The term sober curious has been floating around in the news now for a few months. There has been endless news articles claiming that our age group is giving up the booze and party for a more subdued lifestyle. If you were to look at the fabs que on a Thursday or Babylon cheapskates on Wednesday and Friday, you may be inclined to think that Durham is somehow exempt from this change. That the university is an anomaly amongst the revived youth. However, as my time at university has progressed, I believe I am also starting to see this shift of mindset. 

Of course drinking and partying culture is still very much an ingrained ritual amongst students. Drinking does have its positives. It can be seen as a way of exercising your newfound freedom, a way to let your hair down and take a break from the stress of your summatives. It may also act as a social lubricant- providing that extra liquid courage to make connections and accommodating places where you get to know a few more familiar faces. You create bonds through socials and experiencing the highs, lows and embarrassments of your nights out together or even just gaining a pub quiz team. But as with most good things there is always a downside and perhaps that’s what our generation is starting to consider.

For the first part of my university experience, I like many others found it quite lonely. Unfortunately, I did not take enough interest in the sober freshers’ events that the university provided. Instead, I convinced myself into the events that were centred around drinking as I believed this was the fast track to making friends and fitting in. Yet instead of ending the week with a friendship group and a budding social life I was actually left with a severe case of hangxiety, memory loss and although not being alone still having a sinking feeling of loneliness. In reality drinking can aid social connections but the important part is whether these relationships translate outside of the club. Whether when you wake up in the morning after these nights and still maintain these connections.

The mornings after drinking also highlight the many other side effects of drinking. Firstly, is that sickly deep consistent beating in your head. Next is the opening of your phone and having to relive the night before but through sober eyes as you scroll through the likely traumatising photos and videos on your camera roll, your friend’s social media or even worse… the clubs public Instagram (unhinged Durham I’m looking at you). Feeling the second-hand embarrassment that is now immortalised online. After deciding you can’t take anymore torturous self-reflection you may venture to your banking app, in which you will discover the string of transactions that caused you to look like that in those pictures. 

I think this surge in sobriety isn’t just stemming from the knee jerk reaction of never wanting to drink again after taking things too far. Instead, it is simply just a logical reconsideration of these pros and cons of drinking. Drinking on occasion and in moderation (or even not in moderation) is completely fine. But our generation perhaps is becoming a bit more resistant to this pressure of having to go out all the time. Understanding we are choosing not only to drink but to spend that amount of money and choosing to have the negative experience as well as the good one.