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Why Do the British Drink So Much?
A comment someone mentioned earlier got me thinking about why British people in comparison to other cultures drink so darn much, and why we always end of legs akimbo on floors, in pools of vomit, ashaming ourselves, ashaming our country when we are abroad.....
I think that is has to be blamed on cultural factors, because it would be silly to say that we are genetically unable to handle drink as much as say, Spanish people. We just drink too much. We binge, in a way that most other cultures do not.
I think it is because of how reserved the British are. We don't like to look stupid, we get embarrassed very easily, we shy away from the spotlight, we like to look statesmanly. This, when going out into social situations, is a hindrance on the ability to have a bloody good time. This is where alcohol comes in.
We all know alcohol allows us to lose our inhibitions. We feel more confidant, and less afraid of looking silly. I would argue that our inhibitions are much greater than most other cultures. Go to Spain, and they dance in the streets. Walk into town, and listen to how many African women will sing out loud, uncaring of people staring. Think about how many British friends you have who won't get up and dance unless they are tipsy.
When i go to Spain(i do every year to see family), and we go out, and there is music on, we get up and dance. Without drinking. Noone cares about other people who may be watching, we all just get into the spirit of things. We don't need ten shots to get up. When i'm back in Blighty however, i get the feeling everyone is there watching, jjudging, thinking" He's making a scene", "He looks stupid" "Oh my god, what is he doing". And so i drink a few pints Then it doesn't really matter, because my inhibitions are gone, along with everyone elses. In Spanish club however, the inhibitions aren't there to begin with, because Spanish people are way less reserved.
This then just escalted into a phenomenon of mad drinking. Instead of trying to build up self-esteem, and having a "who cares" attitude, we now rely on alcohol to enjoy ouselves. And this isn't what alcohol is really for, it is a natural depressant, its supposed to be for relaxing!
Anyone agree?
I think that is has to be blamed on cultural factors, because it would be silly to say that we are genetically unable to handle drink as much as say, Spanish people. We just drink too much. We binge, in a way that most other cultures do not.
I think it is because of how reserved the British are. We don't like to look stupid, we get embarrassed very easily, we shy away from the spotlight, we like to look statesmanly. This, when going out into social situations, is a hindrance on the ability to have a bloody good time. This is where alcohol comes in.
We all know alcohol allows us to lose our inhibitions. We feel more confidant, and less afraid of looking silly. I would argue that our inhibitions are much greater than most other cultures. Go to Spain, and they dance in the streets. Walk into town, and listen to how many African women will sing out loud, uncaring of people staring. Think about how many British friends you have who won't get up and dance unless they are tipsy.
When i go to Spain(i do every year to see family), and we go out, and there is music on, we get up and dance. Without drinking. Noone cares about other people who may be watching, we all just get into the spirit of things. We don't need ten shots to get up. When i'm back in Blighty however, i get the feeling everyone is there watching, jjudging, thinking" He's making a scene", "He looks stupid" "Oh my god, what is he doing". And so i drink a few pints Then it doesn't really matter, because my inhibitions are gone, along with everyone elses. In Spanish club however, the inhibitions aren't there to begin with, because Spanish people are way less reserved.
This then just escalted into a phenomenon of mad drinking. Instead of trying to build up self-esteem, and having a "who cares" attitude, we now rely on alcohol to enjoy ouselves. And this isn't what alcohol is really for, it is a natural depressant, its supposed to be for relaxing!
Anyone agree?
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You definitely identify a real phonomena, and I think it may well be related to relative inhibition, but then you have to weigh the costs of binge drinking against the benefits of our characteristic self-restraint and what happens when they clash.
That part, "we don't like to look stupid" I'd debate as well. Most other cultures and certainly mediterranean and African ones have a much more developed sense of "face", losing face I mean. I think the British are simply more reluctant to impose on others with ott behaviour - just sensible self restraint and manners again.
That part, "we don't like to look stupid" I'd debate as well. Most other cultures and certainly mediterranean and African ones have a much more developed sense of "face", losing face I mean. I think the British are simply more reluctant to impose on others with ott behaviour - just sensible self restraint and manners again.
I don't think you can really say that Brits drink "more". If you look at the continent, countries like France and Spain in, wine is a part of life in a way that alcohol simply isn't over here. A lot of the people there will have a bottle at the table with every meal, every day. They don't drink a lot, but they drink often.
Now compare that to how the Brits do it. We pile all our drinking in to the evenings, usually Friday and Saturday nights. We do the drinking that they spread out over every meal for a week in the space of a few hours in one night. And then people end up, as you say, "on floors".
