TikTok has created a whole new set of terms for already-defined behaviors and things, but one that’s been getting some attention again is “damp drinking” or “damp lifestyle.”
The “damp” lifestyle is apparently popular with mostly women on TikTok, and is framed as essentially rethinking your relationship to alcohol consumption and pacing yourself instead of drinking to excess. A TikToker named Hana Elson (@hana.elson), who has more than 52,000 followers, has made quite a bit of content about it over the last year and apparently coined the term.
@hana.elson “If you drink to blur all the bad parts of life you blur all the good bits too” shifting this mindset was everything for me. Damp lifestyle has meant many dif things to me over the past year but this pov is the one im most confident on for my own life ❤️
♬ original sound – Hana
However, Elson posted a video last year assuring people that even if they’re not hungover now, they can still do the “fun little hangover activities” they used to do. This person might be young enough that hangovers are still considered “fun” and not an anxiety-inducing waking nightmare.
@nataliexelise happy friday lol #ChevyEVSongContest #alcohol #sober ♬ original sound – Nat
In contrast with generations before it, Gen Z is reportedly drinking less or not at all, which is good. Cutting back on or cutting out alcohol can only have positive results for mental and physical health. But there’s some cognitive dissonance around damp drinking, which is also called being “sober curious.” It’s just drinking in moderation, but not all people can just turn that switch on. There’s also a control element to damp drinking—no shots, giving yourself a curfew—that won’t work for everyone, as Psychology Today noted in December.
Of course, the “mindfulness” apps and low- and no-alcohol drink brands have been swooping in, too.
