Are we not clubbing because of Covid or mayne because it's bit of a shitsshow now?

[SparrowsEatUpToHalfTheirBodyWeightADay]

Aibu to think that safety mentionen in mere tiny bit of the article may be much bigger driver than some of the other reasons mentioned? Or general behaviour.
"oh yeah spiking increased considerably, let's give it 2 sentences"

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czed9321l37o

I would still go occasionally but the last 3 times my frinds and I went on a "bash" in city centre it felt so aggressive around. People arguing in doorways, shouting around. Not fancy being glassed or similar. Some areas were an absolute shitshows on Friday nights with bad behaviour and it wasn't even midnight. The amount of open drug taking.

We all agreed we will just have a living room danceoff next time 🤷

One reason I think is that people now date via apps. Pre the internet, if you wanted a relationship, you had to go out and meet someone. The whole concept of 'going out on the pull' no longer exists. I think a huge motivator for people to go on nights out before the internet was to find a romantic partner.

I think a lot is to do with the ridiculous cost.

A lot of younger people prefer to stay home with friends, a bag of weed and a takeaway.

They were always too loud to enjoy tbh. We could chat in bars and pubs. Our local clubs never seemed to have that space for chatting, just dancing (which is good and I always loved dancing) or yelling at each other. It was hard work even when I was in my twenties.
I think pubs and bars are open later these days too?

I think younger people drink less and clubbing is unbearable unless you are fuelled with alcohol. I'm in my 40s and wouldn't dream of clubbing now. I'd much rather be on the sofa in my pyjamas.

Young people socialise so differently now.

When I was young you went out "on the pull" every weekend. Is that even a thing now? Can men approach random women in clubs? There are certainly easier less stressful ways to meet a potential date.

Also the young don't seem to drink the way we did and clubbing sober is a different experience altogether.

I think clubbing was dying before covid.

It's largely the cost.

My partner went to a gig the other night. It was £8 for a pint of mediocre lager in a plastic tumbler. We understand the plastic tumbler but it was not an £8 lager!

We took my daughter to an event at a local entertainment venue last weekend where it was, again, £8 for a can of lager and not even a pint.

I went to a day time event recently (2-6pm) and it was packed, easily 200 people all dancing, singing along and having a lovely time in an environment that felt safe and welcoming. Based on my experience I’d say the demand is there but the current experience of nighttime events is one where women in particular do not feel safe or welcome so they don’t go.

Fair notes about the costs in some places.
Tbf my friends or DH and I overpend even on night in🙈 "Let's get the nicenice bits in and the nicenice drinks, yeah"

10 years ago we never felt that unsafe in city centre clubbing areas like we did now. And we are older, smarter and stronger now.

Also fair point about the younger ones having different habits now to let's say us millennials who are famed for drink consumption... But! It looks like more drugs are around on nights out? Are the gas cannisters littered around cheaper than a drink? Actually curious now

I used to love going clubbing. I was at uni at the start of the 2000’s and it was brilliant fun. The music, you could smoke inside, you could do naff all on your phones other then text your mates what time they are coming. Social media wasn’t even slightly on the radar. We would take photos on a camera and then get them developed at boots. I still treasure some of the photos now. You would go out to ‘pull’ and sometimes we did, sometimes we didn’t. I certainly don’t recall us every feeling vulnerable or in danger. Mental health and emotional well-being were not buzz words, and it was just brilliant.

I worked at a nightclub in 2001, I used to like giving the numbered raffle tickets for coats out. People would give me their ticket back at the end of the night to collect their coat and it was always a shit show trying to find the right one.

I hasten to add, no part of the above is a judgement on today. The world has changed. The reasons in the article are bang on. My daughter would be appalled at what we used to do on a clubbing night. Getting ready while drinking bottles of Lambrusco (slag piss as we called it back then). It’s really made me smile thinking about it though.

I clubbed in my student years when it was cheap and cheerful. I favoured smaller clubs with retro/ indie/ rock music. Being unable to dance and enjoy a few drinks without men letching all over was a bit of a turn off and I was fed-up of that by my mid-20s.

Is music such a definitive thing to Gen Z who can play anything to their hearts content on Spotify? I was the era spending £10-15 on a CD album, and could have a night out on £15 too.

Drinking alcohol when out is pricey anyway. Plus young people are aware of how their behaviour can be recorded and shared on social media. My age group didn't have so much to fear from someone taking a camera in and taking grainy photos pre-digital.

I'd go to a reasonably priced club with no flirting, great music (at a sensible volume) and done by 11pm. Maybe I'm old, but Gen Z might be persuadable too😂

Last time I went out to a regular local pub, it was £14 for two drinks. When I was 18 we would go out and get 2-for-£5 deals on drinks.

so expensive for young people, I used to go and it was £1 on the door before 11 and maybe £2.50 for an alcho pop or a vodka and coke so you could have a decent night for £25ish. Would cost double or triple that these days. And back in the day, it wasn’t just about ‘pulling’- I thought being grinded against on the dance floor was horrible back then- and you certainly couldn’t talk to anyone it was all just yelling at the bar.
we went to ‘be seen’- you know, show off a new outfit or hairstyle or a way of doing our make up- these days you’d stick a pic of yourself on instagram. It was also a way of being able to properly dance to your favourite song, because otherwise you’d be dancing alone to it on a CD in your room if you’re lucky enough to have bought it or waiting for it to come on the radio. Or if you were lucky enough to have Sky, you might have seen it and want to do the dance routine. These days we have access to whatever song we want, whenever we want but back then it was actually really exciting to hear ‘your jam’ start up in a club and leg it back from the loo to find a space on the dance floor.

