When someone first thinks of addiction, they think of drugs or alcohol. However, many less severe addictions have become a normal part of the daily routine, including coffee. Research reported that caffeine use is widespread, especially among students, with around 83.2% of surveyed teens regularly consuming caffeinated beverages. This causes society to often downplay this because it is legal, common, and socially accepted.
Coffee doesn’t seem like a significant issue, but many people need it to start off their day. The coffee industry has been reported to be almost a $185.7 billion industry, with Starbucks individually generating $37.2 billion in 2025. Because of its widespread use, coffee is rarely questioned, even when it becomes a daily need.
For many, caffeine use begins at a young age. Ezekiel Jaffee ’28 began drinking coffee at a very young age and later experienced a “dependence” on caffeine.
“When I was about nine years old, that’s when I started drinking coffee,” said Jaffee. “However, when I got into high school, freshman year, I had a heavy, heavy caffeine dependence.”
He described consuming coffee every morning until quitting abruptly midway through freshman year. Jaffee described little-to-no symptoms, including only a minor headache for a day.
Similarly, other students have started drinking coffee at a young age, but their experiences vary.
Brophy student Max Freudenberg ’28, spoke on how long he has been drinking coffee.
“I started in eighth grade. I’ve been drinking it pretty consistently since then,” said Freudenberg.
Even for his long periods of time drinking coffee, Freudenberg still does not view it as an addiction.
“I have ADHD, and caffeine actually helps suppress it—it kind of steadies me,” said Freudenberg. And when he tried quitting coffee, he felt no symptoms.
Medical experts do not advise using caffeine as a treatment or replacement for ADHD medication.
Even though both students started at a young age, the longer someone drinks coffee creates worse withdrawal symptoms, contrasting how personal perception can differ from scientific research. In an CBS News interview, Roland Griffiths, PhD, a professor of psychiatry and neuroscience at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, says the withdrawal effects are real.
“The phenomenon of caffeine withdrawal is real and that when people don’t get their usual dose, they can suffer a range of withdrawal symptoms,” Griffiths said.
Because habits like caffeine use are so common, they rarely raise alarms, yet the caffeine normalization may be exactly what allows addiction to grow unnoticed. While these addictions may not appear as dangerous as drugs or alcohol, becoming normalized in society masks their influence, making dependence feel ordinary instead of concerning.