That's why Britain is a "binge" drinking culture, the binge part essentially being defined as drinking virtually the entire recommended weekly allowance all in a few hours at one time.
I wouldn't say that the "reservedness" is a huge factor, I know plenty of people here at Uni who have few inhibitions and will dance in clubs without a drink (girls in particular), and I really don't think that it's something you can apply across a whole country in that way.
Now compare that to how the Brits do it. We pile all our drinking in to the evenings, usually Friday and Saturday nights. We do the drinking that they spread out over every meal for a week in the space of a few hours in one night. And then people end up, as you say, "on floors".
That's why Britain is a "binge" drinking culture, the binge part essentially being defined as drinking virtually the entire recommended weekly allowance all in a few hours at one time.
I wouldn't say that the "reservedness" is a huge factor, I know plenty of people here at Uni who have few inhibitions and will dance in clubs without a drink (girls in particular), and I really don't think that it's something you can apply across a whole country in that way.
JonathanH
I don't think you can really say that Brits drink "more". If you look at the continent, countries like France and Spain in, wine is a part of life in a way that alcohol simply isn't over here. A lot of the people there will have a bottle at the table with every meal, every day. They don't drink a lot, but they drink often.
Now compare that to how the Brits do it. We pile all our drinking in to the evenings, usually Friday and Saturday nights. We do the drinking that they spread out over every meal for a week in the space of a few hours in one night. And then people end up, as you say, "on floors".
That's why Britain is a "binge" drinking culture, the binge part essentially being defined as drinking virtually the entire recommended weekly allowance all in a few hours at one time.
I wouldn't say that the "reservedness" is a huge factor, I know plenty of people here at Uni who have few inhibitions and will dance in clubs without a drink (girls in particular), and I really don't think that it's something you can apply across a whole country in that way.
Now compare that to how the Brits do it. We pile all our drinking in to the evenings, usually Friday and Saturday nights. We do the drinking that they spread out over every meal for a week in the space of a few hours in one night. And then people end up, as you say, "on floors".
That's why Britain is a "binge" drinking culture, the binge part essentially being defined as drinking virtually the entire recommended weekly allowance all in a few hours at one time.
I wouldn't say that the "reservedness" is a huge factor, I know plenty of people here at Uni who have few inhibitions and will dance in clubs without a drink (girls in particular), and I really don't think that it's something you can apply across a whole country in that way.
Well, you have to separate the younger from the older. My parents, and most others i know, do drink wine with meals every day. Its the kids who have the problems, mainly. I do agree with what you have said though, about how the drinking of youths is always concentrated into a short space of time.
But the fact is, we dont sit there and think, ooh, i haven't drank all week, so i think i'll catch up with the meds and drink it all in one go. You can't really comapre the situations. We still binge. They don't. They dont go out at weekends,a nd get absolutely plastered, and you can't say thats because they drink all the time. We still have a problem, because we drink to get drunk, and they do not. And why do we drink to get drunk? Zoecb put it perfectly. We are too inhibited. And there is now ay you could convince me otherwise. It could be written in the bloody bible that the British are reserved and inhibited.
I agree with you cottonmouth - a binge culture is nothing to be proud of, it's rather worrying and reflects badly on those guilty of bingeing. I drink very very little, but experiences have shown me that i don't need to drink much, if drink at all. Having a good time is so much down to who you are sharing the night/evening with...what you do and how, is dependent on your social company.
I think people do drink alot because of anxiety, lack of self-confidence for sure, lack of confidence in personal looks and personality. And all of a sudden (allegedly), she looks and feels so much more sexier, looks and sounds so much cooler.....etc. I'm not the biggest advocate of alcohol abuse as you can see.
I think people do drink alot because of anxiety, lack of self-confidence for sure, lack of confidence in personal looks and personality. And all of a sudden (allegedly), she looks and feels so much more sexier, looks and sounds so much cooler.....etc. I'm not the biggest advocate of alcohol abuse as you can see.
from the perspective of a foreigner looking in:
- the weather. people have to spend a lot of time indoors here. in a hotter country with more outdoor activities available year-round, people are less likely to spend quite so much time in the pub. seriously!
- britain has great pubs; probably the definitive public house experience is to be found in the countryside here. because the pub is somewhere young people go to get drunk, families go to eat, older people meet to socialise... it's part of the wonderful tapestry of british life. two old geezers sitting by the shove ha'penny table nursing pints of Old Scrotum and making up war stories - it's not just cliche, it does happen! going down the pub is far more socially acceptable (in fact socially required) than it is in other countries i have experience of.
