“ And yet, it’s this quality that has always made alcohol such a fundamental part of social life. Drinking makes it easier to be with people, and to be yourself; to talk and dance, tell jokes and stories, flirt, even fall in love.”
Ummm, yeah, sure, and most alcoholics would definitely agree.
Thank you, Kat, for a lovely fresh perspective. Maybe we're all just a bit too uptight and worried these days. Excess use of alcohol can lead to very serious negative consequences such as alcoholism, spousal abuse, and drunk driving and should be carefully guarded against. However, moderate drinking with friends clearly has its benefits. A drink or several with friends can absolutely dull the sharp edges and allow a sense of joy often not found when protective walls are erected and strictly maintained. And as a Christian (Baptist) I have always found it particularly interesting to note that the very first miracle performed by Jesus Christ was to turn water into wine (very good wine, btw) at a wedding celebration!
I live in a college town, and from that perspective I don't really see young people drinking less, as there are always lines at the bars Thursday through Saturday nights. Obviously, alcohol has a LOT of down sides. I stopped drinking to excess, ironically, after my 21st birthday. Though I continued to get drunk occasionally until my mid-30's. Now I might have a beer or two in a month, sometimes not even that. I do think the risk aversion of today's youth is problematic and the authors descriptions of them is pretty accurate (though of course, it's a broad generalization, where the exceptions prove the rule, IMO). In any case, I've come to consider alcohol the worst of ALL the mind altering substances, and rehab counselors I've talked to and read about seem to agree. It has the worst withdrawal symptoms of any "drug" and unlike many "hard" drugs, withdrawal all by itself can kill you. So perhaps it wasn't the best choice to point out the risk averse nature of today's youth, and there is certainly far more to that than just choosing not to drink.
This article feels really immature and shallow. But so did her article about rap music. It seems like Kat is here to bring the teenage (although not the gen z) perspective to the free press?
I’ve never had a drink in my life for religious reasons (LDS) and I’ve never felt like I’m missing anything. People have fun without alcohol. The people in my family who drink are absolute train wrecks so drinking didn’t ever look that appealing.
If alcohol affected only the person drinking, that's one thing. But often, those who drink impact the lives of others. If one becomes an addict, their family suffers. If one drinks and drives, other drivers often suffer. Alcohol is frequently a factor in sexual assault cases. While alcohol is legal and socially accepted, it can be just as dangerous, if not more so, than many illegal drugs, especially when considering its widespread use and potential for addiction and health issues.
Winston Churchill could not have successfully prosecuted the war without booze when things were darkest. Then he used it to celebrate when they began to look up two years into it. Drink from breakfast to bedtime probably cut short his life, however. He only lived to be 90.
I have not witnessed the Gen Z'ers in my area being less averse to drinking than previous generations. Of course, I live in Wisconsin, so..... Drinking in Wisconsin is VERY different than drinking in other states. Just look up "Drinking in Wisconsin" by Lewis Black on You Tube. It is a funny bit, mostly due to the truth of it!
All this piece seems to do is glorify drinking though it does bring up a good point about Gen z - I would beg to differ though on the explanation for increase sobriety. While many of us drank out of boredom in high school, the current generation instead develops an addiction to social media
This one paragraph excellently articulates a thought I've had regarding the trend towards sobriety (and the houlier-than-thou ego that comes with it) but I haven't been so eloquent in describing:
Granted, alcohol is not a 100 percent return on investment. Sometimes, you wake up after a night out drinking having sparked something exciting: a new idea, a new prospect, a new relationship. Other times, you just wake up with a hangover, and the lessons contained therein as to the limits of your tolerance. But these are valuable, too: It’s impossible to know where your boundaries lie—how much is too much, or how far is too far—unless you occasionally tread beyond them.
Parent of a senior boy (and daughter of an alcoholic) — there’s no sneaking a beer. He smells and feels terrible after one or two! (He can’t understand how I can always tell.) I just want him to have fun without alcohol now so he knows how to do it. Every weekend he isn’t drinking alcohol feels like a win. There’s time after his brain finishes developing for it. Alcohol is a crutch. A fun one and worth the misery sometimes for sure, but some of us can’t drink well. I wish as a young person I had been able to have fun sober. Now as an older person I wish I could go out drinking and feel okay the next day. The sweet spot is your twenties.
“ And yet, it’s this quality that has always made alcohol such a fundamental part of social life. Drinking makes it easier to be with people, and to be yourself; to talk and dance, tell jokes and stories, flirt, even fall in love.”
