9A – Testing the Hypothesis, Part 2

I interviewed 5 people and asked them the following questions: 

1. What are your thoughts on binge drinking?

2. Do you believe that any certain groups are more likely to exhibit binge-drinking behavior? Wanted to see if they would include themselves in that group. 

3. Have you ever binged drinked? That can mean different things to different people, but in your mind do you think you have?

4.Have you seen other binge drink before? In what scenarios? Be specific please.

5.Why do you think people binge drink?

6.A good way to tell if you can handle another drink without passing out or being too reckless is by checking your BAC levels. If checking your BAC levels were more convenient and easy at bars/clubs, would you check it? 

Sarah, age 28, graduate student, and goes out drinking every once and a while.

• Sarah told me that she absolutely believed that binge drinking isn’t a healthy activity to partake in and that she doesn’t understand why undergrads now can’t handle their alcohol. When asked about what groups tend to participate in binge drinking, she said “well, binge drinking happens in college now. When I was in undergrad, people would drink and there would be those that get too wasted but people wouldn’t call ‘binge drinking’ because it was never that huge of a phenomenon”. Additionally, even though the term binge drinking wasn’t used as much during her time in undergrad, she said that she did i guess binge drink every so often, but that it was never to the point where she was unconscious or had to go to the hospital. She witnessed the most binge drinking during big celebrations and at parties when in undergrad. Furthermore, she believes that people believe because of social pressure and inexperience controlling alcohol intake. She agreed and thought that if students could check their BAC levels while partying then they can learn how many/which drinks they can intake. That’s way they could learn and after enough experience wouldn’t have to check their BAC levels because they would already learn their limit. 

Jake, age 24, and frequently visits bars on the weekends.

• Jake is a graduate student who was in an IFC Fraternity in Virginia during his undergrad. When asked the first question, he laughed and said, “yeah that happens a lot now especially during Frat parties”.  He thought that the groups that are more likely to exhibit this behavior are males especially those in fraternities. When asked if he ever binge drank, he said that he did a lot doing his freshman year and now rarely has he gotten very drunk because he know how to control his alcohol. When asked the fourth question he stated that he mostly saw this binge drinking behavior when he was active in his fraternity and went to their parties often. He said that “lots of brothers got wasted but it wasn’t only us, the girls also got super drunk and binge drank”. He believes that people binge drank because they are trying to keep an appearance and fit in or some need it to feel more relaxed to have fun. Furthermore, his response to the last question was, “ well I probably wouldn’t use it because I don’t think I need it to be honest, but I think that it would be useful for those that are not used to drinking. It would even be good to have at frat houses because there are always some brothers in charge of making sure that things/anyone doesn’t get out of hand. It would be an easy tool for them to check the pledges alcohol level. 

Ando, age 22, and is known for getting drunk every other weekend.

• Ando is an undergrad studying engineering at UF. Her thoughts on binge drinking are that it’s not good but every once in a while it’s okay to do it. She stated that besides undergrads, she doesn’t really know if there are any groups that binge drink more than others. She declared that she has binge drank on multiple occasions but most of the time is because she accidentally drinks too much or because she’s having too much fun and her drunk self thinks that she is fine. When answering the fourth question, she said that when she goes out with her friends to a party, club or bar, especially on Ladies night, she sees people binge drinking and being messy. Moreover, she believes that people binge drink because they want to relieve their stress and forget their worries. She added, “I tend to binge drink with my friends from class especially after an exam”. When asked the last question she said that she doesn’t know if she always would but that it would be good for her to do so because she’s tiny and it’s sometimes hard for her to know when she’s done for the night. Additionally, she mentioned that if her friends asked her to check it when she’s intoxicated that she probably would. 

Ale, age 23, and enjoys going to happy hour about once a week.

• Ale recently just graduated and started working a full time job in Washington D.C. when asked the first question, she said that she doesn’t really know what constitutes as binge drinking but if it means getting wasted, then she doesn’t see it as wrong as long as people don’t act reckless and messy. She thinks that people in college tend to drink more especially those based in the typical ‘college-towns’. Additionally,  she stated that yes she had binge drinked if that’s what the typical definition is. But she wouldn’t do it all the time, she said that there were many nights where she would go out and not drink at all. She only binge drank when she felt like she really needed the alcohol to relax. Additionally, she mentioned that she has witnessed others binge drink at parties and clubs especially at Grog. She thinks that people binge drink because they believe they will be less timid and will be able to have fun because they won’t worry too much about what other people think. She added that it could also be to relax and be social. She said, “ lately I’ve been going to happy hour now and drinking boatloads of wine to forget about my week at work and also because it’s really the only thing to do with my coworkers after we get off work”. Furthermore, when I asked her the last question, she stated that she doesn’t think people will willingly check their BAC levels now unless it somehow becomes fun to do so, especially for older people who already know what their limits are. 

Hailey, age 25, and goes out drinking at least once a month.

• Hailey is doing her Masters at UF part-time and works full-time in Gainesville. Her thoughts on binge drinking include that it is not healthy and it could be dangerous if people binge drink alone without anyone watching them. She also thought that people in Greek organizations binge drink more because they are always the ones ended up on the news for hazing their pledges with alcohol. Moreover, she stated that she has binge drank before but it doesn’t happen to frequently. And that it occurs during a big event like a 21st birthday, graduation, or end of semester finals. She stated that she has seen other people binge drink at parties, especially in the frat houses when she would go to their parties her freshman year and during tailgates at frat houses. She believes that people binge drink because of the societal pressure to fit in and not be seen as a weirdo. Furthermore, when asked the last question, she stated that she wished that there would’ve been something like that available during her freshman year because that’s when she really needed it. She added that now that she doesn’t drink too often, she might not use it but could depending on how she was feeling since she isn’t used to drinking anymore. 

Who:  I learned through my interviews that older more experienced drinkers that fall outside the boundaries. Even though some older people who are still in college (undergrad upperclassmen and graduate) may drink heavily, it does not mean that they frequently binge drink.  Older more experienced drinkers know how to drink and pace themselves with alcohol unlike underclass men and people who are not frequent drinkers.

What: The issue I am trying to solve is less hospital visits due to binge drinking and I found the need to fit in intersected my issue. The social problem of people wanting to fit in with the ‘popular crowd’ is above what my product was intended to do. 

Why: The underlying cause of the outsiders’ need is different from the people inside my boundary. Older people who are not in college I think care just a bit less on ‘fitting in’ with the cool kids’ crowd. However, their age aids them by typically allowing them to be more experienced drinkers. Thus, they know when to stop or pace their alcoholic beverages.

Inside Boundary	Outside Boundary
College students primarily underclassmen and inexperienced drinkers	Older people/ college students who have had experience drinking
they need a tool/educational plan to help them learn how much alcohol their bodies can take in without over doing it.	The need is not about how often you drink
They need to feel socially accepted	They want to relieve stress