O/T Younger Generation and Alcohol.

[dembethewarrior]

I am 24. In my earlier twenties I probably went 16-18 months without a drop, just wasn't interested and didn't really feel pressured - only in situations when out with a huge bunch of friends.

Now though I probably have 10-12 pints a week on average in the pub, split over 5-6 days. Tonight for example, I had a bottle of Corona at the snooker club. On the weekend I had a couple of pints with lemonade dashes each night whilst gigging. Don't really ever drink in the house, perhaps once every couple of months.

I would say there's nothing wrong with that.

Nothing wrong with that.

I'm 32 and I'm going to the pub less. I probably go more than I want to sometimes just because I've got nothing else to do. I'm nowhere near excessive..just trying to consciously change my behaviour and do a bit more than going down the pub.

[Keyser Soze]

Nothing wrong with that.

I'm 32 and I'm going to the pub less. I probably go more than I want to sometimes just because I've got nothing else to do. I'm nowhere near excessive..just trying to consciously change my behaviour and do a bit more than going down the pub.

I agree and its certainly what I see these days. On the plus side fitness levels are generally higher across the board, as are eating habits and behaviours from what I can tell. If you want a goody-two-shoes culture then welcome to the promised land.

There is a flipside to that. I remember in my late teens and Twenties you would regularly meet up with your work mates and swap funny stories from the weekend. Shitting beds, boning a ropey old cock-collector or some naieve young bint, having a scrap or so, being locked out and waking up the neighbours by lobbing chippings at the window to wake up your Mrs / parents to let you in, giving each other abusive banter in the pub and learning to take and give it with new nicknames often found as a result. There may not have been textbook behaviour, or health conscious decisions going on I admit, but there was a wider range of fun to be had and there were stories and tales to enjoy as a result.

It said it all for me when at 42 years of age I had an absolute rare bender with a few mates. Got trolleyed in the pub, stumbled home but not before kipping under a tree and waking up at 3am to finish by homebound sojourn, while a mate picked up a ropey old mare and gave her a good goosing and sent us all a few pics. The next day I laughed as the pictures and messages went back and forth and people spread stories around the local sports club. But when faced with two youngsters (about 21-23 at a guess) who were old enough to enjoy the story asked what were people laughing at they gave a look of horror as the stories were shown. Unprotected sex was seen as a "serious risk" and my first heavy night in about eight months was deemed to be a "one way ticket to liver disease". I just think all this risk-averse behaviour taught in school has created a very precious generation in general. They aren't all like that, but they do appear far more easily shocked than my generation was.

I think Arfur Europe mentioned it is a rebellious reaction to their previous generation who were heavy drinkers. I am a big believer in action / reaction and overcompensation cycles in life. To the new generation they are being "new" but it is as old as the hills. My great grandmother had very Victorian values which were inspired by Temperance movement. Her parents had also been big drinkers and so my great gran's generation went the opposite way as over-compensation. Rather than moderating they all frowned on drinking and many were tee-total or sought outright bans on it. Here we go again I guess!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temperance_movement

[Keyser Soze]

I agree and its certainly what I see these days. On the plus side fitness levels are generally higher across the board, as are eating habits and behaviours from what I can tell. If you want a goody-two-shoes culture then welcome to the promised land.

There is a flipside to that. I remember in my late teens and Twenties you would regularly meet up with your work mates and swap funny stories from the weekend. Shitting beds, boning a ropey old cock-collector or some naieve young bint, having a scrap or so, being locked out and waking up the neighbours by lobbing chippings at the window to wake up your Mrs / parents to let you in, giving each other abusive banter in the pub and learning to take and give it with new nicknames often found as a result. There may not have been textbook behaviour, or health conscious decisions going on I admit, but there was a wider range of fun to be had and there were stories and tales to enjoy as a result.

It said it all for me when at 42 years of age I had an absolute rare bender with a few mates. Got trolleyed in the pub, stumbled home but not before kipping under a tree and waking up at 3am to finish by homebound sojourn, while a mate picked up a ropey old mare and gave her a good goosing and sent us all a few pics. The next day I laughed as the pictures and messages went back and forth and people spread stories around the local sports club. But when faced with two youngsters (about 21-23 at a guess) who were old enough to enjoy the story asked what were people laughing at they gave a look of horror as the stories were shown. Unprotected sex was seen as a "serious risk" and my first heavy night in about eight months was deemed to be a "one way ticket to liver disease". I just think all this risk-averse behaviour taught in school has created a very precious generation in general. They aren't all like that, but they do appear far more easily shocked than my generation was.

I think Arfur Europe mentioned it is a rebellious reaction to their previous generation who were heavy drinkers. I am a big believer in action / reaction and overcompensation cycles in life. To the new generation they are being "new" but it is as old as the hills. My great grandmother had very Victorian values which were inspired by Temperance movement. Her parents had also been big drinkers and so my great gran's generation went the opposite way as over-compensation. Rather than moderating they all frowned on drinking and many were tee-total or sought outright bans on it. Here we go again I guess!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temperance_movement

Of course the additional point with this, is that over time when you catch up with old mates you can tell old stories which are often just as funny as they were back then, or so cringeworthy where you can laugh at the follies of youth.

I was chatting the other day to a mate at the England v Wales rugby match, and we were swapping stories about girls we had slept with, and he had one where he picked up this really fat girl at her house party. They persuaded everyone to leave the party at just after midnight and before you know it, as soon as they had cleared the house the two of them were at it doggy style over the sofa. He claims it was in the brown rather than a pink, but that is minor details. He was enjoying himself quite nicely and just as he was about to blow off there was "ahem" type cough from the kitchen and it was her old mam and dad had come back from holiday a day earlier than she expected and caught them red handed. Let's just say that the dad gave him a seeing to in a slightly different way that he was giving the dad's daughter. Daft behaviour, caused by excess alcohol, but over time quite harmless.

What would the tee-totalling generation be swapping stories about when the are 50?

"Hey Ashley, do you remember when we were about 22 and we had that brilliant time installing new apps on our iPhone whilst enjoying a wicked Nandos?" . Or..

"Hey Caleb, do you remember when we saw that awesome new TRX machine in the local David Lloyds before we bolted down that wicked Orange Crush protein shake afterwards?"

"Hey Keanu-Banana, do you remember when we took a selfie of ourselves whilst sipping a Chai Latte in Costa?"

Doesn't quite cut it for me but hey, each to their own choices.