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Peak coffee consumption (per capita/US): 1946 Peak cigarette consumption (per capita/US): 1963 Peak oil production (global): unknown, maybe 2020-2030 Peak Fa
by GCA10 5y ago
Peak coffee consumption (per capita/US): 1946
Peak cigarette consumption (per capita/US): 1963
Peak oil production (global): unknown, maybe 2020-2030
Peak Facebook: ??
That's an incomplete peer group, but I find it interesting that at some point, society does start to unplug from addictive substances. The tapering off is quite slow, though. Unclear whether heavy users cut back, or new generations just don't develop the habit as older ones die off
- rowanajmarshall 5y agoThe difference is, the US population kept growing, so while per capita figures falling is noticeable, total coffee/cigarette consumption may not have fallen. Facebook's numbers are falling despite a growth in world population, and I'd bet a larger growth in the internet-connected population. That's worse, especially for a platform heavily reliant on network effects.
- kumarvvr 5y agoI think it has more to do with alternatives (except perhaps in case of cigarettes which have direct measurable health effects) availability rather than society starting to unplug from addictive substances. Peak coffee is in 1946, but what have consumers moved onto from then? Alcohol, Tea, Energy drinks, Soft Drinks ?
- baby-yoda 5y agoSoft drinks mostly, but even that appeared to be in the early stages of tapering as of 2005. What is next? https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/charts/58920/finding_buzbyfig.gif?v=7945 https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/charts/58920/finding_buzbyf...
- kumarvvr 5y agoCurrent fads that come to mind - Gatorade and similar stuff - A movement to drink water (HydroHomies) - High caffeine energy drinks (Red bull and the likes) - Healthy alternatives (juices, smoothies, etc)
- wheelinsupial 5y agoHere is an article [1] that shows consumption of coffee and soft drinks in 1946/47 and 2005. Adding coffee and soft drinks together there has been an increase of approx 32% in consumption since 1946. Coffee 1946: 46.4 gallons per person Coffee 2005: 24.2 gallons per person Soft drinks 1947: 10.8 gallons per person Soft drinks 2005: 51.5 gallons per person Total caffeinated consumption in 46/47: 57.2 gallons / person Total caffeinated consumption in 2005: 75.7 gallons / person The chart seems to indicate tea has stayed relatively flat in the same time period. I'm not sure the history of caffeine pills or ADHD medicine, but those may also contribute to an increased consumption in 2005. [1] https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2007/june/coffee-consumption-over-the-last-century/ https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2007/june/coffee-consum...
- kumarvvr 5y ago> Soft drinks 2005: 51.5 gallons per person Wow, no wonder Diabetes has skyrocketed. 51.5 gallons is almost 900 ml a day. That is about 100 grams of sugar per day. This is like a epidemic of sugar addiction.
- imgabe 5y agoIt doesn't say how much of it is diet.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- chrisseaton 5y agoMany soft drinks are sugar-free and zero-calorie.
- FuWeiShi 5y agoAnd of course, IIRC, the "sugar-free" alternatives promote insulin resistance just as much (if in conjunction with food) sans Stevia.
- openknot 5y agoI'm genuinely curious: why are soda/pop/coke/soft drinks so popular? I've never liked them because they're too sugary, and they represent like empty calories (like I'll gain weight without feeling full) from drinks that aren't hydrating. When purchased in a restaurant, it costs money that could be saved or spent on a side dish. I'd much rather eat candy if I want sugar, or drink cold water if I want to hydrate myself. I don't say this to condemn these drinks (if people like them that much, they're free to spend money on the little things in life they enjoy), but I'd like to square my experience of not caring for them versus their clear popularity from statistics.
- chrisseaton 5y agoWow I had no idea Americans used to drink more coffee than now. Surely serving sizes have grown and grown - absolutely nobody was having a 20-ounce coffee in 1946, but now that's normal. Doesn't seem to add up but I'm sure you're right.
- willbw 5y agoI am assume this doesn't refer to "volume of coffee beverage" consumed. As far as I'm aware only the US seems to gravitate towards these extremely large coffee beverages. Other nations drink more coffee, but in smaller serving sizes less diluted by milk/sugar. Perhaps the US used to drink espressos in the 1940s, I'm not sure. That's if this fact is even accurate.
