this post was submitted on 19 Feb 2026
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Today I Learned

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189
TIL drinking, smoking, games, etc are all "social lubricants" for making conversations easier. (en.wikipedia.org)
submitted 13 hours ago by QuinnyCoded@sh.itjust.works to c/til@lemmy.world
44 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

also

Referring to alcohol or cannabis as social lubricants has been criticized because they have negative effects on empathy.

I feel like weed does the opposite to that lol
to me at least πŸ€·β€β™€οΈ

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[–] pdxfed@lemmy.world 8 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago)

TBH, and after reading some of the comments it seems to line up with this who Op post is "duh", and low effort and thinking about it more makes me wonder if this is botception and that's why it's all ringing weird bells and bothering me? The post feels like a vague dissemination of generic information (read bot/LLM) linking a wikipedia article that reads like someone non-human smashed it together (read bot/LLM). I'll leave what I started as a response before I arrived at this post. _-------------------------

I think this is the worst Wikipedia I've ever read and as a 30(?) year user that has maybe never time to criticize a wikipedia page (blatant bias or trolling aren't worth the effort), it's saying something.

It doesn't list obvious things like sports or any other activity from bingo halls, board games that would probably be some of the most common activities in the world.

Their concept of the phrase seems almost like an opinion that isn't really applied at anytjing more than an adolescent knowledge of a subject without any source material.

The one part of their writeup I (subjectively) had heard (alcohol being described as an social lubricant) was described as "negatively viewed" though that seems like a limited claim/opinion. Which feels weird and information without any synthesis.

[–] pineapplelover@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 5 hours ago

I kinda just do hobbies

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 17 points 9 hours ago

Yeah, I thought everyone knew that. Is not knowing that why nobody makes friends anymore?

[–] FireRetardant@lemmy.world 69 points 13 hours ago (2 children)

Some people can be social lubricants too by bridging the gap between strangers or differing groups of people.

[–] tiramichu@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 hour ago

When we say someone is the "life of the party" this is what we mean.

The usual perception of that phrase is that the person is wild and exciting - and they might be - but the real meaning is they get the conversation going and keep everyone engaged and interacting, and with them in the room there's never a dull moment.

[–] Salamanderwizard@lemmy.world 46 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

Things to say at a orgy.

[–] mysticpickle@lemmy.ca 13 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

πŸ₯πŸ₯

[–] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 9 points 12 hours ago (2 children)

Little drummer boy and his frisbee.

[–] MelodiousFunk@slrpnk.net 8 points 11 hours ago

Things not to say at an orgy.

[–] mysticpickle@lemmy.ca 5 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

No emoji for cymbals to do rimshot. Closest I could manage :<

[–] Soulphite@reddthat.com 2 points 8 hours ago

Rimshot, you say?

[–] Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world 54 points 12 hours ago (5 children)

Disclaimer: smoking is a nasty habit, and it's better to never start than to try to quit.

That being said, it's pretty crazy how smoking cigarettes brings people together. I'm very reluctant to talk to people I don't know, but if I go out for a smoke and I see a few other people smoking outside, they instantly became my new best friends.

[–] cymbal_king@lemmy.world 14 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

Nicotine addiction isn't a habit, it's an addiction. If you smoke, quitting is the number one thing you can do to improve your health. In the US you can call 1-800-QUIT-NOW or visit Lung.org for free evidence-based resources to help with quitting.

[–] ThunderQueen@lemmy.world 3 points 5 hours ago

I struggle with nictotine addiction and i know they arent great for my oral health or heart still, but as an asthmatic, the nicotine pouches like zyns have been huge for my daily health. Still trying to quit, but in te mean time, i can breath. Kind of

[–] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 21 points 12 hours ago

TIL I'm not an introvert. I'm just healthier.

[–] tehn00bi@lemmy.world 14 points 11 hours ago

Smoking is seen as a communal spiritual event in most Native American cultures.

[–] 9point6@lemmy.world 7 points 10 hours ago* (last edited 10 hours ago)

I don't really smoke anymore, but the smoking ban in the UK (no smoking indoors from 2007) created the concept of the smoking area outside a pub/club and some of my best friendships in life ultimately started in that Petri dish

A smoking area outside anywhere in the northwest of the UK about 10-15 years ago was just peerless in calibre

[–] Etterra@discuss.online 8 points 11 hours ago

When I was in highschool (just before they banned public smoking in IL) the kids that smoked all hung out in the same place outside.

[–] lettruthout@lemmy.world 7 points 9 hours ago

Dogs make conversations easier too.

