Why Do Teens Drink Excessive Amounts of Alcohol?

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The discussion centers around the curiosity and concerns of a 14-year-old regarding peer drinking behaviors. Participants express that many young people drink excessively, often driven by peer pressure and a desire to appear "cool." They highlight that drinking large amounts of alcohol is not about quenching thirst, as alcohol is a diuretic and can lead to dehydration. Instead, it is often about the intoxicating effects and social bragging rights. Several contributors emphasize the dangers of underage drinking, including the risk of addiction and negative impacts on health and academic performance. They advise against succumbing to peer pressure and suggest that young people should be educated about responsible drinking. The conversation also touches on the cultural aspects of drinking, with some noting that early exposure to alcohol can lead to irresponsible behavior in adulthood. Overall, the thread stresses the importance of making informed choices and understanding the potential consequences of alcohol consumption.
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Hello

I'm 14 years old and i don't really drink that much(as in alcohol, i do drink plenty of water). When I hear stories about how much people got "wasted" or "omg before i came into school i drank 4 beers", it makes me wonder why? I know it's because it's a new thing to people my age and it's very cool to drink alot. Whenever someone says they drank like 10 glasses of wine or 6 beers i alway think "geez they must have been thirsty" because no one would drink that volume of water/coke at one time. I wouldn't be able to drink 5 cans of coke in a night. So my question is why do people drink that large amount, is it mainly for effect or is it that addictive?

thanks _Muddy_
 
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Beats me, mayby because they're stupid?
 
Usually because it's fun.
 
But always because they have their heads so far up their rear that they can't see the light of day. This is what causes the thirst.
 
Don't ever let anyone talk you into drinking as much as you can as fast as you can.

Passing out and being asphyxiated on your own vomit really isn't as fun as it sounds.
 
I don't know how to answer this without sounding like my dad used to... :biggrin:

I guess one can only decide for oneself however, in my (extensive I have to admit) experience, it's not worth it...

EDIT: edward has it spot-on
 
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As brewnog said, because it's fun, but too much of anything can adversely affect you. Usually it's a way of bragging about their tolerance level or to try and convey how intoxicated they were. When people become intoxicated, their critical thinking skills become affected... The decision to brag about going to school while drunk, is an example in its self.
 
I think its pretty much dumb, and especially for a child to so it. Edward, is sooo right, I just recently saw this happen to a school buddy, and I strongly discourage anyone to ever drink. And yes, it can be very addictive :frown:
 
Ivan Seeking said:
But always because they have their heads so far up their rear that they can't see the light of day. This is what causes the thirst.

I took a photo of one of those guys:




< removed copyrighted image >
 
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  • #10
For people first starting to drink alcohol there is this absurd peer pressure where more is better because you're a bit of a girl if you can't drink. Something you want to realize very quickly if you do get into trouble is that everyones tolerance is totally different. What one person can drink makes another person very ill so don't be tempted to keep up because of peer pressure. Of course more is not better. A couple of beers now and then never hurt anyone (when you're 18 at least :-p) and is supposed to be enjoyable, but thinking you have to drink at least x amount to fit in with the crowd is when problems start to occur.
 
  • #11
Integral said:
Beats me, mayby because they're stupid?
That's pretty much it.
 
  • #12
Whatever they may think, it's not cool to come to school sleepy, drunk, high, or with a hangover. In fact, maybe being sleepy, drunk, high, or hungover isn't cool at all.
 
  • #13
Mk said:
Whatever they may think, it's not cool to come to school sleepy, drunk, high, or with a hangover. In fact, maybe being sleepy, drunk, high, or hungover isn't cool at all.


Yeah, because putting a temporary damper on your learning ability is the road to success!
 
  • #14
Don't do it, it's really not worth it. When I was your age (maybe a little older), I used to drink, smoke the ganja (among other things), and even did pills for awhile. It's different, and it's fun, but it's nothing to do do regularly (or at all if you're any smarter than I was). No one on this forum, not even your parents, can stop you from drinking or doing other things, you have to make the right decisions yourself.
 
  • #15
Young people your own age probably drink to "be cool" but many people, and possibly even your peers, drink due to depression. I once went on a drinking binge due to depression. After a couple months of drinking daily I started to wake up in the mornings with the shakes and unable to think straight for most of the day. Between that and the fact that I would often purchase alcohol over food when low on funds I decided I needed to stop. It was a bit difficult but I did it. Unfortunately most people won't know when it's time to stop and won't have the will power to do it on their own. Instead of thinking that all of these people are just idiots you should realize that it's very possible they have serious emotional issues and no idea how to cope, taking the quickest and most convenient way out of dealing with it. If your friends are becoming drunks you may wish to talk to them to figure out why they are doing it and maybe try to help them out if they need it.
 
