You think alcohol is overrated?

I used to drink slightly in my early twenties but then you grow up...

I think overrated is a stupid word and needs to be abolished along with the phrase "am I the only one".

I don't think it's overrated but I also think not drinking is a totally great choice to make. All depends on what's right for you. I think people who get blasted every couple nights and make idiots of themselves are just as bad as people preaching about how much better they are for not drinking. Not saying thats what the OP was doing, whatever reason it is that you can't anymore, that sucks.

I think people who drink alcohol are selfish fools but that's just me.

I think people who drink alcohol have been put in a negative light because of the people I went to school with and are on my Facebook. All I heard all throughout school and still on my Facebook is poor grammar about how they're g

I think as you get older, you start drinking for different reasons. But then again I'm only 20, so what the fuck do I know?

Lesss get shw'assteddddd lollllll

Fucking phone, Jesus Christ.

How they're going to go get drunk literally everyday and how everybody who doesn't is a loser who is unable to have fun.

No sir... This coming from someone who enjoys being obliterated. Seriously though, I can't drink right now due to health issues. I miss it at times and iplan to enjoy something alcoholic when I can again.

I'm 18 and have had alcohol many times. I never get hangovers so that's not a problem, I just don't care for it too much. It's fun and what not, but I guess it just doesn't feel worth it. I'd rather smoke.

No offense, but the fact that you thought in the beginning that people that didn't drink were weird and now you have changed your mind, tells me that you are immature. Because you had to go to and experience it yourself just to be able to see the other face of the coin.

Maybe you have to open your mind a little bit more and try to understand why people do things differently. And maybe after this experience you will no longer see vegans as weird... you may end up being one of them later in life.

As a Scotsman I can't say that I've never drank.

No. I drink in moderation, and by doing so I can have a jolly good ol' time when I'm out with friends and not be that drunken idiot who wakes up with a splitting headache the next day and slowly remembers what an ass he made of himself the night before. Ahhh university...

Drinking is awesome. I don't care if other people drink or not.

@AssInAss: Actually red wine helps blood vessels stay healthy, and cleans the blood. In moderation of course.

Yeah I rarely drink at all and I'm 21. That's probably because anything I drink, I get real tipsy real fast.

I usually stay clear of alcoholic drinks. I generally don't enjoy the taste of alcoholic beverages, exceptions being wine and champagne. I don't mind having a glass of wine together with dinner if I go out.

I also don't enjoy the feeling of being intoxicated or being around drunk people.

To answer the title of the topic, yes alcohol is overrated. Considering that cannabis is illegal in most parts of the world but alcohol isn't is really a mindfuck to me. If alcohol was a new thing today, no way it would've been legalized. No fucking way. Alcohol costs the society a lot of money in terms of vandalism, hospital bills (in countries where we have free health insurance), rehab, anti-abuse advertisement, etc..

I'm not saying I'm against getting drunk once in a while if you can handle it, but some people seem to think "Alcohol is legal, I can get shitfaced whenever and as often I want without suffering any problems from it." Atleast that's the way it works here in Sweden. There are so many alcoholics here who don't even realize it, just because it's the normal thing to do on the weekends and after work.

@Loafsmooch said:

Alcohol costs the society a lot of money in terms of vandalism, hospital bills (in countries where we have free health insurance), rehab, anti-abuse advertisement, etc..

So does having roads, holding a police force and arming an army. Just because something costs a lot doesn't mean it's worse than the alternative. People want drugs, and prohibition pretty much proved that the alternative to legal alcohol is much much worse. If alcohol was the new thing we'd just be talking about a different drug instead. The idea that you could remove alcohol from society and it wouldn't be replaced with something as bad or worse is as naive as it comes.

Oh how refreshing, a thread on Giant Bomb discussing the demerits of alcohol instead of blindly praising it. Ohwait.

@CaLe said:

I think people who drink alcohol are selfish fools but that's just me.

Yep, that's just you.

Personally can't stand the taste of most alcoholic beverages I've tried, but it's kind of a limited selection of beers, rum, vodka, and I think tequila and scotch. Plus some fruity tasting stuff my sister drinks. Don't know what those were. The stuff with alcohol in it that I actually liked were things that would've been better without the alcohol in it, pretty much milkshakes or fruit smoothies with a bit of alcohol hidden in it.

The effects of alcohol are OK by me. But I've always found there's a pretty thin line between sitting there sipping something I don't like the taste of and not feeling anything, and having one drink to many and feeling like garbage. Plus I'm a pussy when it comes to dealing with hangovers, so the day after I've had too much is pretty much lost to me.

