connection and wellbeing, rather than nights out where alcohol is the main focus."

Whether it is a sunrise run, a game of padel or dancing with an espresso instead of a pint, Britain's youngest adults are redefining what a Friday night looks like—and in the process, reshaping the future of the country's centuries-old pub culture.