To ask Does any one actually go clubbing any more?

[blubberball]

My ds just turned 18, and I thought that he would be going to pubs and clubs with his college friends. This doesn't seem to be the case at all. They all seem to stay at home.

I've also noticed a lot of posters and adverts around my local area for over 30s and over 40s events. Day discos. Does any one actually go properly clubbing any more? I haven't been myself since a hen night probably 15 years ago, and it was crap. Dirty, sticky floors, tables and glasses, crap music, not many people dancing and a really aggressive, swearing DJ bloke.

Probably a good thing, as I remember binge drinking being a massive problem when I was young. It must be saving a fortune for the police and the NHS to no longer have this binge drinking culture. I used to work in a town centre as a driver years ago, and would see people being sick in the street at 10pm. It wasn't pleasant.

I am now indoors by 6pm, getting settled with curtains drawn. How are these clubs still in business?

I'm 36 and I've obviously been to clubs, but they were sort of the last stop for an hour or so before our lift, not the focal point of the evening if that makes sense.

What's it called please? This sounds interesting! Me and husband were talking about it last night and we said we weren't sure if clubs exist in the same way anymore. It was in response to the article about Vodka Revs shutting down!

Drinks at home with Netflix?! As in, with a group of friends? I do this with DP but I’ve never had friends around just to drink wine and watch Netflix together. I don’t know anyone who socialises like this tbh. Is this a Gen Z thing?

Yes I do.
Not often mind because im not young and it takes some recovering from now days.
But yes there are still plenty of clubs.
I think it helps if you are into certain types of music.
It's probably true theres less 'pop' type clubs than there were when I was young. But they certainly still exist too!

DD went to a club for a teen night when she was about 13 (no alcohol, Sunday night PTA fundraiser event). She liked the music but was shocked by the signs everywhere about getting your drinks checked if you thought they’d been spiked.

Bloody hell how miserable having to worry about that all night long. No wonder clubs are closing down.

Covid killed all that off.

Yes they do

It must also be a lot less fun if you’re constantly aware of drinks being spiked or, as happened to my dd (in a bar not a club) being injected. She was very lucky and was looked after, but only realised a day or so later how it had happened after seeing the bruise on her thigh and tear in her trousers.

That's horrific @crumpet. Where was that? I always thought the injection thing was an urban myth.

I wouldn't go clubbing on purpose these days (I'm 48) but I often go to see live music in venues that have a club night straight after and sometimes stay for a drink. They always seem very busy and walk past big queues as I leave. Very mixed crowd but lots of young people. I do live in a city with two universities and lots of tourists though.

😆😆😆😆😆

I have two children in that age range. That doesn’t reflect their lives, nor the majority of young people I know.

Not everyone goes clubbing (though my two do and still have to wait in very long queues) but they socialise in person with friends and do all the same in person social activities that I did at that age.

I do know a few young people who only socialise online - they are not healthy or in a good place.

2 big universities and a few more higher education places in my city. Absolutely heaving most nights, weekends are mental.
having said that, there are definitely a lot more young people who don’t seem to want to go clubbing or get wasted. My DD is one of them. Definitely not a chip off the old block 😳

Yes, same here. And yes, agreed, my undergraduates are far more health-conscious and more likely not to drink. Though also exacerbated by more students commuting significant distances by car from their parents’ house, so they’re not around for night life.

My son is currently at Durham university and they definitely go clubbing as a group once or twice a week.

However, the interesting thing for me is- many of them including my son dont drink alcohol. I think it's a good thing as I spent most of my 20s pissed and falling out of clubs so I am glad the culture is changing.

Depends what you call a club. My three nearest towns have one club (in a hotel) for over 30s and nothing else. The university town is dead on Friday and Saturday night. Pubs now have late night licenses so people don't drink up at 11 and go off to a club until 2am as they don't need to. Back in the 90s there were special buses that would take you from various towns to a club and then you'd get it home. My town had 3 nightclubs and a late night bar (next to one of the clubs) all that has gone.

Times have changed, old school clubbers of the 90s and 00s have got older and have responsibilities so a lot of daytime events happen (especially in London) so they can get home for the kids.

I do occasionally go clubbing (it has to be for something really special) but I have responsibilities (cats to feed) and need my sleep now I am old, so it is always daytime events.

It’s called nightclubs- is the party over? And is on iPlayer

It was awful. At first she was really puzzled as she’d not a heavy drinker and thought she’d over done it, but there were pictures of her rolling around in the road, which is really unlike anything she has done before.

then she found the bruise etc. We sent her for blood tests/HIV tests to be safe as god knows what the needle might have been used for in the past (or even that evening) but frankly how could you not have that at the back of your mind in any similar place - it would really take the fun out of it.

we were blessed in some ways to have more innocent times

I was thinking about this recently. Our nearest city centre is pretty busy at night I think, but more focused on the bars in the student areas. There's a new venue that looks great and gets busy, but they put on proper nights, big DJs, etc. My idea of a night out these days is the local pub but I have been tempted.

I've also noticed that young people don't dress up like we used to - I'd spend half my afternoon getting ready, fake tan, nails done, the lot! It seems that comfier clothes, trainers, etc are more acceptable now.

Sorry - you asked where this was. A small (crowded) bar with dance floor etc in Canterbury, full on students, a few years back. Not a large anonymous venue. She was very lucky to have had her friends as she was incapable of doing anything.

DD does, DS couldn't be less interested.

Did lots of clubbing in my teens and early 20s but wouldn’t want to go now. I think kids drink less these days and I can’t imagine that sober clubbing is much fun. Also drinks are too expensive these days.

I feel so sorry for young ones now.
Everything is online.
How the hell do they meet each other, have fun, do daft stuff, BE YOUNG?

Plenty time to sit in once they have kids and a mortgage.

They'll never get these times back...

There are plenty of young people still meeting each other in school, in uni, at parties, through friends, through hobbies and indeed in nightclubs just as we did in our day.

My younger cousins, 18 and 21 have never been out clubbing, ever. The 21 year old cousin has never touched alcohol and the 18 year old has had 2 pints. At their age I was out every weekend as was my other cousin who is now 26, I’m 33. The last time I went out I lasted less than 2 hours, the clubs were dead and it just didn’t feel the same.

I go to dances in the ' alternative spiritual' world. Its basically a DJ two hour club night with no alcohol or seediness and you might get a meditation or sound bath at the start or end.

They seem to be really popular - loads of people put them on and they are well attended.

I love it!