Under the Influence

Growing up people learn not only when to drink alcohol, where to drink, what types to drink, but also how to act when they drink by a process called socialization. Many experiments have been done and have proven that people in diverse cultures act differently when drunk. For instance, some cultures believe alcohol causes violence, so they often become violent; some think alcohol makes them feel romantic, so they often get sentimental; and still others assume that alcohol causes them to feel free, so they often open up emotionally. Social interaction, whether one realizes it or not, teaches us how to act when we are drunk.
It has been said, “If behavior reflects expectations, then a society gets the drunks it deserves." Many factors of culture alone can completely shape the ways in which people act when they have been drinking. Race, gender, sex and age are just some of the factors that can alter the way people view drunken behavior. For my paper, I will show how age has a huge affect on drinking behavior. Do twenty-one year old adults and forty-one year old adults have the same motivation to drink? Do they act differently when they do get drunk? Through research and observation, I will show that age does have a huge impact on the way people act when they decide to consume too much alcohol.
Jane, a twenty-one year old student, is an average woman who tries to spend time with her friends when she is not studying calculus or working at a local restaurant. She pays her monthly bills, walks the dog daily, babysits when she can, and volunteers for community events in her free time. Her life routine repeats itself week after week until the day comes when she feels like she may explode. She wants to release her responsibilities, let loose, and just have a good time. She communicates this dilemma to her girlfriends, and they respond with one word, “Alcohol.” She knows that alcohol isn’t the right choice in her life right now, but her friends remain persistent in their belief, so she gathers a group of friends and walks to a nearby bar. Drink after drink, Jane feels the stresses of her life lift from her shoulders. She begins to sing and dance to a song she doesn’t even know, and eventually jumps onto the table, becoming the center of attention, before she passes out on the floor.
Ryan, a forty-one year old man, is a father of four children and husband of a needy woman. He works forty hours every week, only to come home to his wife saying, “Honey, the dishwasher broke! Will you fix it tonight?” With a fake smile he slowly nods his head. The dishwasher is fixed, but now his son scraped his knee, his phone bill is overdue, and the heater in the house just stopped working. He doesn’t think he can take anymore until his boss calls and tells him that the business is making huge budget cuts, so he has to let him go. Ryan is at rock bottom; he is in need of hope, a break, and a deep breath. He quickly calls up a few close friends, grabs some beer, makes a small bonfire, and relaxes in a lawn chair. The beer causes him to settle down, open up about his emotional problems, and forget about the stresses of his home life. When his buddies started heading home, Ryan feels refreshed and ready to face his life once again.