Zoom (Virtual) Happy Hours and Drinking During COVID-19 in the US An Exploratory Qualitative Study
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Authors:
Sheila Pakdaman, MS 
John D. Clapp, PhD, MSW
Objective:
In this study, we investigated video conferencing platforms (eg, Zoom) used as a means to gather virtually as a unique drinking environment during the pandemic.
Methods:
Using online recruitment strategies, we conducted 42 qualitative Zoom® interviews. Interviewees were 21-64 years of age from various locations in the United States.
Results:
During the pandemic, most individuals reported higher drinking intake to offset boredom and stress. As a drinking environment, video conferencing calls were perceived as poor substitutes for in-person drinking interactions.
Conclusions:
Our data suggest drinking behaviors and contexts changed during the pandemic restrictions, but virtual happy hours did not drive this change.
Source: Health Behavior and Policy Review, Volume 8, Number 1, January 2021, pp. 3-12(10)
Publisher: Paris Scholar Publishing Ltd.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.14485/HBPR.8.1.1