An Examination of Perceived Pub Culture at Three Downtown Toronto Drinking Establishments

<p dir="ltr">Drinking (alcohol) has been central to most human cultures. It is traditionally a social activity associated with celebration in public locations and is a culture unto itself. ‘Pub culture’ has evolved and can be examined by seeing how pubs assert their identity and culture on social media. Unfortunately, most research on drinking has taken a ‘problem-oriented’ approach, so there is a need to study it as a complex sociocultural phenomenon. This can lead to better understandings of the cultural factors associated with problematic drinking. This paper investigated the pub cultures of three downtown Toronto pubs through their Instagram accounts. Examining variables like pub tradition, drink types, inclusion, ‘being local,’ and references to sports, music, and entertainment, this paper sought to augment our understanding of pubs as places of community and social interaction. It found three sub-pub cultures—1) live music, 2) high-end food and elegance, and 3) sports. None of them appeared to overtly promote alcohol. If anything, alcohol was merely a convenient staple framed around the businesses’ primary space utilisation. Each pub exhibited a unique online identity that was characterised by elements of human interaction and sociability.</p>