Ummm, yeah, sure, and most alcoholics would definitely agree.
Thank you, Kat, for a lovely fresh perspective. Maybe we're all just a bit too uptight and worried these days. Excess use of alcohol can lead to very serious negative consequences such as alcoholism, spousal abuse, and drunk driving and should be carefully guarded against. However, moderate drinking with friends clearly has its benefits. A drink or several with friends can absolutely dull the sharp edges and allow a sense of joy often not found when protective walls are erected and strictly maintained. And as a Christian (Baptist) I have always found it particularly interesting to note that the very first miracle performed by Jesus Christ was to turn water into wine (very good wine, btw) at a wedding celebration!
I live in a college town, and from that perspective I don't really see young people drinking less, as there are always lines at the bars Thursday through Saturday nights. Obviously, alcohol has a LOT of down sides. I stopped drinking to excess, ironically, after my 21st birthday. Though I continued to get drunk occasionally until my mid-30's. Now I might have a beer or two in a month, sometimes not even that. I do think the risk aversion of today's youth is problematic and the authors descriptions of them is pretty accurate (though of course, it's a broad generalization, where the exceptions prove the rule, IMO). In any case, I've come to consider alcohol the worst of ALL the mind altering substances, and rehab counselors I've talked to and read about seem to agree. It has the worst withdrawal symptoms of any "drug" and unlike many "hard" drugs, withdrawal all by itself can kill you. So perhaps it wasn't the best choice to point out the risk averse nature of today's youth, and there is certainly far more to that than just choosing not to drink.
This article feels really immature and shallow. But so did her article about rap music. It seems like Kat is here to bring the teenage (although not the gen z) perspective to the free press?
I’ve never had a drink in my life for religious reasons (LDS) and I’ve never felt like I’m missing anything. People have fun without alcohol. The people in my family who drink are absolute train wrecks so drinking didn’t ever look that appealing.
Very naive and a little sad.
One might also quote Psalms 104:15
And wine that maketh glad the heart of man
I love this article. Cheers, Kat! And thank you!
Overcoming anxiety with exposure is better than alcohol.
If alcohol affected only the person drinking, that's one thing. But often, those who drink impact the lives of others. If one becomes an addict, their family suffers. If one drinks and drives, other drivers often suffer. Alcohol is frequently a factor in sexual assault cases. While alcohol is legal and socially accepted, it can be just as dangerous, if not more so, than many illegal drugs, especially when considering its widespread use and potential for addiction and health issues.
Winston Churchill could not have successfully prosecuted the war without booze when things were darkest. Then he used it to celebrate when they began to look up two years into it. Drink from breakfast to bedtime probably cut short his life, however. He only lived to be 90.
I have not witnessed the Gen Z'ers in my area being less averse to drinking than previous generations. Of course, I live in Wisconsin, so..... Drinking in Wisconsin is VERY different than drinking in other states. Just look up "Drinking in Wisconsin" by Lewis Black on You Tube. It is a funny bit, mostly due to the truth of it!
All this piece seems to do is glorify drinking though it does bring up a good point about Gen z - I would beg to differ though on the explanation for increase sobriety. While many of us drank out of boredom in high school, the current generation instead develops an addiction to social media
This piece is such a disappointment. Not to mention irresponsible! Do better Free Press.
This one paragraph excellently articulates a thought I've had regarding the trend towards sobriety (and the houlier-than-thou ego that comes with it) but I haven't been so eloquent in describing:
Granted, alcohol is not a 100 percent return on investment. Sometimes, you wake up after a night out drinking having sparked something exciting: a new idea, a new prospect, a new relationship. Other times, you just wake up with a hangover, and the lessons contained therein as to the limits of your tolerance. But these are valuable, too: It’s impossible to know where your boundaries lie—how much is too much, or how far is too far—unless you occasionally tread beyond them.
Fantastic stuff, which arouses sympathy in me for the young generation along with a deep thankfulness for being a Boomer.
Parent of a senior boy (and daughter of an alcoholic) — there’s no sneaking a beer. He smells and feels terrible after one or two! (He can’t understand how I can always tell.) I just want him to have fun without alcohol now so he knows how to do it. Every weekend he isn’t drinking alcohol feels like a win. There’s time after his brain finishes developing for it. Alcohol is a crutch. A fun one and worth the misery sometimes for sure, but some of us can’t drink well. I wish as a young person I had been able to have fun sober. Now as an older person I wish I could go out drinking and feel okay the next day. The sweet spot is your twenties.