“There’s more of a focus on health and wellness and how you prioritise that.”
Figures released this week have revealed that alcohol consumption in Ireland has dropped by nearly a third in the space of 20 years.
The report, commissioned by the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI), showed that since the peak of 2001, the average per adult alcohol consumption has declined by 31%.
Ireland as a nation seems to be maturing in its relationship with alcohol, with these new figures seemingly backing that up.
For the 30-year-old writing this, I can already see a clear generational change in attitude towards drinking compared to the booze-filled nights of my late teenage years.
But why is that? What has changed over the past few years to allow for such a shift in consumption habits across the island? As it turns out, there seems to be a lot of factors at play.
Sober Social – The rise of sober communities in Ireland
Speaking to Dr Melissa Kelly, PhD and founder of Sober Social Ireland, an online community for people looking to discover non-alcohol-related social activities, a lot of it stems from the pandemic.
“Unhealthy habits were brought to light a little clearly, after having so much time away to really think and be with ourselves,” Melissa tells JOE.
“You don’t have to hit rock bottom to change your drinking habits, you can change whenever you decide it’s a problem for you.”
Melissa quit drinking in 2020 at the start of Covid while living as a 26-year-old in Belfast.
“For so long in my early twenties I had wanted to take a break,” she says, listing off the all-too-common symptoms of drinking culture – binge drinking, hangovers, the anxiety-induced Fear with a capital F.
“I was starting to really notice the negative effect alcohol had on my mental health.”
Melissa decided to take a 30-day break from alcohol, which turned into a year, which then led to her to creating a sober community of her own.
What started as a small group called ‘Sober Girls Ireland’ quickly amassed a larger following, leading Melissa to open the group up to all genders and ages.
From there, Sober Social Ireland was born, and it now regularly hosts virtual and in-person events for anyone who is sober or ‘sober curious’.
“The sober community on Instagram is exponentially larger than it was when I quit drinking in 2020.”
The Social Media effect and Gen-Z leading the way in reducing alcohol consumption
While the depletion in alcohol consumption seems to be across all ages judging by the interest in sober communities across social media, there is one generation in particular seemingly leading the way in changing habits.
You’ve surely seen countless articles online about Gen Z and how they are completely different in their attitudes to alcohol compared to other generations.
Part of that is surely the important role social media plays in young people’s lives.
Now more than ever are we living in a world where anything you do or say can be instantly shared in posts online.
But social media has also become a tool for young people looking to better themselves and find more suitable role models and communities.
According to Melissa, things like “more celebrities coming out and talking about their own sobriety journeys” flips the stigma of alcoholism on its head and brings it into the light.
“There’s more of a focus on health and wellness and how you prioritise that,” she adds.
“We have all these inspirational and aspirational people at our fingertips to see that there are other things to do.”
Run clubs and the end of the pub?
Anybody with an Instagram account will have noticed the incredible rise of run clubs since Covid.
Clubs like Mild Activity in Dublin host regular social events have seen their followers jump through the roof, with more and more people looking for alternative ways to meet similar-minded folks away from the pub.
Melissa feels social media is once again the driving force behind this change.
“There are so many other options of different clubs and past times and I feel social media has brought more of an awareness of that.”
Ireland has also seen the rise of physical spaces offering more than just a night out on the drink.
One such option is Board, a recently-opened non-alcoholic board games bar & café.
Chris Raymond, Head of Marketing at Bodytonic, the company behind Board, told the Irish Independent: “The younger generation aren’t drinking as much.
“We wanted to do this for some time, no longer is it all about alcohol.”
Melissa adds: “Drinking is such a huge part of socialising as a young person and if you’re going to remove drinking, you need to find other ways to fulfil that need, to find somewhere you belong.”
The future of Irish pub culture
While the dip in consumption of alcohol over the years has certainly affected pubs and alcohol brands alike, we’re a long way from the end of pub culture.
What’s happening instead is a shift from brands towards alcohol-free beer and mocktails
“I do still enjoy going out to the pub,” Melissa admits.
“A lot of that doesn’t need to have alcohol as part of the equation.
“I would love to see that pub culture still thriving and finding a way for that to still exist.”
The answer, so it seems, is co-existence.
Thankfully, the dreaded nudge followed by, ‘Ah gowan, you’ll have the one’ is becoming less tolerated and taking a night off the drink or quitting completely is a much more socially acceptable stance.
“If you’re drinking a pint of alcoholic beer and someone next to you is drinking a pint of alcohol-free beer, it would be lovely to all be able to be together.”
If you’re sober curious yourself, check out the Sober Social Ireland website and follow them on Instagram.
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
