What is driving the current “anti alcohol” rhetoric online

Zellephant said:
It seems as if being an “anti alcohol” influencer has become very popular lately - and at least for me, my algorithm seems to like recommending their content to me.

It’s also not being driven by the typical hyper religious Quaker types or Islamists etc - it seems to be coming from normal, everyday folk.

I recently saw an article talking about the billions of dollars the global liquor industry is losing because people are consuming so much less alcohol etc.

Now, to me, this all seems a bit odd. I never trust someone who is a teetotaller without a very good reason. People who claim they don’t touch alcohol because they simply don’t like it or see the point, in my experience are always hiding some other serious issues.

Beer and wine, ciders, mead, whiskey, grappa, gin etc have played such an important cultural role across societies for decades. There are real physical and mental health benefits to responsible alcohol consumption and always have been. Sure, in the same breath, abusing alcohol has always had negative impacts. But overwhelmingly, people who drink, do so responsibly. The majority of people who drink wine at home, or go to the pub with their mates for the game aren’t degenerates.

So, what is up with this cringy social media craze of promoting how much better your life is without alcohol. It seems so fake, and lame - and it’s also hard to believe their is any real commercial interest that would be interested in driving content creators towards this.
Click to expand...

I live with an alcoholic.

Seeing them has made me completely rethink how I view and consume alcohol.
 
Zellephant said:
It seems as if being an “anti alcohol” influencer has become very popular lately - and at least for me, my algorithm seems to like recommending their content to me.

It’s also not being driven by the typical hyper religious Quaker types or Islamists etc - it seems to be coming from normal, everyday folk.

I recently saw an article talking about the billions of dollars the global liquor industry is losing because people are consuming so much less alcohol etc.

Now, to me, this all seems a bit odd. I never trust someone who is a teetotaller without a very good reason. People who claim they don’t touch alcohol because they simply don’t like it or see the point, in my experience are always hiding some other serious issues.

Beer and wine, ciders, mead, whiskey, grappa, gin etc have played such an important cultural role across societies for decades. There are real physical and mental health benefits to responsible alcohol consumption and always have been. Sure, in the same breath, abusing alcohol has always had negative impacts. But overwhelmingly, people who drink, do so responsibly. The majority of people who drink wine at home, or go to the pub with their mates for the game aren’t degenerates.

So, what is up with this cringy social media craze of promoting how much better your life is without alcohol. It seems so fake, and lame - and it’s also hard to believe their is any real commercial interest that would be interested in driving content creators towards this.
Click to expand...

It's a current fad. Hopefully it will blow over soon. Bulk wines are now available at prices I couldn't even dream of 2 or 3 years back. I've already heard of a few farms pulling vines out. It probably will only last a few years.
 
Cray said:
But this is a voluntary shift? People arent being forced to drink less, this isnt prohibition.

As much as i love beer, I can see the social ills that come with drinking too much.

Some people clearly cant drink responsibly so the idea that they just abstain isnt all that heretical.

As you said, alcohol has been consumed throughout human history, I very much doubt its going anywhere.
Click to expand...

The kind of people that should stop drinking won't. If liquor becomes unavailable they'll switch over to something else.
 
thestaggy said:
I live with an alcoholic.

Seeing them has made me completely rethink how I view and consume alcohol.
Click to expand...
Thats interesting. My experience as well.
I have gone from binge drinking, to total abstinence, to a very limited consumption myself, based on my own experience living with an alcoholic.

On the odd occasion that you do 'over indulge' (whatever that may be for yourself), do you also feel massive guilt and resentment (and anger perhaps)?
 
Zellephant said:
This is definitely a big part of it - but it’s not accidental, it’s being driven by something, and that’s what I am trying to figure out. The why of it all.

Interestingly, if they do drink, it’s also very different stuff they are drinking. Stuff with funky colourful labels, and made with a **** ton of sugar, cheaply. The ones that do drink, aren’t drinking beer, wine or whiskey, and it’s not just the girls, the boys are into the “chick drinks” too, if they do drink at all.

Yet, at the same time as this “health craze” has them all giving up booze - vaping all kinds of weird stuff is exploding, which is a weird one.

But that said, the problem with the “youth of today” not really partying, is they also aren’t doing a a lot of other stuff. Like dancing, and having sex, or taking any real risks. They seem to be “maturing” in those aspects way too early, like even before their prefrontal cortexes have developed - but that also means less entrepreneurs, less creative thinking, a lot less of a lot of actually pretty important stuff. The kids are way too serious —— but we are probably getting off topic a bit
Click to expand...
There are probably a few things.

