Alcohol has been marketed so heavily in all cultures for so long, and by so long i mean since beer was safer to drink than water, like pretty much since we invented fermentation, other than some brief puritan periods, alcohol it has been a huge part of human culture.
If you stop to think for a bit, how many wars, how many disasters how many deaths, conflicts and other terrible things in human history that's happened, where alcohol may not have been a direct factor, but the people doing these things probably drank regularly.
Alcohol is this strange partially acknowledged influence over so much of human culture and history, it's mindboggling when you start to really consider it.
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Person 1: "Is everyone out here really so lifeless?"
Person 2: "Yes. Yes we are. That's why we drink."
Person 1: "Well, I drank just fine before."
Person 2: "Yeah, because your world was so overwhelming and scary and you needed a break from it all. Now, you're going to drink because each day is so goddamn dull, and that takes a lot more booze."
(Edit: formatting)
How many times have indoor toilets changed the world through the butterfly effect? I doubt it's a small number.
For what it's worth, I work for a large tech company and have never felt like I had to drink to be part of the culture.