Zoom (Virtual) Happy Hours and Drinking During COVID-19 in the US An Exploratory Qualitative Study

An Open Access article published in the Health Behavior and Policy Review Journal.
The full article is available as a PDF download.

Authors:

Sheila Pakdaman, MS Twitter
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