alt Hacker NewsI wonder what's the impact of abstinence in terms of not participating in social events that generate around alcohol consumption. Some cultures rely heavily on drinks for social bonding and such.
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I'm not an anthropologist, so I won't handle this topic with gloves. Cultures are a shared ignorance. They have to be this way, almost by definition, else they wouldn't have any appeal.
The way we discuss health today is different from even 50 years ago. The debate about alcohol isn't new, but things like fitness trackers and smartwatches are. People can now prove it to themselves in real time that "feeling like shit" is not "all in their head", and that it's not a matter of "just drink water" or "eat something".
On the flip side, this cultural step forward comes with a step back. There's a lot of money to be made with this health anxiety.
In my experience, a social life that requires drinks for social lubricant goes away very quickly if you aren't drinking. It's an extremely fine veneer of socialization, not real connections
I know what the impact of drinking is on socializing before 10 AM. It just doesn't happen very often at all.
After a few drinks, the value of socialization drops considerably and a lot of it is just hanging around because you don't want to go home and feel the effects of the alcohol.