  • #16
i wasn't planing on doing it, I'm not being put under pressure or anything but i was wondering how somone can drink that amount if they aren't thirsty. I understand a few beers but you see i gave the example of coke
 
  • #17
To answer the question in the OP: drinking alchohol doesn't quench thirst. You don't have to be thirsty at all to drink lots of alcohol.
 
  • #18
It's an intoxicant and "feels good". To stay in that state you need to drink more. Unfortunately the more you drink the worse the side effects become.

Here's a neat little youtube video to check out...
 
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  • #19
lots of different factors in that.

There's even plenty of people who actually do drink lots of coke in a night. Both beer and coke dehydrate you in the longterm, but they sate your thirst when you first drink them. So it's easy for some to sit around with a rack of sodas and keep getting thirsty and popping a new one.

Coke also has caffeine, which is addicting.

Beer has alcohol which also has dependency associated with it. Furthermore, many cultures (and especially subcultures) have a sense of machismo associated with being able to hold your liquor. There's also a genetic influence, I believe. It is said that native americans are more susceptible to a dependency on alcohol from a genetic aspect (this says nothing about the willpower of the individual person).
 
  • #20
_Muddy_ said:
I'm 14 years old and i don't really drink that much(as in alcohol, i do drink plenty of water). When I hear stories about how much people got "wasted" or "omg before i came into school i drank 4 beers", it makes me wonder why?
I'm not sure that anyone has pointed this out, but I would say with about 99% chance that the people who, at 14, say that they drink 4 beers before school are lying and are just trying to show off. I think you probably guessed this, anyway, since in the rest of your post you quote that people "say" they have drunk 10 glasses of wine, and not that they actually did. (That's about 3 bottles isn't it? Jeez.. I'm not sure I could even manage that at the peak of my university days).

Anyway, you seem a bright kid to be asking about things like this. I would advise you to steer clear of alcohol at least for a few years; I know a few people (pretty intelligent people, at that) whom if they hadn't started drinking in school would be way better off now.
 
  • #21
At that age its purely peer pressure and them wanting to 'grow up' faster. However when you get older it is a laugh to get toshed with your mates, go out and have a good time, then its always funny to chat about it the next day. Are you from America i didnt realize that kids drinking was such a big thing over there?
 
  • #22
cristo said:
I'm not sure that anyone has pointed this out, but I would say with about 99% chance that the people who, at 14, say that they drink 4 beers before school are lying and are just trying to show off. I think you probably guessed this, anyway, since in the rest of your post you quote that people "say" they have drunk 10 glasses of wine, and not that they actually did. (That's about 3 bottles isn't it? Jeez.. I'm not sure I could even manage that at the peak of my university days).

Anyway, you seem a bright kid to be asking about things like this. I would advise you to steer clear of alcohol at least for a few years; I know a few people (pretty intelligent people, at that) whom if they hadn't started drinking in school would be way better off now.

Am I the only one sitting here thinking WHO THE HELL DRINKS AT 14??
 
  • #23
Cyrus said:
Am I the only one sitting here thinking WHO THE HELL DRINKS AT 14??

Welcome to the UK.
 
  • #24
Cyrus said:
Am I the only one sitting here thinking WHO THE HELL DRINKS AT 14??
14 isn't that young for people starting to drink...I've known people who started at 10 or 11. However, these are normally the same people who do poorly and/or drop out of school.
 
  • #25
Cyrus said:
Am I the only one sitting here thinking WHO THE HELL DRINKS AT 14??

Probably. I haven't heard of a school that didn't have drinkers at 14 (or even earlier).
 
  • #26
JamesU said:
14 isn't that young for people starting to drink...I've known people who started at 10 or 11. However, these are normally the same people who do poorly and/or drop out of school.

Yes, it is that young. I would expect kids that are seniors in high school to start drinking, like 17 or 18.
 
  • #27
Cyrus said:
Yes, it is that young. I would expect kids that are seniors in high school to start drinking, like 17 or 18.

Those are some pretty high expectations, IMO.
 
  • #28
JamesU said:
Those are some pretty high expectations, IMO.

A 14 year old has no business drinking alcohol, whatsoever. I can't stand drunks. (I've seen to many drunk people at bars to have any patiences for them anymore).

I don't think a 14 year olds liver can even take alcohol.

EDIT: What the...that's you yomamma. I forgot you changed your name.
 
  • #29
Cyrus said:
Yes, it is that young. I would expect kids that are seniors in high school to start drinking, like 17 or 18.

That's how me and most of my friends were. I think we all started at 17. However, I knew a lot of people who started drinking at 14/15. I don't think any of them are going to a University right now...

EDIT: WTF it IS Yomamma! I wondered what happened to you.
 
