Should We Raise A Glass To Zooming & Boozing?

You may have assumed that virtual drinking sessions would have led to Americans drinking more at home during the pandemic than they did before at bars. 

After all, the drinks are cheaper at home, no one has to wait at the bar and there’s no last call for alcohol.

But that’s not how things actually turned out, according to a recent survey by alcohol.org, a resource for alcohol and alcoholism treatment. Our virtual happy hours have had a more positive impact on our health than we may have thought.

The survey of 4,430 adults found nearly all (84%) drinkers surveyed in Florida say they consume less alcohol when virtually hanging out with friends as compared to when they are together in person. Survey spokesmen say this may also be related to less peer pressure — it might be difficult to call it an early night when out drinking with friends but virtually you can disappear with a mouse click or blame it on a bad Wi-Fi connection.

The study also revealed that 1 in 10 have played drinking games via video call over the past year during the pandemic and 76% of women said the main advantage of virtual drinking is that it’s safer than going out and mixing with others.

Additionally, the survey said that the average drinker consumes 2.2 alcoholic drinks during a 1-hour video call.

Visit alcohol.org/guides/boozing-zooming/.