It’ll never be like old times.

I have young adult kids.

Neither of them drink and this seems very common now - lots of their friends are the same.

when I was younger most people drank. It was also a lot cheaper.

there are still plenty who do drink.

if you don’t drink going out to a pub or club mostly isn’t fun. You get charged through the nose for a crap selection of unhealthy drinks and you can’t hear the people you are trying to have a conversation with.

A lot of it is down to safety getting home. Where I live in south London the legacy of Sarah Everard and other cases is haunting. For me it’s not worth the risk when I’m single and live alone.

Younger generations are more health/gym conscious.
£15 cocktails as standard and taxi costs are astronomical. They rather go hiking with an overnight stay somewhere!

It's too expensive now. I used to go out locally on a Thursday night, £20 for full night. If went in to Glasgow could get by with £30. That wouldn't even touch it now. Plus I think there's a higher number of young people not drinking. I imagine it clubbing or " going in to town " will make a comeback. Probably just in time for my daughter to get involved. Great!!!

Young people are more health conscious and are as likely to do their socialising at the gym or a sports activity as the pub. Many also hit the dating apps to meet someone rather that get trussed up in unfeasible wisps of dresses and towering stilettos to hit the clubs.

Alcohol is stupidly expensive now and city centre pubs feel unsafe and scummy. Places like Wetherspoons are full of heavy drinkers and kids trying to get as smashed as possible on as little money as possible. Women are worried about having their drinks spiked or being sexually assaulted more generally. It’s just not fun to sit in a club drinking glasses of overpriced warm cheapo Prosecco and being fearful of being roofied.

The only time I will go out out, is if I'm on holiday, weekend away or an extra special occasion like a big birthday etc. I do love a good drink and a dance though and we do this quite frequently at each others houses .
We're in our early 50's and not on the pull hate to waste money on a glass of wine that costs the same as a bottle from Aldi.

Younger people I know don’t want to drink so much or pay stupid prices for it. They want to meet up with friends who will bring along maybe a couple of new friends and do an activity they enjoy or a mass movie night or just a get together at home.

The only people I know clubbing are the forever single 30’s.

I'm 35 and prior to covid when I was in my 20s, I loved going out clubbing but now I'll probably visit a nightclub once or twice a year (if that!) and I get bored with them now that I'm older, married, can't deal with hangovers etc. Also, there isn't many nightclubs open in the town I live in, the main one being Popworld and the music is exactly the same as it was when I started going at 18, it's quite outdated.

I remember clubbing...

But I think today's youngsters will view clubbing through the same anemoic lens that I see those 1980s dinner parties people hosted in their homes with the shoulder pads, silk blouses and posh napkins making an appearance....prawn cocktail starters in glass cups, lace tablecloth, some kind of stuffed salmon dish and a black forest gateau.

(My mum's 1980s cookbooks certainly paint a picture!)

Anyway my point is, no one does either anymore.

1. clubbing was all about the dance/rave music scene which peaked in the 90s. There's no exciting music scene anymore. It's all cover bands in bars playing 70s-80s-90s songs.

2. Clubbing is also a young past time. Predominantly 18-30. The Zoomers aren't a big party/drinking generation

Pubs and bars in city centres are still popular but it's older people filling them. Older people aren't typically out clubbing.

When I was young in the 80s early 90s you had to look smart. Blokes had to wear ties, no trainers or jeans. Therefore, the violence increased. And behaviour deteriorated...people are happy to throw drink around now.

The cost is ridiculous for for drinks and as is entry . The music is pretty repetitive unless you go for a cheesy night.

pubs have later licences and music licences. In the mid 90s and 00s I used to work away and have to entertain clients off all ages, Flares and Reflex the 70s and 80s bars were great for that.

when we were 17/18 yesterday's in Bristol, tiny sweaty club in a wine cellar. Free tickets on a Wednesday if it was your birthday....my friend had 3 18ths!

but as many have said young people don't socialise or even drink. Students the lifeblood of mid week clubs used to be happy to spend their free grant money, now they have to borrow to go to university it's different.

When I drive round the town its just full of blokes, often sad older ones, and it's not the fun environment I remember.

A lot more kids are anxious and more into health, gym, insta and tiktok.

Students, yes!! That's when I knew that the pandemic only added to the decline in club/drinking culture. When working at our city centres uni many years ago, I immediately recognised the lack of student union, all you can drink for a tenner Thursdays - they were empty and so different to back in my day.
I can't imagine today's students knocking back snakebites 😳.