Attitudes towards sober socialising are changing, experts have said, as the UK sees a rising number of alcohol-free community events and campaigns.
Lucy Holmes, director of research and policy at charity Alcohol Change, said she had seen “a shift” in people rejecting marketing around alcohol.
“People have always socialised without alcohol, like going for a coffee or exercising with friends, and a good 20 per cent of people don’t drink,” she told i . “Alcohol marketing, at things like music festivals or sporting events, gives us the impression its an essential part of socialising. We are seeing a shift in people rejecting that marketing, and a huge increase in alcohol-free drinks.”
Ms Holmes suggested that some of the changing approach to sobriety came from a “generational shift”.
“Some of it can be accounted for by other things going on at time a generation starts drinking. The context they grew up in, established things that stay with them a long time,” she said. “Now, people are increasingly interested in mental health and realise that alcohol can have a detrimental effect, and that you can have a night out without drinking and avoid the horrible ‘hanxiety’ the next day.
“People are also more knowledgeable about the physical health risks of alcohol.” But she said, attitudes to seeing your friends choosing sobriety was still “lagging a bit behind”.
“Something I’d love to see is a real shift in how people react to friends when they stop drinking,” she said. “Stop sober-shaming, get off their case. Its perfectly normal not to drink, don’t question it or encourage people to drink.”
Dr Inge Kersbergen, a researcher in alcohol consumption at the University of Sheffield, told i she had seen a “massive rise in digital sober communities” on social media, alongside a steady decrease in alcohol consumption over time.
“We’ve had some quite prominent sober movements, like Dry January, and what they do is provide sober people will a new drinking culture to be a part of, so its not just one person standing out.”
Dry January has grown exponentially since it was founded in 2013, with around 6.5 million estimated to have gone alcohol-free for the month in 2021 – up from 4,000 in its first year. The Brink, the UK’s “first dry bar”, was established in 2011 in Liverpool.
One group aiming to combat the isolation of social sobriety is Southend Sober Socials, founded earlier this year by Michael Sargood, who gave up alcohol after a “pretty bad drink problem”.
“First of all I was avoiding pubs, as you’re advised to, for three months, but then I found that I was struggling to find other options for going out, especially at the weekends,” he said.
“If you’ve ever been the nominated driver you can sympathise; when everyone else is drinking and you’re not it can be frustrating and boring, and after about three drinks people are talking over each other and getting silly. I thought, I can’t have this as my Friday and Saturday social life forever. “
Mr Sargood posted on a local Facebook group asking if anyone was interested in a night out without booze. Within an hour, 15 people had said they were interested. By the end of the week, he made his own Facebook group which has now grown to around 500 people.
Their first event was in early August, and since then Southend Sober Socials have been running events from live comedy to music every other weekend (the comedy night has been aptly named ‘Dry Humour’).
“I think attitudes need to change, and slowly they are,” he said, adding that the “younger generation” are “more conscious of mental health and wellness.”
Dr Kersbergen said that much of Britain’s ‘drinking culture’ came from a perceived social approval. “In specific cultures or groups there’s a very strong drinking culture because people believe there’s more approval than there is,” she said.
“We know that people drink more when they believe others drink more, and people tend to overestimate how much people drink and approve of drinking, which makes them drink more themselves.”
According to Dr Kersbergen, research showed that many people felt “peer pressure” to drink, with some having “just the tonic to make it look like they were drinking the G&T.”
“There’s an idea that you can’t be fun if you’re sober, and that’s a hard barrier to get around, especially with family and friends because you want to spend time with them. It can feel isolating.”
Another new addition to the alcohol-free scene is Better Without, an app which allows users to put in their location and preferences and see what alcohol-free drinks are around them, with around 400 venues now included on the app.
Founder Jonny Stevens said that alcohol was “all around us all the time” and he wanted to help non-drinkers to find places “that do make me feel included”.
“We really want to drive this inclusion,” he said. “Yes, I don’t drink, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want a nice fancy cocktail or a beer on draught. We want to drive those social occasions.”
Mr Stevens said he thought there had been a “real change” in attitudes to sobriety.
“Definitely the pandemic has made people realise and reassess their relationship with alcohol , whether giving up for good or moderating drink, and there’s a big market for both,” he said. “There’s much more acceptance around it.”