"depending on alcohol for team building sounds like the worst idea ever.
i don't want to be friends with people if their ability to develop friendship depends on alcohol. actually, i find it deceptive. i want to be friends with the real person. not the drunk person. it's dishonest. it's telling me that this person doesn't actually like me, and it's only the alcohol that makes them friendly. for an introvert who already has difficulty trusting people and making friends, this makes it worse, because it's a friendship that can't be trusted."
People aren't "depending" on alcohol, they're using it. Getting wasted is not a requirement of drinking alcohol. Alcohol reduces inhibitions. In small amounts it's enough to make a person feel less like they're going to sound stupid if they try to talk to new people. It's not deceptive any more than not opening up to others because you're anxious is "deceptive".
You are not better than other people because you don't drink.
i have a problem if someone claims that they can't talk to me or they can't enjoy our time together unless they had a drink.
the possible reasons why you can't talk to me makes me uncomfortable.
Alcohol reduces inhibitions. In small amounts it's enough to make a person feel less like they're going to sound stupid if they try to talk to new people.
yes, and that seriously bothers me. do you think that i don't feel uncomfortable talking to new people?
this creates an imbalance. now you are comfortable because you had a drink, and i am still not because i won't or can't. that doesn't work. now you are no longer able to sense my discomfort because you don't sense your own.
if we are both equally uncomfortable we could find a way to deal with that. instead i have to face your uninhibited self and feel like i want to run away.
some people are naturally less inhibited. that can be difficult, but if they are perceptive and considerate it can work out. i fear that alcohol also makes you less perceptive, so that is unlikely to work.
"depending on alcohol for team building sounds like the worst idea ever."
I assume that this was intended as hyperbole, but your argument would be much more persuasive if you fairly described the idea you're opposed to, along with its benefits, then describe why your solution, while having its own issues, is superior. Capitalization wouldn't hurt either.
Boring, disliked - that's beer for a great many of us.
I'm not saying that beer is the best tool for team-building, I'm just saying it has benefits, and just like every other alternative, trade-offs.
i don't want to be friends with people if their ability to develop friendship depends on alcohol. actually, i find it deceptive. i want to be friends with the real person. not the drunk person. it's dishonest. it's telling me that this person doesn't actually like me, and it's only the alcohol that makes them friendly. for an introvert who already has difficulty trusting people and making friends, this makes it worse, because it's a friendship that can't be trusted.
as for alternatives for team building. there are plenty of activities that are welcoming. board games for example. popular in europe. good for introverts too because you can focus on the game and you are not forced participate in random discussion topics that you can't contribute to. among tech people a fun-hackathon. otherwise food always works. picnic or bbq was always popular when it happened at tech conferences.