New Bedford ranked 3rd in Massachusetts for booze-related social media posts during the pandemic

Almost exactly two years ago, Bay Staters in towns and cities across the state hunkered down, unaware that a global pandemic would render them largely homebound for such a long period of time. Like so many other Americans, Bay Staters were affected by anxiety – worry about the coronavirus itself, the economic repercussions and what the future may look like in a post-pandemic world. As is the case in more normal times, when people feel stressed or depressed, they reach for the bottle in what they perceive to be a short-term solution.

As the pandemic well and truly set in, two things happened: people began to consume more alcohol, and they spent more time on social media – their primary channel with the outside world. In 2020, state officials introduced a crowd-pleasing salve: a temporary legalization of to-go alcoholic drinks from bars and restaurants. As the months progressed, the term ‘Quarantini’ entered our mainstream lexicon, becoming a catch-all term for any cocktail made during lockdown, and soon social media was flooded with alcohol-related content. In one study, Bay Staters’ favorite homemade cocktail during the pandemic was found to be a Painkiller.

National rehab directory, Rehabs.com, commissioned a study in which the 100 largest towns and cities in The Bay State were ranked for their number of alcohol-related Instagram posts over the course of the pandemic. The researchers analyzed 5,000 Instagram posts starting from March 2020 – the unofficial start of lockdowns for most states – to identify how many were related to alcohol or being drunk. The results reveal which town/cities posted about it the most, which could possibly indicate a problematic relationship with alcohol.

Rehabs.com made some interesting discoveries: the first being that Pittsfield, which has a population of 40,945, came in the number one spot with 417 alcohol-related Instagram posts (per 5,000 posts) during the pandemic. This represents 8.34% of all Instagram posts in that city during that period. This might not be all that surprising when you consider that Pittsfield is in Berkshire County, which has among the highest amount of excessive drinkers in the state at 26%, according to County Health Rankings. This places it in the top 15th percentile of the whole country and is higher than the average excessive drinking rate in Massachusetts of 24 percent.

In 3rd place came New Bedford, in which there were 410 Instagram posts related to alcohol or being drunk. This represents 8.2% of all posts of its 95,339 residents.

Coming mid-table was Longmeadow with 190 alcohol/drunk-related posts representing 3.80% of all posts during that time. And, positively saintly in last place, was the city of Worcester, which has a population of 185,047. It clocked up just 45 alcohol/drunk-related posts equalling a minimal figure of just 0.90 percent. This makes sense given Worcester is located in Worcester County which, according to the County Health Rankings, has an excessive drinking rate of 22 percent – below the state average.

While the term “alcoholism” is clinically ambiguous and out of use, Rehabs.com have included below some signs to be aware of that that are indicative of problematic relationship with alcohol:

• Difficulty controlling one’s level of alcohol consumption.
• Wanting to decrease or stop drinking alcohol but being unable to do so.
• Developing a higher tolerance for alcohol and needing more over time to reach the desired effects.
• Experiencing alcohol cravings when not drinking as well as withdrawal symptoms such as sweating, shaking and nausea.
• Facing personal problems at home, work, or school due to alcohol use.