  • Post covid, many people looked at what made them at risk during the pandemic, booze was probably high up there.
  • The Maxxing movement, the pursuit of being your best has become a competitive sport.
  • People have monetised self help and gamified it with social media. We are being targeted by that.
  • The current wave of puritan movements (Woke and neo-conservatism both) want to dictate what is good and bad and how yous should behave. This this kind of thing that led to the prohibition of the 20's
The other thing... possibly influencing this, is the other drugs available to us are better.
 
I just think its just like the anti smoking movements in the 90's and 00's
they fixate onto something in this case alcohol as thats what's trendy at the time,
maybe they might ban Booze on aircraft because of it, I mean isnt that how no smoking on airplanes became common?

maybe in time they might decide radio waves from cellphones/wifi/5G and Bluetooth are actually harmful
and make wearing grounded hats with tin foil a reality,
people are easily influenced and manipulated to suit profits after all.
 
BrotherTheresa said:
Thats interesting. My experience as well.
I have gone from binge drinking, to total abstinence, to a very limited consumption myself, based on my own experience living with an alcoholic.

On the odd occasion that you do 'over indulge' (whatever that may be for yourself), do you also feel massive guilt and resentment (and anger perhaps)?
Click to expand...
@thestaggy, it is insteresting.

I wonder if in the past it was easier to function as an alcoholic and now its just so much harder to hide.

In the old days people used to have a beer or 2 with lunch on a weekday, then a few at dinner. This was all normal behavior.
Now its not and so someone who needs to have a drink on a monday morning really does stand out.
 
It's expensive, it has no benefit to you. I mean what else is needed to drive the anti-alcohol rhetoric.
What is a benefit of alcohol?
 
Lupus said:
It's expensive
Click to expand...
Compared to what? Being alive is expensive. But as part of a lifestyle, what exactly is it expensive in comparison to? Remember we are talking about "healthy" or "normal" consumption - not addiction.

Is it expensive compared to good food, which it is regularly paired with?

Is it expensive compared with other "experiences" - thinking here in terms of wine tastings/cellar tours etc compared with other similar activities?

Is it expensive compared to fruit juices or fizzy coldrinks which would be consumed in social settings in its place?
Lupus said:
it has no benefit to you.
Click to expand...
I guess this depends on how you measure "benefit".
Lupus said:
I mean what else is needed to drive the anti-alcohol rhetoric.
Click to expand...
I am interested to find out
Lupus said:
What is a benefit of alcohol?
Click to expand...
As above, I guess it depends on how you measure "benefit"

But right off the top of my head I can think of a few:

- Employment (It supports a deep employment chain all the way from farm to table)
- Land preservation (Good alcohol, especially beer and wine, and their distillates, starts with good crops, which requires good land management).
- Historical and cultural preservation of techniques and traditions - both linked to the production and consumption of it.
- Taste/Enjoyment - both in its base form and as an ingredient in cooking - are a very direct benefit. How exactly is one to make Bolognese or Coq au vin, or thousands of other delicacies, without it?
- The social interaction and culture built around its production and consumption is also definately a benefit.
 
Zellephant said:
Compared to what? Being alive is expensive. But as part of a lifestyle, what exactly is it expensive in comparison to? Remember we are talking about "healthy" or "normal" consumption - not addiction.

Is it expensive compared to good food, which it is regularly paired with?

Is it expensive compared with other "experiences" - thinking here in terms of wine tastings/cellar tours etc compared with other similar activities?

Is it expensive compared to fruit juices or fizzy coldrinks which would be consumed in social settings in its place?

I guess this depends on how you measure "benefit".

I am interested to find out

As above, I guess it depends on how you measure "benefit"

But right off the top of my head I can think of a few:

- Employment (It supports a deep employment chain all the way from farm to table)
- Land preservation (Good alcohol, especially beer and wine, and their distillates, starts with good crops, which requires good land management).
- Historical and cultural preservation of techniques and traditions - both linked to the production and consumption of it.
- Taste/Enjoyment - both in its base form and as an ingredient in cooking - are a very direct benefit. How exactly is one to make Bolognese or Coq au vin, or thousands of other delicacies, without it?
- The social interaction and culture built around its production and consumption is also definately a benefit.
Click to expand...
The question is, what is driving the current anti-alcohol rhetoric... That is what is driving it, the younger generation doesn't see a point in it, cause it's expensive and has no benefit. Not sure how else you'd like to take it, is it not expensive? Does it have any benefit to the person drinking it? Plus if they have one beer vs the 4 or 5 or 6 or 7 the previous generation had? They prefer not to drink like previous gens did, big up to them.
 