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  • #30
moose said:
WTF it IS Yomamma! I wondered what happened to you.
And now he's an Apehx Twin fan too! We are the music makers.
 
  • #31
Well. I'm pretty old. 49 about 3 weeks ago. My first binge occurred when I was 11, when my mom took me back to her homeland; Germany. It now strikes me as peculiar that my kraut relatives thought it was somewhat funny that an 11 year old could get so baked. It was a grand time for me of course.

I got baked again about 3 years later, when my sister, a 17 year old, bought me a bottle of Boones Farm Apple wine. It was another grand time for me.

Since then of course,... I've been sitting in various bars.

49-17 = 32 years.

wanna guess where I'm at right now?
 
  • #32
Mk said:
And now he's an Apehx Twin fan too! We are the music makers.

That I am...also, I've been back for a few months now.
 
  • #33
I like to drink enough to get wasted by myself about once a month and listen to all my favorite songs at full volume. I always feel real bad the next day though. I don't like drinking too much around people because I sound like a blabbing idiot when I talk. Sometimes you think your being cool, and others are thinking, what an idiot. Some people drink a lot to get courage to be social and outspoken, it helps me with that, but only when the music is too loud to talk.

Of coarse, I'm not 14. At 14 I got really drunk and got in the back of a truck and fell asleep, woke up flying through the air as the truck smashed into a tree. I flew over the whole truck got up, ran to my friends house, and then puked all over myself in my sleep.
 
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  • #34
TR345 said:
I like to drink enough to get wasted by myself about once a month and listen to all my favorite songs at full volume. I always feel real bad the next day though. I don't like drinking too much around people because I sound like a blabbing idiot when I talk. Sometimes you think your being cool, and others are thinking, what an idiot. Some people drink a lot to get courage to be social and outspoken, it helps me with that, but only when the music is too loud to talk.

Of coarse, I'm not 14. At 14 I got really drunk and got in the back of a truck and fell asleep, woke up flying through the air as the truck smashed into a tree. I flew over the whole truck got up, ran to my friends house, and then puked all over myself in my sleep.

If you get drunk when your alone you need to get help. Thats honestly quite sad.
 
  • #35
I don't want to advocate drinking to a 14 year old, but I don't think that a grown man drinking by himself once a month is sad. What kind of help should I get, should I take some kind of drugs from the psychologist to dampen down my personality so I don't feel anything.
 
  • #36
Some people who are very uptight or perhaps stuck up loosen up and feel what it is like to remove the stick from their rear when they drink. If you have one of those, I suggest at least trying to remove it at least once for a change.
 
  • #37
TR345 said:
Some people who are very uptight or perhaps stuck up loosen up and feel what it is like to remove the stick from their rear when they drink. If you have one of those, I suggest at least trying to remove it at least once for a change.

I would work on your personal skills dealing with others and get more comfortable in your own skin if I were you. Drinking is absolutely NOT the answer. You are just setting yourself up for alcoholism in the long run.

If you want to learn not to be uptight, then I recommend you start going out to places and dealing with people in an adult setting, such as a bar, but without the drinking. Learn how to talk and deal with people.

You are an alcoholic, wake up!
 
  • #38
I agree with that, and that is why I only drink once a month and by myself. I do better socially sober, but sometimes I like to be alone when I have the blues or something.
 
  • #39
TR345 said:
I agree with that, and that is why I only drink once a month and by myself. I do better socially sober, but sometimes I like to be alone when I have the blues or something.

Its not normal to get the blues once a month. Thats very frequent, in my opinion.
 
  • #40
Cyrus said:
Yes, it is that young. I would expect kids that are seniors in high school to start drinking, like 17 or 18.
It would be good if things were like that over here, but they aren't. The drinking age is 18, and no-one wants to wait until they're legal (like with anything), so kids start trying alcohol at quite an early age.

moose said:
That's how me and most of my friends were. I think we all started at 17. However, I knew a lot of people who started drinking at 14/15. I don't think any of them are going to a University right now...
Again, this must be a culture thing, because I know people that started drinking at around 15 or so and have gone on through university to become doctors, dentists, lawyers, etc.. Of course, there are the people who took to alcohol way too much, and messed up their exams at 16, and thus dropped out of school.
 
  • #41
I wouldn't call TR345 an alcoholic. I'd say they drink irresponsibly since drinking to get wasted is irresponsible. Certainly not alcoholic though. An alcoholic can't say no to alcohol and will use it at any given oppourtunity. Cyrus would be closer to alcoholic with his one beer a day policy.
 
  • #42
Kurdt said:
I wouldn't call TR345 an alcoholic. I'd say they drink irresponsibly since drinking to get wasted is irresponsible. Certainly not alcoholic though. An alcoholic can't say no to alcohol and will use it at any given oppourtunity. Cyrus would be closer to alcoholic with his one beer a day policy.

