Why do you Young People drink alcohol? serious answers only.?

Question

I never have drunk alcohol and personally think it is a crutch, a sign of weak character. I don't mean one or two glasses of wine which is think is fine, but drinking to get drunk.

I have lived in London in the 70's and saw this with many friends drinking. They all acted out of character and most of them were not nice drunks. I am talking about girls now. I went to 100's of parties and had as much fun as the rest but I did not need alcohol to do this. I never felt the need to experience being under the influence of alcohol. Lucky I guess. I just wanted to hear what young people thought about this. The answers are all good. Thanks

I am 59 yrs old and lived all over the world. I just think this one still baffles me. I have watched 13 yr kids in N> Ireland recently get drunk and I think what is happening? It i so sad. There are so many other things to do than getting boozed up.

To young Lynettie - If you see someone stealing you know it is wrong. So if someone is drinking to the point where they do not know how to stand up or talk, it is wrong and they are not in their right mind. You don't have to personnaly experience everything to know that it is not right.

Answer 1

I'm 17 and proud to say that I've never consumed alcohol. I, frankly, don't see why anyone would want to - except for communion if grape juice is not offered - consume any underage. In my mind alcohol and drugs are the way that the people who don't care about their lives or futures destroy their lives and futures.

I can see why adults use alcohol in social situations, but the risks are simply too great for young people. Brain development can be impaired, especially in the pre-frontal cortex which controls decision making, leading to further poor decisions down the road.

I don't know why people use alcohol underage, but I think they're idiots for doing it.

Answer 2

well i think old and young people get drunk to forget or put the stress of there lifes in the back of the mind. Some people are crazy when they drink and others have fun. I use to be bad and would drink for 10 hours at work, I could still stand and walk and the valet where dumb and would let me drive home. Who knows what could of happened to me, I don't know why I did this I was partying and making money and having a good time. I also seen alot of peope just pass out cause they couldn't drink. I was bad was drinking just strait shots still love vodka and tequlia. But I had to stop got pregnat and just couldn't do that anymore.Now I drink a little sometimes but never to much cause I' breastfeeding. So its like a drink or 2 once in a while. I guess if I would of gotten sick or had hang overs I would of cared but was fine But i can see how years on continually drinking harms your body and don't want to do that.

Answer 3

first, I really don't see alcohol as a weakness of character. People drink because it is fun. When you describe young people slumped over drunk, then that is another story.

But i don't think taking a no-alcohol approach is a very realistic standpoint. i am young (older than 17, but younger than 21) and i drink occassionally. sometimes i do get drunk. i am also a hardworking student with an A average, and many supportive friends and family. In other words, getting drunk is not weak. It is just a time to let yourself go and have fun. it is a personal choice, and it is part of culture that's not going anywhere.

Answer 4

I am young. I drink. I'm a perfect candidate for this question. First I must ask you a question. I am not being condascending, I am just pointing out a fact. If you have never been drunk, then you are you to judge those who have?

Anyway, on with my point. People go out and have good clean fun all the time. But sometimes they like to spice it up a bit. It is also fun to feel dirty at times. Being young is about sneaking around. Being young is about doing what your parents warn you against. Drinking is just one of those things that people do. It makes them feel good. It can be a crutch, but most people (besides alcoholics), do not use it as one. They use it as entertainment. As a way to have a good time. People who drink alone have their reasons. Alcoholics usually aren't too young. Alcoholism is a progression that usually hits most people when they are older and much more experienced. People who have a very high tolerance to alcohol anyway. My opinion of people who drink alone is not very high. In my eyes they are losers who need friends. People who sit with others and put down drinks converse, they laugh, things become funnier. Some people do stupid things (like drive), but that is still their decision. They should have good friends who keep them out of sticky situations. Drinking is a way to feel different. Experience the world from a different prospective. It is not bad if done in a responsible manner. You still have responsibilities in the morning. But a night out with buddies is something to treasure.

Answer 5

Because it is against the law and it makes them feel all grown up.

