Why is there peer pressure around drinking alcohol?

[Basman]

My first thoughts is that its cultural. It is a simple way to ease up but its also unhealthy, addictive and dangerous. People tend to press you if you choose to not drink in their company. If you think about it, its strange and antisocial to a certain extent to expect others to adopt your drinking habits. In my experience, decent folk tend not to care if you don't drink.

Thoughts?

[Paradoxed]

It easier to be in denial if you are participating with others. If you are alone in your addiction, you are alienated from society. A heroin or crack addict has an easier time admitting they have an addiction. But if everyone is collectively addicted to something, not participating will alienate you. This is one of the many problems society, and how socialization can have a negative effect on your decisions and your life if you aren't careful.

It goes way deeper than alcohol by the way... if you don't think the same way as others, you will be alienated.

[Leo Gura]

Fools don't like being alone in their foolishness.

[Schizophonia]

There is no pressure. It can happen with some very annoying people but it’s rare.

It is in fact projection, you deprive yourself of alcohol more through pressure (orthorexia, strict education…) than through a pragmatic decision, which is intrinsically stressful because it is an aesthetic (narcissistic) posture, and you therefore seek to legitimize this stress via caricatured fantasies of persecution.

[Schizophonia]

1 hour ago, Leo Gura said:

Fools don't like being alone in their foolishness.

It’s projection, because you use certain vices as a means of creating a character for yourself (strengthening your ego), generally, unconsciously, essentially, in the continuity of the collective family unconscious.

People who don't have such inflated egos don't particularly have this kind of dynamic, they drink alcohol simply because the taste and the mind-altering effect is cool.

[Evelyna]

10 hours ago, Basman said:

My first thoughts is that its cultural. It is a simple way to ease up but its also unhealthy, addictive and dangerous. People tend to press you if you choose to not drink in their company. If you think about it, its strange and antisocial to a certain extent to expect others to adopt your drinking habits. In my experience, decent folk tend not to care if you don't drink.

Thoughts?

I personally dont care much if people try to convince me I should drink along with them. I just say no and don't feel the pressure because I am sure of my own decisions. Drink don't drink I don't care. 

[cjoseph90]

35 minutes ago, Evelyna said:

I personally dont care much if people try to convince me I should drink along with them. I just say no and don't feel the pressure because I am sure of my own decisions. Drink don't drink I don't care. 

well said

[Applegarden8]

Peer pressure is everywhere. Everywhere. To the point it can kill you (and me) if you are in a wrong place and time. Peer pressure and resisting it makes me question what is real freedom. It's scary.

[RawJudah]

Try going out sober while everyone around you is drunk. It’s painful! 

[Basman]

13 hours ago, Schizophonia said:

There is no pressure. It can happen with some very annoying people but it’s rare.

Drinking pressure is a well documented thing and I've personally experienced it quiet a lot. Consistently, every time I explicitly opt to not drink I've had to explain myself as if it is not my choice to make.

13 hours ago, Schizophonia said:

It is in fact projection, you deprive yourself of alcohol more through pressure (orthorexia, strict education…) than through a pragmatic decision, which is intrinsically stressful because it is an aesthetic (narcissistic) posture, and you therefore seek to legitimize this stress via caricatured fantasies of persecution.

You don't know me. I just don't like the taste or getting drunk. It feels like drinking detergent.

There is nothing inherently narcissistic about not wanting to drink. This is moronic. Just reread what you wrote, "your a narcissist if you don't drink". "You just want attention". Stop it.

9 hours ago, RawJudah said:

Try going out sober while everyone around you is drunk. It’s painful! 

I've been on both ends of the aisle. I've been a drunk obnoxious idiot and a stiff sober wanker on different occasions. Getting into a casual conversation with great flow and energy can be really fun though. Don't need to be drunk to do that.

[Husseinisdoingfine]

Is drinking really foolishness? What if it’s done rarely and while young. I go to University, and so the drinking culture is very much present.

Edited July 9 by Husseinisdoingfine

[Schizophonia]

14 hours ago, Basman said:

Drinking pressure is a well documented thing and I've personally experienced it quiet a lot. Consistently, every time I explicitly opt to not drink I've had to explain myself as if it is not my choice to make.

Either you're hanging out with strangely very primitives people and it's your fault, or (most likely) you're making a big deal because someone asks you "don't you drink? " here and there. I'm sure no one has ever yelled at you for not drinking, it just doesn't exist.

It is common to transform anecdotal events into pressure or even persecution to constitute one's legend.

14 hours ago, Basman said:

.

You don't know me. I just don't like the taste or getting drunk. It feels like drinking detergent.

