Summary

The article discusses the changing social dynamics around alcohol consumption, suggesting that abstaining from alcohol is becoming a status symbol in Europe, reflecting a broader trend towards health-conscious lifestyles.

Abstract

The author recounts a personal experience where their choice to abstain from alcohol at a social event was met with surprise and a joking accusation of superiority, highlighting societal discomfort with sobriety. The article references a sociologist, Walter Weyns, who compares the rise of alcohol-free living to the popularity of cargo bikes among the well-to-do, signaling a shift towards greater personal responsibility and health consciousness. This trend is part of a larger movement that includes other health-focused behaviors like meditation, yoga, and veganism. The author notes that while alcohol consumption remains high, there is a noticeable decline, particularly among young people in wealthy nations, who are leading the change. The article suggests that societal attitudes towards alcohol may follow the trajectory of smoking, which went from being socially accepted to stigmatized. The author emphasizes that their personal choice to avoid alcohol is about personal health, not status.

Opinions

Abstaining from alcohol can be misinterpreted as a sign of self-importance or judgment of others' choices.
There is an underlying awareness that drinking is unhealthy, and this awareness is becoming more prominent in society.
The shift towards sobriety as a status symbol is initially more common among affluent and highly educated groups.
Health-conscious behaviors, including sobriety, are increasingly seen as stylish and responsible.
The author believes that young people will be the primary drivers of societal changes related to alcohol consumption.
The author predicts that alcohol could become socially stigmatized like smoking, though perhaps not to the same extent.
The author's decision to quit alcohol is motivated by a desire for better health and well-being, rather than seeking social status.

Quitting alcohol as a status symbol

I was recently at a late-afternoon event where people were drinking, and someone noticed that I wasn’t having a beer.

“Nah, I’m good,” I responded when asked if I was going to order something. “I haven’t really eaten today and I want to go to the gym after this.”

The person I was with seemed surprised and responded: “What, you think you’re better than me?”

I laughed because it was a joke and he said it in a funny way, but it spoke to the nugget of truth hidden underneath the jibe.

Intrinsically, most people know that drinking is bad for them and they feel self-conscious about their behavior when others choose not to partake.

We’d all be better off if we tried to drastically reduce our alcohol intake, but those of us who are actually going through with it can sometimes be misconstrued as haughty or self-important.

This is just one of the many societal pressures that make it harder to quit drinking than it should be.

High society sobriety

I came across an interesting article this week that suggested that, in Europe anyway, going alcohol-free is actually becoming a status symbol.

The piece, published in the Brussels Times, quotes a sociologist named Walter Weyns from the University of Antwerpen. He says:

“Living alcohol-free gradually seems to be the new riding a cargo bike. We simply live in times of heightened responsibility.

“Modern man has the urge to constantly examine whether he is doing the right thing and taking enough care of himself. Am I exercising enough? Am I eating healthily?

“And now so too: am I not drinking too much and can I better stop drinking? All these questions go perfectly with the growing interest in our health.”

“Many such behaviours and phenomena are first making inroads among well-to-do and longer-educated groups. Those are more likely to choose that kind of lifestyle. Lifestyle is status, it is how you set yourself against the behavioural patterns of others you find less hip, less stylish, less conscious and responsible.”

OK, maybe my European readers can fill me in on why riding a cargo bike (whatever that is) is seen as the height of healthy living, but his point is not lost on me.

Just as behaviours and activities like meditation/mindfulness, yoga/exercise, veganism/vegetarianism, etc., gain more and more traction, activities that are detrimental to our health become less attractive to ourselves and others.

There’s a reason things like Dry January exist in our time.

Remember that smoking was once highly advertised and encouraged and you would have been considered a weirdo for not doing it (unfortunately you’re still considered a weirdo by a lot of people for not drinking).

Now smokers are social pariahs and their behaviour is totally stigmatized.

The “cool people” appear to be coming for alcohol now too.

A “cool” woman in a cafe (Photo by Vladyslav Tobolenko on Unsplash)

Youth leads change

Will alcohol go the way of smoking?

I doubt it’ll be shunned to that extent, but the shift is definitely noticeable now.

Whatever the case, one thing is certain: wherever society takes drinking, it will be young people leading the way.

Although Europe still leads the planet in alcohol consumption, rates are apparently falling across the board in wealthier nations.

And as the Brussels Times notes, young people are the ones embracing the change the most.

Although I think we have a long way to go in North America before being alcohol-free is totally embraced instead of judged and frowned upon, it’s encouraging to see trendsetters shift to a healthier lifestyle.

If and when societal pressure flips alcohol from being a “cool” activity to one frowned upon as “unhealthy”, it’ll mark the beginning of the end of this alcohol-soaked era in our culture.

For me, however, it isn’t (and never will be) about status.

It’s simply about not feeling and looking like s**t anymore.

Thanks so much for reading this post all the way to the end — if you enjoyed it, please take a moment to give it a clap or two so others can find it! I love to chat with you in the comments, too!