Coffee Addiction In America

Coffee, the fuel powering millions of Americans to get shit done. Dunkin Doughnut’s catchy slogan “America runs on Dunkin” is eerily accurate. America is precariously dependent on coffee. Quite frankly, dependent is an understatement, America is addicted to coffee. And when I say addicted I mean ADDICTED. At least 68 million Americans drink three cups of coffee every day. 30 million Americans drink five or more cups of coffee each day. Over 21 million Americans drink six or more cups of coffee a day (Health Research Funding) Six cups of coffee is equivalent to about 650 mg of caffeine, more than three times the recommended daily amount. Companies have begun to capitalize on this trend, giving rise to mega coffee shops like Starbucks and Peet’s, who make millions fueling this rampant
So why not stay home and study?? Because! Coffee shops are comfortable. Everyone knows that. It’s where you study! That’s their purpose right? To be a quiet, comfortable, ambient environment where work gets done and great conversations happen. But behind THAT facade, coffee shops protect us from the fear of being alone. Struggling with a school project sucks. Sitting in the depths of writer's block sucks. Being behind in math sucks. But all the sudden, when you see everyone else hunched over their laptops, slurping down copious amounts of coffee while they struggle with the same things, it’s not so bad. And what's more, while sitting around with friends talking about how frustrating your math teacher is, or how screwed you are for the AP Chem test, might not change the situation, you learn one thing, you are not in it alone. And so the cozy little coffee shop with the soft-lit lamps and the gentle acoustic music, a place deemed the perfect environment to study, is really just one thing. A mecca, where high school students flock, to introspectively justify why they aren’t studying, and feel better about