It turns out measuring online reports of hangovers is an effective way to track major events. In March we see a big drop off in people saying they’re hungover online, just as the pandemic was declared. Levels began a slow recovery shortly after as we started to adjust to Covid-19 and people began to find new, often online ways to socialize with alcohol.

Just as mentions got back to ‘normal’ levels, there was an even bigger drop off in late May/early June. We cannot be 100% sure this was the cause, but this decrease coincides with the Black Lives Matter movement coming into the spotlight after the death of George Floyd. This mirrors similar drops we’ve seen, such as a fall in Covid-19 article engagements at the same time.

The recovery in hangover levels after this period was quick and we can see a big spike in the week of 4 July. This will have been driven by Americans celebrating Independence Day and taking to social media on the 5th to complain about headaches and poor choices.

Levels returned to normal in the following week and have now generally stabilized, although last week saw a small jump. This could be a sign people are increasingly comfortable with returning to bars and pubs. That, or world events, such as new outbreaks and the looming US presidential election, have people turning to drink.

We also looked at what alcoholic drinks have been most popular during the pandemic by analyzing images posted to social media.

Wine has clearly been the drink of choice, with well over a million pictures of it posted to social media since March. Beer comes in a distant second, with cocktails coming next. For whatever reason, people have found that wine lends itself far better to lockdown than beer.

We also took a look at non-alcoholic drinks to see how interest in them has changed.

Google searches for non-alcoholic drinks have risen under lockdown. In fact, excluding seasonal bumps around the new year, searches are at an all time high.

While interest in the topic has been steadily growing year-on-year, the jump in 2020 is far higher than those seen previously. This suggests that Covid-19 has played a key role

Lockdown has clearly had people rethinking their drinking habits. We’ve previously reported on people exercising and trying to keep healthy during the pandemic, so a switch to non-alcoholic drinks could be linked to that. This is supported by data from a recent Qriously survey we carried out that found Covid-19 prompted 12% of people to cut down on alcohol.

This leaves us with a mixed picture. While the number of reported hangovers suggests we’re going back to our pre-pandemic drinking habits, there’s also a growing interest in alcohol-free drinks and getting healthier.

Just like with the other pandemic trends we’ve unearthed, there’s no one-size-fits-all narrative. It will be interesting to see what sticks.

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Brandwatch Response Team