TEDxSalford

Drinking Culture: A Cocktail of Affluence and Disorder

Please pardon the pun. Many sociologists claim the rapid expansion of the nighttime economy, which is a huge asset to towns and cities across the UK, can be seen as to fill the void left by Britain’s decaying manufacturing base. With the intent of creating a more benign, European drinking culture, licensing laws passed in 2003 have not succeeded, creating widespread concerns that crime and disorder is rampant across city centres every Friday and Saturday night.

Having carried out research on the ongoing effects of deindustrialisation on drinking culture for my third year dissertation, I thought I would offer some insights. But what actually is drinking culture?

I found the following components to be the key elements.

1. Social Networks – Firstly, networks of participants organise practices in order for any activities to take place.
2. Drinking Settings – The various venues that facilitate the practices, encompassing a large variety of dynamics and tastes.
3. Drinking Practices – The actual activities that take place, e.g. a quiet drink, night-out.
4. Drinking Career – The personal route through different practices that individuals experience due to their occupation and locality.

All of the above have an influence over alcohol consumption and behavioural issues, but they show that responsibility ultimately lies with the individual. These findings do not necessarily concur with contemporary education on alcohol, which overly emphasises the medical problems and not the cultural and social.

It is a complicated topic, as it is the central aspect to so many social lives and can have detrimental effects on individuals, families and communities. Scotland are leading the way in combating contemporary alcohol issues, with a minimum pricing strategy set to be implemented this year, with research suggesting that it will save thousands of lives. Whether that is the case is yet to be seen, as the sociability alcohol permits is a significant part of many people’s lives and cultural shifts cannot always be forced.

For more TED related articles on this topic try:

• Tom Rielly on ‘Excessive Alcohol Consumption Genes’
• TED Conversation on whether alcohol can be healthy
• TED Conversation on eliminating overindulgence in food and alcohol