American Drinking Culture Essay

United States Drinking Culture Deems Minimum Age Ineffective:

A Review of Alcoholism and its Connection to the American Lifestyle

The road from underage drinking to alcoholism is a path followed by many Americans. Despite having one of the highest minimum age drinking laws in the world compared to other countries, addiction and underage drinking plagues the United States. To examine why this may be, consider the culture surrounding drinking in America. Movies and TV shows often glamorize alcohol and overconsumption, as well as expose the simplicity of gaining access to alcohol through means of fake ID’s, stealing, or paying someone of age. Media like the aforementioned usually paints a picture of college being the pipeline to parties that

The thing is, when we, as a country, make the drinking age seem unattainable, we create a culture surrounding alcohol that is unnecessary and, frankly, dangerous. In the United States, drinking is a “taboo” subject, as opposed to places in the world, like Mexico. Although they are close neighbors of the US, Mexico treats alcohol consumption differently. Mexico not only has a drinking age of eighteen, but people there also typically allow their children sips of wine here and there and eliminate the stigma around alcohol. When people reach eighteen, they already know what alcohol tastes and feels like. Unlike in the US, drinking there is not seen as a huge deal because it is not presented that way. However, in the US, drinking, especially to get drunk, is appealing to young adults, especially with the additive that it is not allowed. Adrenaline plays a part as well as the idea that such an activity may be socially viable. It is impossible to discuss the culture surrounding underage drinking without taking into account peer pressure. Societal norms lead to an expectation that those underage should take part in adolescent drinking, as to be seen as socially acceptable by their peers. One of the appeals of drinking to teenagers is getting drunk with friends. If one member of a friend group gets their hands on alcoholic beverages, it can be assumed that the rest of the friend group will take part.

As teenagers reach college age, they are looked at with a newfound sense of freedom and responsibility. This is matched with the monumental drinking culture that surrounds colleges. Fraternities play a big part in the creation of this culture. Many college fraternities feature drinking as a means of “initiation”. Such an “initiation” is actually just a form of hazing. Since 1970, there has been at least one hazing-related death on a college campus each year and eighty-two percent of deaths from hazing involve alcohol (Hazing Statistics). Fraternities are for undergraduate students, many of whom are under the age of twenty-one. A more recent issue is “binge drinking”. “Binge drinking” is the consumption of five or more drinks on one occasion (Hingson). Trends of the past couple years have upped the ante on the amount of alcohol consumed in a short period of time. A newer viral trend of the past couple months is the implementation of an alcoholic beverage that is consumed entirely for the purpose of getting drunk. Cleverly dubbed BORG, which stands for “blackout rage gallon”, the drink can be seen carried by highschool and college students alike at events like parties, parades, or pre-games. The drink consists of an empty gallon water jug filled to the brim with a mixture of water, alcohol (seventeen shots