Following is what I answered to a previous question which may shed some light on this:

Where I was brought up, who could drink and when was up to the parents.
I remember as a 6 year old, being given an open milk can (about a 2 quart metal canteen with a handle) and money to go to the local pub and get it filled with beer.
No one would have questioned that it was OK for me to be served and given what I came for. (Talk about freedom).
Of course on the way home I had a couple of swallows. It was no big deal because nobody made a big deal out of that.
I have only been drunk one time in my life, all other times I never drank more that 2 drinks (at parties and such).
I came to Canada when I was 15 and found their restrictions on alcohol rather quaint. I always looked very mature even then, and the rare time I felt like going to get me a beer, no one ever questioned me and I always got what I wanted.
There was never a time in my life, when I felt I wanted any alcohol, because it was a 'forbidden fruit'.
I have also found that the stricter such rules are in a country, the more heavy drunks I have observed. Canada was a perfect example for that, even worse than the USA.
My nephew who was born in California, was always into any alcohol he could get into, and I lost count of the number of times I saw him drunk. Now here comes the kicker.
The day he turned 21, his father took him out for a beer, to celebrate his coming of age with is first legal drink.
They went, but essentially my nephew has lost his interest in alcohol and now rarely uses it.
This begs the question, are these laws on the books only to make alcoholics out of as many people as possible?
I myself, incidentally, do like the odd beer, especially when the weather is real hot, but even then a 12 pack usually lasts me half a year.
I also like cognac, and have a half full bottle of that, which was given to me 3 years ago. So you can see, my early, uninhibited exposure to this stuff has really turned me into a raving alcoholic...

Answer 6

I think that, among other things, drinking begins at a young age because youth is an age of exploration. Teenagers who are caught between being a child and an adult and so many of whom want to "grow up" begin exploring the things that are more accepting of adults. Its very possibly that underneath it all, a teenager believes that doing things are only acceptable as an adult may make them an adult more quickly. Reverting back to drinking specifically, I believe that in this exploration of drinking, either to prove their adulthood or simply to fit in with their peers, at one point they reach the level of intoxication that is pleasurable. The level in which the sensation of alcohol running in the veins is stimulatingly pleasing and where things do seem more humorous and for a brief moment the world does seem a little less depressing (not to say that this is not accomplishable without alcohol, but it does indeed happen for many with it). When they reach this level of stimulation, they want to replicate it, or maybe even intensify it. Like a drug. With adults who have experience drinking, I believe they've built up a resistance to this stimulation and this may be the reason for some adults overdrinking. But for teenagers or younger people, I think it just comes down to not knowing when to stop; trying to get that pleasurable level and over-doing it, basically. I don't believe that people honestly set out to get drunk to the point of vomiting and having a hangover. I think people just want to feel good and let go of some of their inhibitions, but sometimes they overestimate the amount of alcohol needed, if any, to accomplish this.

Answer 7

when you get drunk, your character is not weak. ur 10 feet tall and bullet proof. actually if youve never drank, how would you know to judge someone who does? why do young people drink? because theres nothing else to do thats rewarding. the family unit has gone to hell in a handbasket, parents think more about making money than their kids lives. a better paying job somewhere else? sure, lets dissrupt our kids lives and take them away from everything they love because we can have a better life. the kids are put on the backburner. they want to fit in, so they go with whoever will associate. its not a crutch, its an escape from the screwed up world that the adults have created. im 55yrs old, but i still remember. got anymore questions?

Answer 8

There is more than one reason people drink.

Peer pressure or being sociable is one of the simplest reasons. Young people in particular want to fit in with the "cool" clique and quite often that seems to be the party crowd.

After starting, the feeling they get when drunk keeps many young people drinking. Marijuana is illegal and alcohol is so accepted, that even if caught, their parents usually overlook drinking with a "At least they're not doing drugs" remark, not realizing that alcohol is one of the most widely abused drugs around.

Answer 9

If you've never done it, then you never know how much fun it can be. I don't mean falling down drunk, but it can be fun to let loose a bit and get a good buzz going.

The falling down drunk type comes from people aiming for that nice buzz, then overshooting... or from drowning out personal problems, as you've spoken about with the crutch.

Do you think the runner's high that runners get is a crutch too?

Answer 10

- young people drink to actually get drunk becoz it is an escape from reality.

I dont drink to get drunk either and probably only drink 2 - 3 times a year at weddings, or new years etc... but I dont see alcholism as a sign of weakness and definetly dont look down on people who have this problem as you obviously do!

Not everyone's life or circumstances are as good as yours must be.

Try growing up in the lower class side of town and see if you have anything better to do than get drunk on Saturday nites while your parents have to work and cant always be there to look after you.