An American living in the UK has ignited a heated debate online after sharing her concerns about what she describes as an ‘unhealthy’ drinking culture in Britain.
The 23-year-old, known only as Red on TikTok, moved to London in 2019 and has been documenting her experiences adapting to British life on her account, @reduredn.
In a video uploaded in March, which has since amassed 36,000 views, Red compared the UK’s drinking habits to those in the U.S., sparking a divided reaction in the comments.
With the caption, ‘UK vs US drinking culture. Am I the only one that was shocked? I’m still [going to] have a drink though!’ Red’s observations have resonated with some viewers, while others strongly disagree.
Reflecting on her arrival in the UK at 18, Red noted her initial excitement about the country’s lower drinking age compared to the U.S., where the legal age is 21.
Red, an American who moved to London in 2019, has shared her concerns about the ‘unhealthy’ drinking culture in Britain
Despite being afforded the opportunity to ‘have fun’ and experience drinking during her late teens, she quickly noticed a key difference: drinking appeared to be a ‘normal’ part of daily life in the UK.
She explained: ‘Monday through Sunday, these people are drinking. Some of it is fun: you’re out with friends, you grab a beer, a wine. Just a different world.’
Red also observed how many pubs in the UK are ‘family-friendly,’ meaning it’s not uncommon to ‘see kids in the bar.’
What Red found most surprising, though, was the role alcohol played in the workplace.
Recounting her time in office jobs, she recalled a ‘drinking cart’ being wheeled around at 4 p.m. on Thursdays, with employees able to choose their drink of choice.
She added: ‘The U.S. company parties, corporate parties, they don’t have anything on the way that they do in the UK – because these people go in.’
Red revealed how it was baffling to see her boss and co-workers ‘wasted’ and ‘waved on the floor’ during the weekend and weeknights, before everything returned to normal on a Monday morning.
The content creator admitted that while she understood people ‘are just human,’ she didn’t find such behaviours ‘healthy.’
The content creator shared her ‘biggest shock’ at the drinking culture in Britain: people consuming alcohol at work at 4pm
Her video sparked hundreds of responses, with many viewers offering their own take on both British office and drinking culture.
Some commenters agreed with Red’s perspective, with one person writing: ‘Most offices I’ve worked at in the UK, 4pm is wine o’ clock (or beer). After work, folks headed to the nearest bar or pub.’
Another said: ‘It wasn’t that long ago they used to be going at it at lunchtime then back to the office,’ while a third joked, ‘The was a pub across from the office called The Boardroom. We had a lot of meetings in The Boardroom.’
Finally, one employee admitted: ‘I did my current job interview in the pub he did the interview whilst we were wasted.’
However, many others pushed back, insisting that Red’s experience was not representative of British workplaces.
Red’s video sparked hundreds of responses, with many viewers offering their own take on both British office and drinking culture
One person wrote, ‘Really? Not all people drink that way,’ while another said, ‘I wouldn’t say this is commonplace at all! It does happen but not in most places.’
A third added: ‘A drinking cart? I think your office has a problem tbh [sic], I’m almost 50 and I’ve never seen or heard of such a thing.’
A fourth said: ‘This is not normal BTW [sic]. Agreed, us Brits are fond of drinking, but a cart and rolling around in the office on a normal Thursday afternoon is not common. That’s sackable.’
Meanwhile, an American woman living in the UK has revealed the classic British sweets she cannot stand – much to the consternation of her followers online.
Taking to TikTok, Lisa Dollan, who has amassed over 1.2million followers under her handle Yorkshire Peach, shared common British confectionary items that she disliked.
