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What a fantastic way to extinguish through overanalysis any joy that might have been had from the simple pleasure going for a quick drink after work. I realise

by zbyszek 17y ago

What a fantastic way to extinguish through overanalysis any joy that might have been had from the simple pleasure going for a quick drink after work. I realise that drinking cultures might vary enormously but I just don't recognise the fraught environment that is being presented here; I have never seen anyone put under pressure for not drinking, and "White wine won't mix with the whiskey crowd"? Really? I like to go out with work colleagues on occasion. I find that if you are going to spend eight hours a day with some people it helps to get to know them personally a little bit, and this in turn eases the working relationship. This doesn't have to be achieved by going to the pub; that's just a social norm. In some cultures a convivial gathering might mean drinking sweet tea and smoking a hookah, but in mine it involves booze.

Goladus 17y ago
It's not overanalysis. The fact that drinking and losing sleep is physically unhealthy, along with the fact that there's widespread social pressure to partake, means that the question is worth exploring. You don't have to agree with the answer, but your dismissive and defensive attitude is exactly why a study like this is worthwhile. If you aren't someone who prefers not to drink, you probably don't really understand where the pressure comes from. Every single time you go out with new people, people make comments on your lack of drinking. Either the fact that you ordered a 7-up or that it's been 3 hours and you still haven't finished your first beer. Plus the bar itself is designed to sell alcohol, so there's inherent pressure just by being there. My primary career (IT) doesn't involve a lot of people going out drinking on a regular basis. But I sing for fun, and in that field people are constantly out late, and yes there is pressure to drink. EVERYONE who goes out drinks more than me, and even people I've known for a year or more still make comments. And lately I've had to skip the drinking night because I have to be up at 6:30 AM the next morning for a meeting. I feel much better physically and mentally but I'm socially out of touch. Plus, there's the matter of being at the bar when your regular bedtime passes and your melatonin starts kicking in. All the drinkers don't even notice and sit around yammering for another hour or four while you sit there yawning.
- theorique 17y ago
  "If you aren't someone who prefers not to drink, you probably don't really understand where the pressure comes from." Some of us who do choose to drink at times also choose not to drink on certain occasions - e.g. weeknight w/ workout or yoga at 0630. There's definite social pressure to drink at a "drinking establishment" but I don't recall anyone ever wedging my jaws open and funneling beer down my throat. Hold your own frame and never let your reality be dominated by the throwaway comments of others. If you want to use a decoy, get a 1/2 cranberry / 1/2 soda with a wedge of lime. Looks like a "real" drink.
  - Goladus 17y ago
    I don't recall anyone ever wedging my jaws open and funneling beer down my throat. That's really why I made the post. Just to explain that this study fully understands that most people do not have beer forced down their throats and instead examined broader trends. My point was to show that there is a whole spectrum between not feeling any pressure and being threatened at gunpoint.

by zbyszek 17y ago

Goladus 17y ago

It's not overanalysis. The fact that drinking and losing sleep is physically unhealthy, along with the fact that there's widespread social pressure to partake, means that the question is worth exploring. You don't have to agree with the answer, but your dismissive and defensive attitude is exactly why a study like this is worthwhile. If you aren't someone who prefers not to drink, you probably don't really understand where the pressure comes from. Every single time you go out with new people, people make comments on your lack of drinking. Either the fact that you ordered a 7-up or that it's been 3 hours and you still haven't finished your first beer. Plus the bar itself is designed to sell alcohol, so there's inherent pressure just by being there. My primary career (IT) doesn't involve a lot of people going out drinking on a regular basis. But I sing for fun, and in that field people are constantly out late, and yes there is pressure to drink. EVERYONE who goes out drinks more than me, and even people I've known for a year or more still make comments. And lately I've had to skip the drinking night because I have to be up at 6:30 AM the next morning for a meeting. I feel much better physically and mentally but I'm socially out of touch. Plus, there's the matter of being at the bar when your regular bedtime passes and your melatonin starts kicking in. All the drinkers don't even notice and sit around yammering for another hour or four while you sit there yawning.

theorique 17y ago
"If you aren't someone who prefers not to drink, you probably don't really understand where the pressure comes from." Some of us who do choose to drink at times also choose not to drink on certain occasions - e.g. weeknight w/ workout or yoga at 0630. There's definite social pressure to drink at a "drinking establishment" but I don't recall anyone ever wedging my jaws open and funneling beer down my throat. Hold your own frame and never let your reality be dominated by the throwaway comments of others. If you want to use a decoy, get a 1/2 cranberry / 1/2 soda with a wedge of lime. Looks like a "real" drink.
- Goladus 17y ago
  I don't recall anyone ever wedging my jaws open and funneling beer down my throat. That's really why I made the post. Just to explain that this study fully understands that most people do not have beer forced down their throats and instead examined broader trends. My point was to show that there is a whole spectrum between not feeling any pressure and being threatened at gunpoint.