[–] Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world 28 points 13 hours ago (3 children)

Weed definitely does the opposite for me. I get inside my head and overthink what I'm about to say and eventually realize the topic has changed and do it all over again.

Alcohol makes me the most outgoing person on the planet.

[–] SCmSTR@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 22 minutes ago

Quantity and rate both matter for both alcohol and cannabis

[–] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 14 points 12 hours ago (2 children)

I learned a while ago that there are two types of people.

Some people can think inside their own head, and hear themselves think. They aren't "hearing voices". They ARE the voice. So they might see some guy on the bus stand up stick his ass in an elderly womans face, and start violently shitting on her. The person seeing this might in their own head say "WHAT A FUCKING ASSHOLE!!!" but people around them would have no knowledge of him calling that guy an asshole.

Meanwhile, the other type of people are completely unable to hear themselves inside their own head. So every thought they have comes verbally out of their mouth. They still think about things, and they still do all the other things the first type of people do, except it's all verbal. You hear their thoughts as they have them.

I'm the first type of person, but when I smoke weed two things happen.

Number 1, I become the second type of person.

And number 2, my ability to finish my thoughts, vanishes. Instead I start one train of thought, realize halfway through it's stupid, and then switch to a completely different unrelated train of thought which makes no sense with the first half.

And all of this is happening verbally, and from my perspective in slow motion with distorted reality.

The end result is people who know me as quiet and usually pretty responsible, and smart will blurt out something like:

We should go on a boat, and buy a dinosaur to bring to the afterparty!"

Everyone just looks at me like "Now did you mean for those words to fall out of your mouth in that order? Or are you just as surprised as the rest of us?"

[–] SCmSTR@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 20 minutes ago

You are ADHD. That's the most ADHD brained behavior I've ever heard.

Source: I am also like this.

[–] Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world 3 points 9 hours ago

Oh yeah. You DEFINITELY need to come over and smoke a cone with me.

[–] Nurse_Robot@lemmy.world 11 points 13 hours ago (3 children)

I completely agree, though I will add that when I was a chronic smoker in my teens / early 20s weed was totally a social lubricant. Now it just heightens my anxiety lol

[–] MutilationWave@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 8 hours ago

Here's the thing- if you smoke every day or near every day, most of the anxiety goes away. It's weird like that.

[–] hydrashok@sh.itjust.works 7 points 12 hours ago (2 children)

Living in a state where it’s legal, it’s kinda awesome how the paranoia went away. Took a while, and age may also play a part, but like no one cares anymore here as long as you’re not being a moron about it. Being able to just walk into a shop and buy it like any other product also helps with that. Removes the stigma to hide it, and therefore the reason to be paranoid that β€œsomeone knows!”.

[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 1 points 4 hours ago

Also the fact that you can be walking down the street and the whole "I smell weed! It smells like a good strain!" changes from a panic/Is it me? thing to a "ooo what a wonderful smell this lovely morning" thing when you're in a legal area

[–] Bonesince1997@lemmy.world 3 points 11 hours ago

There is very much something to what you are saying. I'm a pretty self conscious person. Using marijuana while it was illegal and not exactly known as a medicinal substance caused a very different feeling/reality than now. Not having to hide anymore has allowed me to feel freer. Unfortunately, multiple members of my family haven't progressed their thoughts on marijuana since taking their stances decades ago. That part still presents challenges for me. I am actually kind of resentful, for the whole ordeal. I find I use marijuana with better care and more knowledge now, where before I was made to work in the dark.

[–] fuckwit_mcbumcrumble@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 9 hours ago

Not all strands of weed cause anxiety in people. My co worker looked it up a while ago, i forget what it was that caused it.

[–] sem@piefed.blahaj.zone 10 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

I still remember a girl at a party encouraging everyone to do that thing where you re-breathe the other person's exhale. She said it was to get higher but I think it was also a social lubricant.

[–] CidVicious@piefed.zip 14 points 12 hours ago (2 children)

...you just learned this?

[–] kinkles@sh.itjust.works 17 points 12 hours ago

TIL OP just learned this

[–] MatSeFi@lemmy.liebeleu.de 8 points 12 hours ago

As a teenager, I found out that this stuff works like a charm if you aren't the 'cool guy' in school. I saw the same thing in university, during smokes between classes and drinks after lectures. All the intelligent, nerdy guys became much more open and welcoming toward me.

My advice: Keep doing what you’re doing until you feel like you’re in the smarter half of the room. That’s the sign that you’re doing it too much.

[–] NachBarcelona@piefed.social 8 points 12 hours ago

As I say a lot: Alcohol is a social lubricant which makes for slippery floors.

This might be the smartest thing I ever didn't think of (I probably heard it somewhere).