This blog will start with some numbers. Let me talk about 61.7%. That is the percentage of the world’s population that has not used alcohol in the last year. Included in… Read more »

This blog will start with some numbers. Let me talk about 61.7%. That is the percentage of the world’s population that has not used alcohol in the last year. Included in the number are lifetime abstainers – 48% of the world population.

That’s a huge amount of people. That is a majority of the citizens of this world. The majority of us decide to enjoy life free from alcohol.

And yet, the perception is very often opposite – at least in the Western world. Those who choose to live alcohol-free experience that they are too few, marginalised. Sometimes even as the only ones.  Alcohol is omnipresent. If not in the hands of people, at least in the commercials, shops and TV programs. Pop culture is intoxicating.

The lack of alcohol-free environments makes us often believe that there is no other way than to use alcohol. We simply learn that there is no social event, a party, a funeral, a disco, an after-work, a victory celebration, a re-union without alcohol. We learn to need it. We learn to lean on it. We learn that as soon as we hold it, we’ve got it all. We are winners. We are friends. We are social butterflies and we are comedians. With alcohol we can sing, we can dance, we can mourn, and we can tell jokes, we can be embarrassing, and we can be cute. And even despite knowing that the feeling after using alcohol is uncomfortable we will take it and then try to get over it to fit in. To be part of the majority. To skip all the explaining and fake excuses (not everyone can say they are pregnant). To avoid the social pressure.

But hey… what if we don’t buy it? What if we don’t buy the myths about alcohol perpetuated by the alcohol industry? What if we choose to go fake free? What if we choose to go alcohol-free?

What if someone does not want to see yet another bottle? What if someone just wants to skip all the bad childhood memories connected to their parents alcohol use? Again? What if someone is sick and tired of all the hangover stories? Or what if someone has no other way to survive than stay sober to avoid yet another catastrophe? Is that easy?

It is.

It is easy. And it is healthy and fun and rewarding.

It is easy if there are alcohol-free environments that are attractive. And it gets increasingly easy, the more people there are who choose to spend their time alcohol-free. Then it is very easy.

But where are they? You will find them in every country. In every town or village. Sometimes they are organised and sometimes not. When they are organised, it is easier to join them and be in their company – like in IOGT. We are the largest global community for people who choose to enjoy life fake free, alcohol free. But what if you live in a place where they are not organised?

Well, worry no more. You can meet them now anyway. You can – through a simple click of a button – find someone in your surrounding who would like to hang out with you alcohol-free. You can gather more people and arrange a party or just talk or even find supporters for your local campaign to create more alcohol-free places in your community. SoberGrid does the trick. Get on the grid and experience what a powerful tool the new application is.

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#GetOnTheGrid

I am so proud and excited about the fact that we in IOGT International have just built a partnership with SoberGrid – the Number One Sober App that was officially launched just a few hours ago.

We believe in the App and in the people behind it. We know it will provide a powerful platform to make lives a little happier, and the world a little better.

I am convinced that if we want to shape our world and have more alcohol-free places to be able to live up to our full potential, we need to organise ourselves. IOGT International has many Member Organizations around the world. And we keep growing, which means that more and more people have the chance to experience alcohol-free company, friendships, leisure time, fun and all the other benefits.

Now, thanks to SoberGrid the whole virtual space has opened. I see new contacts, new sources of motivation and support and new friends from all around the world – just a click away. And I can see a bigger visibility for the majority of people around the world who choose to enjoy life free from alcohol.

I want to wish our friends and partners at the SoberGrid all the best. As the SoberGrid thrives, the world will become a better place.

Get on the grid and I can’t wait to meet you there.

SoberGrid

 

For further reading:

New York Post article: “Former Mass. governor talks up new sober app

Metro US: “Sober Grid app connects people in recovery. A new app lets sober people find others around them for support.

Serenity Detox: “Exciting New Social Network App for Only Sober People

Huffington Post: “Finding Recovery on Social Apps