WE ARE ALL SLAVES TO SOMETHING - The alcohol culture

A MILLENNIALS GUIDE TO MORALITY IN TODAY’S WORLD PART 1

Part 1

All too often as millennials we are led to believe that being free in this world means indulging in our vices: sex, drugs (alcohol), materialistic lifestyles, celebrity status etc. But do we freely choose these things or are we simply fulfilling physical and psychological urges in the wrong ways? Could some of the things we think we enjoy the most be the equivalent to stuffing our faces with food when we are upset or eating dessert instead for dinner when we’re hungry. Sometimes our vices can seem harmless, like the envy of someone with celebrity or elite social status. But we fall into the trap of accepting their lifestyle as ideal and are led to believe that this leads to happiness. Then we fail to find enjoyment in our own lives until we can be like those we envy or we follow every aspect of their lives.

“…do we freely choose these things or are we fulfilling physical and psychological needs?”

There is a saying that goes: ‘The best form of marketing is when you don’t realize its marketing’ and we are bombarded with marketing so regularly that we have to question: are we choosing the things we enjoy because we truly enjoy them? Or is it because we were led to believe they are enjoyable? Here’s an example in regards to alcohol use amongst young people in conjunction with partying: We are told by ads, movies, celebrities and our peers that a good night out involves going out to popular location and consuming alcohol. Yet excessive alcohol consumption has been known to lead to acute memory loss of the night in question (how can you know if you had a good time?) and the dreaded hangover. However we believe the benefit is the reduction of our inhibitions. A study by Seema Assefi and Maryanne Garry, two psychologists at Victoria University in New Zealand that was published by BBC news in 2003, showed that there is a placebo effect associated with alcohol consumption that can lead to impaired judgement and memory loss. Simply put, when we drink alcohol in an attempt to have fun, it is possible for us to act on our assumptions of what alcohol does to us rather than what alcohol ACTUALLY does to us sometimes (we act in a way that society projects being ‘drunk and having a good time’). So where do these assumptions come from? They are learned. Simply put, many people drink not because the act of consuming alcohol is actually fun…but because we want to escape ourselves, our reality and engage in taboo behavior. We learn through social influence that there is a stage in our lives in which this is the best way to have fun, therefore we don’t’ choose it out of our own free will. But as we grow older, many of us lose interest in becoming intoxicated and we simply drink due to our acquired taste and appreciation for quality alcohol, relaxation or the social pressure of being in a bar empty handed.

Let’s also think about how many times we’ve walked into a bar or club and saw someone who was just there to be there (and not necessarily enjoying themselves), because it was the ‘thing to do’ on Friday night. Or maybe that person was you. Now there’s no denying the comradery that comes from getting together with friends, but it’s interesting that as you grow older and wiser it becomes more about who you are spending time with and less about where you are and how much alcohol you’re consuming. So imagine if you were able to cut yourself off from corporately controlled sensory input…what would you enjoy doing? What would you wear? How much money is really worth spending on material things? I’m willing to bet that your level of contentment would be much greater.

Preview for part 2 (Coming Soon):

...All the things we enjoy, whether they are substances or experiences; elicit a dopamine response that is associated with happiness or enjoyment. Why is it then that drug addiction, alcoholism and overeating are frowned upon to achieve this but an obsession with shoes, a celebrity/celebrity status, sex, being in a relationship and social media is often overlooked? If what we seek as humans is happiness, or this dopamine response, shouldn’t we find more productive, less destructive and more efficient ways to achieve it...