As people revisit their relationship with alcohol, they’re slowly redefining social norms—including within the dating sphere.
Alcohol-free dating is exactly what it sounds like: going on dates without booze. It doesn’t necessarily stem from sobriety or recovery journeys. Many who date without booze do so for clarity, authenticity, or simply to break away from conventional dating scripts. They want to get to know someone in environments that don’t center around alcohol, fostering deeper connections from the start.
Several factors contribute to the phenomenon of alcohol-free dating. First, there’s a generational shift toward alcohol moderation and abstinence, as seen in Gallup’s latest data. 54% of American Gen Zs don’t drink at all. When they do, they’re drinking less. Second, regardless of age, moderating or eliminating alcohol is a lifestyle choice many are making to support wellness. Alcohol-free dating is an extension of how they approach other aspects of their daily lives. Third, dating apps have influenced this phenomenon. These platforms increasingly provide ways for users to specify their drinking preferences, making it easier to find like-minded matches. According to Bumble, 34% of UK users are more likely to go on an alcohol-free date now than before the pandemic. 62% believe it would help them form more genuine connections.
Now, people are speaking up about the benefits of alcohol-free dating as a way to: ensure your judgment isn’t clouded, allow for more positive interactions and, sometimes, increase the efficiency of the dating process. “It was very clear from the first date whether I liked the person or not,” wrote Sarah Wood in her Refinery29 piece. “There was no numbing my feelings, no hiding in the darkness of a sexy, dimly lit wine bar.” She explains that dating without alcohol shortened the dating feedback loop “from two months to two hours:” “When I was drinking, I’d date with the sole purpose of making the other person like me. Only months in, I’d finally wake up and realize I didn’t like the person at all.”
Alcohol-free dating challenges the entrenched notion that booze is an essential element for social interactions. It will likely be a long time before it’s widely adopted, however. Alcohol continues to be a valued social lubricant for many, and few social situations are more nerve wracking than a first date. Still, we just might see a shift toward relationships built more on meaningful interaction than the presence of alcohol.
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Dry Atlas is a media company focused on alcohol alternatives. We deliver non-alc insights, news, and recs to over five million people annually. To stay up to date on all things non-alc, subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