In the last year I started developing migraines, though, and I think alcohol might be one of my triggers.(if not, being tired certainly is, and I never sleep much when I've been drinking. Even just one drink is enough to drop my sleep by about a couple hours) I've never drank much (once a month or so going out with friends), but fear of suffering a migraine and being hungover has pretty much eliminated all my desire to drink.

@Example1013: are you suggesting blindly praising it is a good thing? I don't understand what you're getting at, but if that's what you're saying, let me tell you a little story about the drunk asshole who crashed into me with his car. It goes like this: ahem, a drunk asshole crashed into me with his car, then proceeded to keep going until someone flagged him down. That's not the end of the story, but I'll end it there anyway.

@Nadril said:

@tread311 said:

Beer or any alcholic drink does not have to be tackled with the "down that shit" mentality. Plenty of us genuinely enjoy the stuff for the taste and even more so now with the increasing popularity of craft beer. To try one or two of the generics and form the opinion that you don't like beer is fairly silly as there are many different styles that all taste wildly different. You just have to figure out what appeals to you.

Agreed. Craft Beer is fucking awesome. I used to think I didn't like beer (and yeah, it is an acquired taste much like anything really good) but once I started to branch out I found out stuff that is better than the big macro brews.

These wise sages speaks the truth. If you're unsure on beer, read up on it at places like BeerAdvocate, and research the different breweries and styles. You might not like regular old Bud (and, really, you shouldn't) but might like other kind of lagers, pale ales, IPAs, double IPAs (also known as Beer of the Gods), pilsners, porters, or stouts. And, shit, there's all sorts of variations within just those broad types too. You don't have to drink it to get runner up to prom queen drunk, and in fact, it's often much more enjoyable to have a really good beer paired with food. Shit is dope.

Drinking sucks because you always feel like you have to do it. But it usually turns out to be pretty fun. All the rich people I know are drunks. So I don't know if there is some correlation there. Anyways, you're doing it for medical reasons. As long as you have other proper stress outlets and social activites who really cares. I wish I could stop but then I wouldn't have any friends. I've built 20+ year friendships around drinking and its tough to break that foundation.

Sucks that you didn't really have a choice in the matter, but I could think of far worse fates

Alcohol and I have a mixed relationship but for the most part I think i'd be better off if I stopped drinking altogether, too bad it's the only thing that makes most social events bearable for me :(

@SharkEthic said:

@CaLe said:

I think people who drink alcohol are selfish fools but that's just me.

Yep, that's just you.

In the whole world? I doubt it.

It's fine, but I could live without it. It doesn't cause me any real problems, probably because I don't enjoy it enough for those problems to come up.

After working at a bar and dealing with drunks and drug addicts all day, I can safely say I drink i whole lot less than i used to. Binge drinking, in my opinion, is over-rated. If you can have a few without devolving as a human being then i guess its fine.

@Ares42 said:

@Loafsmooch said:

Alcohol costs the society a lot of money in terms of vandalism, hospital bills (in countries where we have free health insurance), rehab, anti-abuse advertisement, etc..

So does having roads, holding a police force and arming an army. Just because something costs a lot doesn't mean it's worse than the alternative. People want drugs, and prohibition pretty much proved that the alternative to legal alcohol is much much worse. If alcohol was the new thing we'd just be talking about a different drug instead. The idea that you could remove alcohol from society and it wouldn't be replaced with something as bad or worse is as naive as it comes.

I'm well aware that we can't illegalize alcohol, but hypothetically speaking weed would be a far better alternative as the "go-to" drug. It wouldn't cost the society nearly as much. People wouldn't get violent and people wouldn't drive drunk. A lot of the dangers that come with alcohol doesn't even exist in a drug like weed. And no, I'm not a "praise the almighty leaves of cannabis" kinda guy, it has its negative aspects aswell. But not nearly as many or as dangerous as alcohol.

There are things very wrong in todays society, we can't change things in a day, but that doesn't mean we can't try to improve things over time.

I dont drink because pretty much all alcoholic beverages tastes like death, and I'm Scottish so thats weird... Also doesn't help that alcoholism run in my family.

@Galiant said:

The world would be a better place without alcoholic drinks.

You're probably right, but the world would also be a better place without processed sugar, fatty foods, and all types of fast foods in general. You're going to have to take a very broad, and firm, stance on a lot of things if you're going to be strong against that. I feel that moderation for everything is reasonable.

I've been 21 for a while now and I hardly ever drink. Sure I've had a few drinks here and there but on the whole I never go out and drink to have a fun time. I have no problem with people who like to drink, but getting drunk just isn't my thing. So yeah, I do think alcohol is overrated.

Its been a personal choice of mine to be straight edge. No drugs, No drinking. Everything has worked out fine for me.