Zellephant said:
It seems as if being an “anti alcohol” influencer has become very popular lately - and at least for me, my algorithm seems to like recommending their content to me.

It’s also not being driven by the typical hyper religious Quaker types or Islamists etc - it seems to be coming from normal, everyday folk.

I recently saw an article talking about the billions of dollars the global liquor industry is losing because people are consuming so much less alcohol etc.

Now, to me, this all seems a bit odd. I never trust someone who is a teetotaller without a very good reason. People who claim they don’t touch alcohol because they simply don’t like it or see the point, in my experience are always hiding some other serious issues.

Beer and wine, ciders, mead, whiskey, grappa, gin etc have played such an important cultural role across societies for decades. There are real physical and mental health benefits to responsible alcohol consumption and always have been. Sure, in the same breath, abusing alcohol has always had negative impacts. But overwhelmingly, people who drink, do so responsibly. The majority of people who drink wine at home, or go to the pub with their mates for the game aren’t degenerates.

So, what is up with this cringy social media craze of promoting how much better your life is without alcohol. It seems so fake, and lame - and it’s also hard to believe their is any real commercial interest that would be interested in driving content creators towards this.
Click to expand...
You lost me at "Social media"....people will post any kak for views and likes. In a few weeks it will be something else.
 
Lupus said:
The question is, what is driving the current anti-alcohol rhetoric... That is what is driving it, the younger generation doesn't see a point in it, cause it's expensive and has no benefit. Not sure how else you'd like to take
Click to expand...

Lupus said:
it, is it not expensive?
Click to expand...
It is, but so are many other things people continue to do. Peptides are also very expensive, and the "maxxing" crowd doesn't seem to shy away from that, for example. Vaping is another. Designer weed seems very popular at the moment with the same crowd - it's very expensive.

Expensive is a relative thing, especially with things that are experiantial and should be getting paid with discretionary income anyway.
Lupus said:
Does it have any benefit to the person drinking it?
Click to expand...
I clearly listed the benefits above - including what benefits there are to drinking it.
Lupus said:
Plus if they have one beer vs the 4 or 5 or 6 or 7 the previous generation had? They prefer not to drink like previous gens did, big up to them.
Click to expand...
But what are they replacing it with? And what can potentially be lost in culture/society as a result?
 
Zellephant said:
It is, but so are many other things people continue to do. Peptides are also very expensive, and the "maxxing" crowd doesn't seem to shy away from that, for example. Vaping is another. Designer weed seems very popular at the moment with the same crowd - it's very expensive.

Expensive is a relative thing, especially with things that are experiantial and should be getting paid with discretionary income anyway.

I clearly listed the benefits above - including what benefits there are to drinking it.

But what are they replacing it with? And what can potentially be lost in culture/society as a result?
Click to expand...
Who cares, alcohol isn't a benefit to society in general, the less drunken drivers on the road the better. They don't want to drink, simple as that and honestly who cares? It is a stupid industry in the first place with no real benefit to humanity besides getting shyte faced.
 
Lupus said:
Who cares, alcohol isn't a benefit to society in general, the less drunken drivers on the road the better. They don't want to drink, simple as that and honestly who cares? It is a stupid industry in the first place with no real benefit to humanity besides getting shyte faced.
Click to expand...
You can reasonably argue for stricter drunk-driving laws, responsible consumption, age restrictions, treatment for alcoholism and sensible regulation.

What you can't reasonably do is reduce an enormous agricultural, manufacturing, logistics, hospitality, tourism, retail and taxation ecosystem to “people getting shitfaced.”

If we're going to judge industries by their worst abuses rather than their total economic and social contribution, we'd better start making a very long list.

And I suspect we'd discover that civilisation is surprisingly dependent on a lot of industries that occasionally produce idiots.
 
Lupus said:
Who cares, alcohol isn't a benefit to society in general, the less drunken drivers on the road the better. They don't want to drink, simple as that and honestly who cares? It is a stupid industry in the first place with no real benefit to humanity besides getting shyte faced.
Click to expand...
Who are you to suggest what "benefits" humanity and what doesn't? People enjoy it, just like people enjoy all sorts of entertainment that could be argued "doesn't benefit humanity". Part of life is enjoying yourselves, not everything has to be weighed against some nebulous "benefit to society".
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X