But when I drink a beer a day I drink it because I enjoy the taste, not because I am trying to supress any bad feelings in my life, which is what he's doing. And that's dangerous.
 
  • #43
Yes, 14 is young to start drinking, and it's young to start smoking, and young to start having sex, and young to start drugging, but the reality is that kids DO start that young. And it's horribly dangerous and stupid, because they are inexperienced, don't know their limits, don't fully understand the hazards, don't understand the addiction risks, and their growing body is so much more vulnerable to the ill effects, but that will not stop them.

Like many things young teens start doing and dare one another to do, there is also a lot more bragging than reality involved in the quantities described. For an inexperienced drinker, ONE drink can easily be too much and leave them feeling drunk, even a couple drinks could leave them passed out, and 10 could very well be fatal. It's as bad as the "kids" here who turn 21 (the legal age for drinking in the US) and celebrate by doing 21 shots, served with a puke bucket. How it's fun to drink to the point of illness, to the point where you're poisoning your body, I have no idea, but what it is is really, really, really dangerous and stupid. I wonder how many spend the night of their 21st birthday in the ER getting their stomach pumped and being treated for alcohol poisoning?

On the other hand, I think some of this immature attitude about alcohol comes from inexperience as well, and the illusion that it must be a "cool" thing because it's an "adult" thing and taboo for kids. And one is also more likely to drink to excess when their first experiences are with peers than with someone more experienced like parents. So, my suggestion is that if you're just curious about what alcohol tastes like or want to see how a drink affects you before you're in a situation where losing your control could be dangerous, ask your parents. Unless your parents still support prohibition, they're likely to find it easier to talk about alcohol than sex or drugs or any of the other trouble they know kids get into.

As for the "thirsty" part, no, it has nothing to do with thirst. Alcohol is actually a diuretic, and if anything, it will dehydrate you, which is why the idea of a cold beer on a hot day is not a very good one. People don't drink alcohol in large quantities to quench one's thirst. When you reach legal age and head out to a bar, if you're thirsty, start with a glass of water so you aren't tempted to drink too quickly due to your thirst. But, most of the bragging by kids is simply that, all for the sake of bragging rights, mostly fiction, and I doubt they're even enjoying what they do drink because they're focusing on proving themselves to someone else for some reason rather than doing something for the sake of enjoyment.
 
  • #44
I think because we tell them that
Moonbear said:
Yes, 14 is young to start drinking, and it's young to start smoking, and young to start having sex, and young to start drugging,

so, they
start that young.

Doesn't kids always wish to do things more that are prohibited or considered dangerous?
 
  • #45
The person that can invent something that replicates the effects of alcohol with none of the damaging side effects, will become the richest person ever.
 
  • #46
I think that a 14 year old is going to want to try everything adults do no matter what, and it is best to just treat them like adults and let them drink a little every once and a while, so that they know and give them advise and stuff so that their outlook on those things is shaped by your advice rather than their friends. Teach them to be responsible at that age, and give them the respect they think they deserve being so old and all so that they respect you and think your cool and model your behavior and stuff.
 
  • #47
I feel like beginning drinking earlier probably helped me a bit actually when I came to college.
I started drinking in high school. By the time I headed to college I had experienced just about everything drinking had to offer save for anything requiring medical attention, never went that far.
When I got to college for a week or so it was like, alright cool I can drink an party whenever now. But that quickly faded, and I got to witness the loads of teens just beginning to experience alcohol and making fools of themselves.

Now I can say I drink a lot of beer but do so because I like the taste. I've become somewhat of a connoisseur of it and have just recently moved on to brewing my own. I very rarely touch hard alcohol anymore in any quantity more than one or two drinks.
 
  • #48
Cyrus said:
If you get drunk when your alone you need to get help. Thats honestly quite sad.

I think it's ok to drink by yourself once a month...

Of course it depends on the reason, but still.
 
  • #49
The truth is, I probably don't have the genes for alcohol dependency, so I could sit here and rag on people that do like I have superior willpower or I could just be honest and thank the chaos that I didn't get that gene from me mum.

Not to say I don't enjoy a beer or two every once in a while.

The only reason I ever drank when I was in high school was because I was told not to. I snuck out and did all the 'normal' rebellious things at night. My father had me enrolled in about five hours of extracurricular activities after school every day of the week, so I just went out at night for my own time. Needless to say, I slept through most of my morning classes.
 
  • #50
Cyrus said:
Its not normal to get the blues once a month. Thats very frequent, in my opinion.

There are some circumstances in which it would be abnormal to not have the blues at least once a month.
 
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