I'm 20 and have never drank and don't intend to. I just don't get it. Sure, maybe if someone around me gets into fine brewing I might try some stuff for the sake of taste, but I have no interest in social drinking. People become incredibly annoying when they're drinking. Some people are even really annoying when they're just a little bit buzzed, I don't wanna be annoying and only half aware of what I'm doing. I also don't get the people who are like "Oh man, I don't remember anything that happened last night but it was so fun!". How can something be fun if you don't even remember it..it may as well not have happened.

I guess I just don't see the benefits to getting drunk other than being able to tolerate all the drunk people around you.

Overrated? No. Easily abused? Yes. I only really drink among friends and even then sparingly. Although just last night I was think of having a glass of vodka once a day just to build up a tolerance for it, for no reason at all. Pretty weird I know.

I'm 23 and been able to legally drink for 5 years, but I think I haven't been drunk in about a year. I just prefer to get stoned instead. Drinking is nice and all, but I basically have to write the next day off.

If I'm going to smoke weed I'm happy to jog or ride my bike to my friends house and back because it's too far to walk. If I was drinking I couldn't do that, and I feel completely fine the next day after smoking weed.

So yeah, I don't think alcohol is overrated, I like it. I just prefer weed, if it wasn't for weed I'd probably drink occasionally.

@Nux said:

I've been 21 for a while now

Less than a year, I'll bet...

I don't know, I enjoy a beer every once in a while because of the taste. However, I do not care at all for getting drunk and I like to avoid drunk people as much as possible.

I didn't start drinking alcohol until I was twenty nine. I didn't find it any special. Beer tasted awful at first but I got use to it. It is was annoying when I was going to college how people like to brag about drinking. Most of the underclassmen would'nt shut up about getting wasted by the Square - San Marcos, TX - or going to Six street - Austin, TX. I think people use alcohol as crutch to talk to people or cover up deep seated problems. Getting wasted and waking up with a headache is not my idea of fun.

i used to drink often. now i dont at all. dont miss it either. rather not turn into a complete retard for the rest of the day.

Being sober is overrated.

I used to drink very infrequently but very heavily. I have decided that in future at parties I'll drink enough to kind of drop some social barriers but still be able to communicate and make friends.

@Sweep said:

@Nux said:

I've been 21 for a while now

Less than a year, I'll bet...

About half a year, but thats long enough.

I'm not old enough to drink so...

@Galiant said:

The world would be a better place without alcoholic drinks.

You're probably right, but the world would also be a better place without processed sugar, fatty foods, and all types of fast foods in general. You're going to have to take a very broad, and firm, stance on a lot of things if you're going to be strong against that. I feel that moderation for everything is reasonable.

I don't think calling drinking overrated is exactly what you wanted to ask.

I think drinking is something that's reserved for celebratory occasions and that when you do it less frequently it makes the experience so much better. If you start drinking all too often you run the risk of becoming jaded by it. That's my thing. I've always thought that having a "party" has to have an occasion. If it doesn't I always feel strange celebrating and I hate when the goal of that party is to get drunk.

I didn't drink until I was 24. I then decided to drink socially. I'm so glad I skipped the binging period some people go through. Now, I drink maybe once a month, and it's almost always when I'm just with friends or family (gatherings and such). And we each drink one or two beers or a bit of Whiskey, which I really like.

@Galiant said:

@Brendan

@Galiant said:

The world would be a better place without alcoholic drinks.

You're probably right, but the world would also be a better place without processed sugar, fatty foods, and all types of fast foods in general. You're going to have to take a very broad, and firm, stance on a lot of things if you're going to be strong against that. I feel that moderation for everything is reasonable.

I don't agree, because fast food never killed anyone except the consumer. Consuming alcohol can affect other people, or even kill them, i.e. driving while drunk. Don't get me started on all the other things caused by alcohol. I couldn't care less what people do with their own bodies, except when it endangers other people. No, giving up your right to consume alcohol because other people can't handle it is not fair. I would, however, personally be fine with banning alcohol if it meant less alcohol-related traffic deaths.

Dying from a heart attack because you ate like a pig can have an affect on other people in the family or friends. Also very sad seeing parents who live that lifestyle and the children end up the same way as them.

Also some of the best nights i've had involved alcohol.

Yea I like a few chardonnays every now and again what of it? It is tough though because drinking is such a ritual. Like if you are out and someone in the group is like "no I don't drink" its a scene. When really its no different than that same person saying "no I don't like hot sauce." you know what I mean.

@pyromagnestir: are you suggesting we need a new thread on the evils of alcohol every three weeks? Let me tell you a story: I checked GB off-topic and found a thread about "am I the only one who doesn't drink?", and then I checked again a few weeks later and found the same thread. There's more to it than that, but not much more, so I'll finish the story by telling you that I continued checking and a new thread continued to pop up every few weeks about the same stupid shit. The end.