- britons work harder than anyone else in europe (for less money), and therefore have fewer holidays. long dark winters, high working hours, less time off - all of these combine imo to make going out & getting hammered part of the routine for a lot of people. stress, pressure and less time to yourself / your family etc. really contributes to the whole binge drinking thing.
- drinking is woven into the fabric of life here in so many ways which brits might not notice: for example, on some train lines there are those little trolleys which have beer, wine & spirits for sale. in somewhere like australia - which prides itself on being a nation of drinkers (even though they're not!) having alcohol for sale on a train, during the day... is almost inconceivable. or being able to drink almost anywhere... in many countries, you can't just walk down the road with a can of stella!
- the power of the pound. drink is cheap here. i bet you could find 50p shots in every major city in the country, if you're a student it's even less... 3 shots for a pound for girls in some establishments, it's no wonder people binge drink: finding a couple of quid down the back of the sofa is equivalent to buying a half bottle of cheap nasty vodka!
- there's a deeply-ingrained love of hedonism here which is why so many people are attracted to the UK
- the weather. people have to spend a lot of time indoors here. in a hotter country with more outdoor activities available year-round, people are less likely to spend quite so much time in the pub. seriously!
- britain has great pubs; probably the definitive public house experience is to be found in the countryside here. because the pub is somewhere young people go to get drunk, families go to eat, older people meet to socialise... it's part of the wonderful tapestry of british life. two old geezers sitting by the shove ha'penny table nursing pints of Old Scrotum and making up war stories - it's not just cliche, it does happen! going down the pub is far more socially acceptable (in fact socially required) than it is in other countries i have experience of.
- britons work harder than anyone else in europe (for less money), and therefore have fewer holidays. long dark winters, high working hours, less time off - all of these combine imo to make going out & getting hammered part of the routine for a lot of people. stress, pressure and less time to yourself / your family etc. really contributes to the whole binge drinking thing.
- drinking is woven into the fabric of life here in so many ways which brits might not notice: for example, on some train lines there are those little trolleys which have beer, wine & spirits for sale. in somewhere like australia - which prides itself on being a nation of drinkers (even though they're not!) having alcohol for sale on a train, during the day... is almost inconceivable. or being able to drink almost anywhere... in many countries, you can't just walk down the road with a can of stella!
- the power of the pound. drink is cheap here. i bet you could find 50p shots in every major city in the country, if you're a student it's even less... 3 shots for a pound for girls in some establishments, it's no wonder people binge drink: finding a couple of quid down the back of the sofa is equivalent to buying a half bottle of cheap nasty vodka!
- there's a deeply-ingrained love of hedonism here which is why so many people are attracted to the UK
-aeon-
- drinking is woven into the fabric of life here in so many ways which brits might not notice: for example, on some train lines there are those little trolleys which have beer, wine & spirits for sale. in somewhere like australia - which prides itself on being a nation of drinkers (even though they're not!) having alcohol for sale on a train, during the day... is almost inconceivable. or being able to drink almost anywhere... in many countries, you can't just walk down the road with a can of stella!
You can't in Scotland these days anyway... didn't know it was still that liberal in England. Lucky sods.
the power of the pound. drink is cheap here. i bet you could find 50p shots in every major city in the country, if you're a student it's even less... 3 shots for a pound for girls in some establishments, it's no wonder people binge drink: finding a couple of quid down the back of the sofa is equivalent to buying a half bottle of cheap nasty vodka!
Poor me. I'm scoffing up about 2.20 for a pint on average... which would be far, far cheaper in Spain etc.
I love my booze *hic*
cottonmouth
to say that we are genetically unable to handle drink as much as say, Spanish people.
Anyone agree?
Anyone agree?
Don't want to start a cultural battle but the Spaniards do not drink as much and are a lot more reasonable with their drinking. They simply don't go as crazy as reserved Anglo-saxons like the Brits, the Canadians or the Americans. Probably due to the fact that in their culture, drinking is not a taboo thing to do and doesn't exactly make you cool (or uncool if you don't drink...). The appeal of going completely over the top and drinking to get totally wasted doesn't have the same appeal.
In my experience, they simply drink to enjoy the evening more but drinking just for the sake of drinking that's what the Brits and Eastern Europeans do.
supercat
Because everyone in Britain does. It's considered "cool" and is constantly promoted (Radio One, for example). Try being teetotal, you get a hell of a lot of weird looks, but at a party on Friday I danced more than some people.
