The Rise of the Staying-in Epidemic

Heavy bass, neon lights flicker, and people flaying their arms. Those people seem close now; damp skin is pressed against your arms, and it is beginning to get humid. Your friend’s eyes start to flutter, not in a flirtatious manner, but more so a robot malfunctioning. She scatters to the bathroom, throws herself over the toilet and begins to hurl. A vile stench of Jaeger-mister, acidity, and cheap energy drinks. She has zero control over her body, her hair in the toilet bowl, or when and where she will aim for the next projectile round. As you try to hold back her hair, which is now forming a crust of vomit and sweat, your mind acts like a ping-pong ball. She didn’t drink enough to become this state, or did she drink before we set out? That guy lingered around us, but we covered our drinks. Maybe she didn’t eat enough, but the reminiscence of beans on toast is swimming around in the toilet bowl. It is time to go home.

a lone shot placed on a bar.

This chaos seems familiar to most. I am sure, like many, that turning 18 became the golden ticket to being feral and free from parental shackles. The anticipation of being able to drink and not get scalded has built up over the past 3 years- possibly longer.

Most 18th birthdays result in a blackout, stumbling into your parent’s house whilst your elderly neighbours are arising from their well-rested sleep to trim the weeds back on their front porch. This becomes a tradition for the next few months, and those who arrive at university in September will continue for a bit longer. Every weekend, spend £50 for a good night out.

Some students sacrifice a good, decent and nutritious meal to haul a taxi home on Friday night.

 Those who don’t typically take a treacherous hike back in the middle of the night- sometimes alone.

After a year or so of the weekly ritual of getting drunk, going out becomes a chore, both financially and physically. The once-thrilling quest for a variety of alcoholic drinks no longer satisfies the former party animals. They now seek a different kind of exhilaration to fill their cups.

Health and wellbeing have been the trend for the decade so far. Running a marathon, battling it out in hyrox race, or pointing your toes in pilates. That is the most fulfilling way to spend the weekend now, a choice that empowers and inspires a healthier lifestyle.

Sambuca shots at 3 am on a Sunday turned to lemon and ginger wellness shots at 7.

In 2021, the ‘Girls Night in Campaign’ was swiftly launched following the onset of Covid-19. Was the pandemic the catalyst for this new staying-in trend? It seems that the initial lockdown, where we lounged around in the April sun, committed ourselves to the Chloe Ting YouTube channel, and indulged in apple cider vinegar gummies, coincided with a surge in health and wellness.  

More recently, we have also seen the ‘clean girl’ phenomenon arise. According to the Urban Dictionary, “Girls who take pilates classes, eat fruit salads and vitamin supplements, smell like vanilla, are always in Lululemon and aloyoga, drink kale smoothies, and remain single.”  

A new way of life curated by the idols and influencers we worship and follow.

According to the new train of social media influencers, you must refrain from ‘poisoning’ yourself with alcohol each weekend and shoving a donner kebab smothered in garlic mayo down your throat on your way home if you want to be accepted into this newfound society. If you find yourself then ordering some form of greasy takeaway food, dominoes or McDonald’s, perhaps, consider yourself blacklisted from the self-proclaimed clean girl clique. This sense of belonging to a new community drives the shift from nightlife to wellness.

Somewhere between the global pandemic and now, stilettos and cheesy chips became new balances and training plans. Staying in has become an aspiration for many, something to be applauded for. The following cultural phenomenon could see a decline in the staying-in epidemic.