There is nothing inherently narcissistic about not wanting to drink. This is moronic. Just reread what you wrote, "your a narcissist if you don't drink". "You just want attention". Stop it.

If was a response to Leo’s remark specifically.

+It’s more deep that the level you analyse and react to it.

Edited July 9 by Schizophonia

[Consept]

If youre the only one thats drunk in a group you look like an alcoholic, if youre the only one sober you look like a party pooper 

[RawJudah]

18 hours ago, Basman said:

I've been on both ends of the aisle. I've been a drunk obnoxious idiot and a stiff sober wanker on different occasions. Getting into a casual conversation with great flow and energy can be really fun though. Don't need to be drunk to do that.

I’m a happy drunk, but I always end up saying something stupid. Every single time. When I go out sober, nothing stupid gets said and it’s like I’m boring. I seriously wish alcohol was never a thing. It causes so many unnecessary problems and ruins so many lives. I’ve said things that I wish I never said because of me being drunk! 
But at the same time we do need to let our hair down now and again, and alcohol is the perfect thing for that…

[Recursoinominado]

Sober people are usually boring and kill the mood.

[Yimpa]

2 minutes ago, Recursoinominado said:

Sober people are usually boring and kill the mood.

Now I’m questioning, “When is my mind ever sober?” 

[Paradoxed]

7 hours ago, Husseinisdoingfine said:

Is drinking really foolishness? What if it’s done rarely and while young. I go to University, and so the drinking culture is very much present.

Drinking makes you foolish. That's the point of drinking. The high turns you into a fool. Is drinking inherently foolish? Yes and no. Drinking is foolish unless you are bringing a level of awareness to it. If you know how to be safe and not go overboard is it that bad? Not really, its a social tool and a way to feel good.

Do you go to UMD? I grew up in Maryland close to Baltimore.

Edited July 9 by Paradoxed

[soos_mite_ah]

I've definitely felt the pressure to party and drink when i was first getting into college because the narrative is that you're living your life out to the fullest for those four years, and then you become a well adjusted calm adult because you get it all out of your system. Like it's a stage of development everyone HAS to go through or you didn't make the most of your time in your youth. Also going to a party school with a bunch of rich kids who are shielded from consequences doesn't help either lol. 

I was exploring this also in a sociology class before and I found those perspectives of the glamorization of binge drinking insightful, especially in my context of being in a party school with rich kids. There is definitely the socioeconomic status flexing of affording alcohol and living it up, but there is a socioeconomic status of getting so plastered to where your friends have to carry you back after you pass out or you end up going to rehab because there is this notion that you don't have to take responsibility for yourself and people can just swoop in and take care of you. Like to a middle class person, this shit can seem life endingly irresponsible. But for a certain kind of rich kid, going to rehab and getting so sloppily drunk to where you become other people's responsibility is like a trophy or badge of honor of having a good time.

The glorification, and even the normalization of alcohol in various settings is crazy. You can even see it in some professional environments in certain industries like consulting and banking where you're considered weird and uptight if you don't drink and alcohol is seen as a solution to various problem, from stress to distracting yourself from your personal problems or crazy work load. There is also the relatability aspect of alcohol where there is the trope where the drunk messy character is considered more honest and "real" one as opposed to the uptight *always perfect* sober character trope. You also have kids who are like 18 who associate alcohol with faux adulthood / responsibility since there is an age limit so there is like an allure with drinking until you actually become of legal drinking age.  

And of course, even wealth isn't your motivating factor, there are preconcieved notions that alcohol makes you more fun and out there, that risk taking activities correlate with excitement and entertainment, and that to be young is to be wild and crazy. But let's be real, just because your inhibitions are lowered, sure for some people that means they're happier and more sociable but there are also plenty of people that when the mask drops, they're more aggressive, annoying and just down right crazy. Just because you feel more comfortable taking risks, doesn't mean that it will lead to an exciting fun story for you in the end.

Drinking is really not all that it's cut out to be. If you aren't into it, your best bet is to find other people who aren't super immersed in it. I know it can seem like everyone's doing it, but not to sound like an old fart but there are plenty of people not engaging in this.  Not to mention, that shit tastes like ass anyway. 

 

[Rafael Thundercat]

Imagine the day 300 years from now when the peer pressure will be to snif some 5Meo. Hey man, come on! Will you be there in the baseline consciouness?Join us in the God-Consciouness, lets be One togheter! 

[Scholar]

A large majority of society is almostly exclusively formed by peer pressure dynamics. Their life goals, values and moral principles are an extention of what is the societal norm.

 

Drinking alcohol is a social ritual, a game that is played that people are familiar with. Whatever the game taught is the game that is habitually encouraged. 

In the end it's a function of humanity, this is merely one particular expression of it.