- jacobolus 5y agoIn 1940, 70% of all coffee grown in the world was drunk in the USA, according to https://espressocoffeeguide.com/all-about-coffee-2/worlds-best-history-of-coffee/coffee-history-1900-1950/ https://espressocoffeeguide.com/all-about-coffee-2/worlds-be... (obviously WWII had a big impact on global supply chains and consumer spending) US consumption in 1946 was apparently ~20 pounds of coffee beans annually per capita, or an average of around 2.5–3 (8 oz?) cups of coffee per day for the ~3/4 of adults who were regular coffee drinkers. Per https://www.retrowow.co.uk/food_and_drink/coffee/coffee.html https://www.retrowow.co.uk/food_and_drink/coffee/coffee.html > Most people [in the UK] made coffee in a jug. You boiled the water and added it to ground coffee already in the jug. You let the ground coffee settle and it was ready to pour through a strainer and drink. Some people then boiled the coffee again. My impression is that coffee preparation was comparable in the USA. Neither paper filters nor instant coffee were common until decades later.
- sjg007 5y agoThe percolator is coming back into fashion. The two issues main issues are caffeine concentration and taste: a slow drip gets you crazy strong Vietnamese style coffee, a percolator can do some of that but you don't want to burn it.
- spywaregorilla 5y ago> Peak coffee consumption (per capita/US): 1946 This one interested me. We're at a local maximum in terms of coffee consumption in recent years. After WWII coffee fell off in popularity and due to the substitute of carbonated soft drinks. Most likely in simplest terms it was a cheaper energy drink for the poor.
- hailwren 5y agoRight, if anything -- coffee consumption has only gone down because we've moved on to more efficient stimulants. Either higher concentration/lower cost artificial substitutes or prescription drugs. Hardly the best example of America getting over an addiction.
- dustintrex 5y agoFacebook has been primarily displaced by Tiktok, which is considerably more addictive than FB. It's like zonking out in front of cable TV in the olden days, if the cable TV had access to an essentially unlimited content library of short-form dopamine hits, was capable of determining exactly what you like, and showing you exactly that forever.
- CTmystery 5y agoWith that description, I can't help but think of "the entertainment" from infinite jest.
- jquery 5y agoThat's exactly what TikTok is. I've tried to use it several times, but it was just too dystopian for me to keep going. It was an intensely disquieting experience seeing the algorithm try to "addict" me to the product. I just don't see the appeal in being an utterly passive consumer of entertainment generated by an AI (yes, I know humans nominally generate the content, but the secret sauce is the AI playing conductor). It reminds me of Elsa-gate. Just surreal.
- sasaf5 5y agoI get hypnotized by tiktok even by seeing it over other people's shoulders. HN and reddit already makes me feel guilty. I am not even starting with that one.
- vorpalhex 5y agoTikTok, for it's many faults, is at least not ragebait farming. It is distracting junk. Facebook feels more malicious in my mind.
- frozenport 5y agoTikTok has tons of ragebait farming material. The fact that you're not seeing what you don't likely highlights the effectiveness of their algorithm.
- 5y ago
- fouc 5y agoBack in the good ole days when people drank coffee after dinner.
- sjg007 5y agoI think you mean the pre-viagra days.
- paxys 5y agoBig difference in comparing an entire product area with a specific company and brand. Individual cigarette companies, coffee shops etc. have been going in an out of fashion the entire time. Similarly, the total number of social media users is nowhere near its peak. I'd say it is actually remarkable just how long Facebook (the site) has been able to maintain relevance, whereas people should have been bored and migrated to something newer and shiner a long time ago (as is now finally happening with apps like TikTok).
- zenithd 5y ago
- mtgx 5y ago
- b112 5y agoBut coffee has just been replaced by sugary soda drinks, laced with 4x the caffeine...
- nkotov 5y agoI think 2014. Just by looking at things like wall posts on my personal page, around 2015, things went downhill and after 2016, it became really quiet. Almost none of my friends (23 to 33) use Facebook anymore except for the occasional photo dumps. Most are on instagram but even the number of stories posted has gone down as well.
- irrational 5y agoHow is the coffee one even possible? I don’t drink coffee, but almost everyone else I know does. There is a Starbucks on every corner. Every coffee shack always has lines.
- FredPret 5y agoWe reached peak coffee long ago!? Sad news indeed
- quickthrower2 5y agoIt is suprising, seeing as it would have been more of a luxury item in the past.
- NoPicklez 5y agoIf you include Facebook then you may as well include all other social media platforms. Facebook is the least of my problems when it comes to addictive substances. Youtube, Reddit, Hackernews, TikTok. They're all the same even if they don't go out of their way to insight addiction.
- quickthrower2 5y agoWhen did the begin? Coffee consumption begin 15th century Tobacco 18th century Oil: 347 AD Social Networks: circa. 2002.
- pfortuny 5y agoSorry but tobacco gets to Europe just after Columbus reaches America, and gets consumed in Europe by then. And the indians of America consumed it much earlier. Just to clarify.
- quickthrower2 5y agoThanks. I admit i just wikipedia-ed these quickly
- pfortuny 5y agoNoprob! just a clarification.