Are we placing too much value on physical health? Alcohol has a place

Is the purpose of life to survive the longest or enjoy it the most? Right now, society has become so obsessed with optimal health that I fear it’s making us unwell or, at the very least, entirely joyless. And personally, I’d prefer to experience rich, brilliant years as opposed to regimented virtuous ones.

A decade ago, the gold standard of a Sunday morning used to be a luxurious sleep in after too many drinks the night before, followed by a hearty breakfast with friends. Then maybe a movie, reading a book, pottering in the garden, or a boozy long lunch. And, sure, maybe some exercise.

These days, we’re told to rise before the sun, journal, take an ice bath, fast until after lunch, and avoid having a glass of wine with dinner. Some people are even abstaining from sex – all with the goal of improving their health and living longer. Honestly, you couldn’t pay me to live 80-plus years of that.

Many of these new “healthy hacks” are self-flagellation in disguise; a weird and mysterious test of discipline in the hope of getting an extra couple of years out of life. But it’s worth questioning if perhaps something less admirable than healthy choices could be lurking below the surface, something US psychologist Jonathan Haidt raised in an interview with actor Dax Shepard on Shepard’s podcast, Armchair Expert.

When Shepard said that the so-called “anxious generation” is struggling with poor mental health but “thriving in other departments”, Haidt took issue.

“On a lot of the self-destructive metrics, their behaviour is better – that’s all true,” he said.

“Does that mean they’re thriving? Why are they not drinking? Why are they not driving cars? Why are they not dating? Why are they not getting pregnant? Why do you think it is? Because they’re so wise? No. Because they’re not with other people. They’re not doing anything. If you’re just on your bed all day long, scrolling through social media, then you’re not going to be doing any of those things.”

A 2023 report by Ending Loneliness Together found that 41.1 per cent of Australians aged 18 to 24 suffer from persistent loneliness. And according to the ABC’s 2019 Australia Talks survey, 40 per cent of people aged 18 to 24 are still virgins. They’re also drinking less, with 16 per cent of Australians in the same age bracket having never tried alcohol, up from 7 per cent in 2001.

As Haidt points out, they’re not just abstaining from these things because they’re sensible, they’re also petrified of humiliation. Having grown up with their entire lives being documented, they don’t want to embarrass themselves.