Definitely. For years the voice messages on Sunday morning have been pretty much:"Yeah mate I got so wasted last night. One two one two... Avin' it laaaaarrrrge".
In a lot of European countries, this would just been seen as pathetic and loserish.
A good film to watch to see how Europeans perceive us is L'Auberge Espagnole / The Spanish Apartment http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0283900/ A great film even though the characters are somewhat annoying in my opinion. It's also anti-British in a rather unsubtle way. Kelly Reilly plays Wendy, a friendly cheerful romantic British girl but her brother comes over and behaves like the stereotypical British ****: managing to insult pretty much everyone and ending up throwing up in the gutter (clearly not knowing how to hold his drink).
SamTheMan
Don't want to start a cultural battle but the Spaniards do not drink as much and are a lot more reasonable with their drinking. They simply don't go as crazy as reserved Anglo-saxons like the Brits, the Canadians or the Americans. Probably due to the fact that in their culture, drinking is not a taboo thing to do and doesn't exactly make you cool (or uncool if you don't drink...). The appeal of going completely over the top and drinking to get totally wasted doesn't have the same appeal.
In my experience, they simply drink to enjoy the evening more but drinking just for the sake of drinking that's what the Brits and Eastern Europeans do.
In my experience, they simply drink to enjoy the evening more but drinking just for the sake of drinking that's what the Brits and Eastern Europeans do.
The UK drinking phenomen as you all seem to describe is no suprise.
You all make comparisons with Fance and Spain which is silly, they have completly differnt climates to our own.
When compared to the Scandanavian countries we are not that differnt. Norway, Sweeden,Finland and Denmark have serious drink related problems in their culture.....and alcahol prices in theose locations are some of the most expensive in Europe(including the South-east)
Then there is russia where drinking is such a huge problem in the population.
Things are not all that bad, look at our own past where people drank insane amounts due to the poor water supply, we are far better now than then
You all make comparisons with Fance and Spain which is silly, they have completly differnt climates to our own.
When compared to the Scandanavian countries we are not that differnt. Norway, Sweeden,Finland and Denmark have serious drink related problems in their culture.....and alcahol prices in theose locations are some of the most expensive in Europe(including the South-east)
Then there is russia where drinking is such a huge problem in the population.
Things are not all that bad, look at our own past where people drank insane amounts due to the poor water supply, we are far better now than then
Zoecb
Because the English are inhibited and socially deficient and cannot do anything vaguely 'loose' without getting pissed and having drunkenness to blame their actions on.
You should compare crime an corruption levels in the "socially deficient" countries with those in countries where inhibition, consideration of others, and self-restraint are less prevalent. It's the balance I mentioned earlier, how do you weight that total social disparity when you consider all it's supposed positives and negatives.
Laika, makes a very relevant point as regards office/factory culture and our statistical excess of hours and stress.
And ali puts it in perspective, we aren't the worst, and contrary maybe to my first response cottonmouth, Russians are a particularly expressive and emotive people - at least by European standards.
I'm not a sociologist, but surely preparedness to indulge in the most harmful, dangerous and anti-social drug induced behaviour is something we need to consider as a whole, rather than focus just on bacardi breezers, the English majority, or friday nights. Occam's razor says: The shortest route to explaining why binge-drinking is a peculiarly English problem is to explain why the non-English people living in England prefer other or no drugs.
I don't know.
cottonmouth
ashaming our country
Sorry if I'm wrong, but your recent conduct has been quite shameful.
supercat
Because everyone in Britain does. It's considered "cool" and is constantly promoted (Radio One, for example). Try being teetotal, you get a hell of a lot of weird looks, but at a party on Friday I danced more than some people.
But not every one in Britain does. There are plenty of people who go out, have a quiet drink with friends, come home and go to bed. But that would make rather dull TV, wouldn't it? Gotta love media hysteria and the moral panic that accompanies it.
no the british drink lots and cant hold it. its a load of fat bald men drinking carling and making idiots out of themselves
now the irish
they can drink
now the irish
they can drink
ArthurOliver
I know you're talking bell curves but you go too far and the "socially deficient" suggests I think an emotional and non-rational basis for your post.
I wasn't being emotive I was being annoyed. I'm not that bothered, really. By 'socially deficient' I wasn't being derogatory but expressing the opinion that the British really could learn to loosen up without the help of inebrients.
The British are too shy and repressed and easily embarassed to do perfectly normal things such as dancing and singing and leaping about of that nature, but are completely incapable of these natural social phenomena without being totally pissed, which often leads to nasty messy consequences.
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