My research involved observing, listening and recording events in a night club. I observed people and events in a club from 8 pm in the evening to 5am in the morning. It involved observing the behavior of people in the club and the social interactions that took place in the club. During the research, I observed several social aspects that took place that night. I also observed the flow of people in and out of the club. I undertook the research as a complete observer. This way, I made no contact with the people I observed. One advantage of this method was that I could see how people behaved unselfconsciously. This way, the people could not know that they were being watched. This ensured that I got the correct information I required for the research. However, one challenge I faced while using this method was that I couldn’t ask people why they behaved in the manner they did. This made it difficult to determine the reasons behind different behavior.
The observation I made in the night club
After entering the club, couples which consisted mainly of the old people, sat as couples far away from the dance floor. They isolated themselves from the younger people who occupied the area adjacent to the dance floor. The young groups sat around tables in groups. These groups consisted of young ladies and men. The crowd in the dance floor was mainly of these young people who danced as couples. The older crowd sat away from the dance floor and engaged in lengthy conversations as they took the refreshments. The older crowd took beers while the majority of the young crowd took whisky and vodka. They young group bought their drinks in groups and consumed them within the groups.
During the early hours of the night, (between 10pm and 12 midnight) interaction among the young crowd was limited to their groups. There was minimal interaction between different groups. Interaction was mainly between members of the same group. The older crowd interacted as couples. Some couples merged to form groups of two or more than two groups. Interaction was limited to these groups and couples. One thing that was also evident in the club was the isolation between the young and the older crowd. This was ideally due to their difference in ages. Each crowd had its own distinctive characteristics. The only thing they shared was the music that was being played in the club.
Interactions between the old and the younger groups were mainly initiated by the older men. Frequently, these conversations were between the older men and the young ladies. Ladies and men of different groups interacted and danced together. Some went to the extent of sharing drinks. The conversations were in a common language-English. All people seemed to understand each other hence there was no evidence of a language barrier. The interactions increased as time passed by and as people took more drinks. Generally, the inter-group interaction increased as people consumed more alcohol. People interacted more when drunk than they did in the early hours of the night.
However, there was no interaction between the older women and the young men. Majority of them sat and watched as the young crowd danced their night out. Some of the older men sat alongside them while the rest joined the young crowd on the dance floor. Majority of the young people spent their time in the dance floor.
There was frequent fracas among the young crowd. Some of them had taken too much alcohol and had become unruly. The fights were mostly between the men of different groups. The security men of the club had a rough time containing them as most of them were very drunk. The security men managed to restore calmness, and the violent people were forced to leave. I also observed that the bar attendants did not serve drinks to those who were already drunk. One thing that was very distinct was that there were no fights between the older people. They stayed calm and interacted without any fracas.
Between 1 am and 2 am the majority of the older people were leaving the club. They left as couples just as they had arrived. They left in an orderly manner and did not cause any fracas. However, some of the men left with some ladies who they had met in the club. The ladies who left with these men were from the younger crowd. Some of the young people also left the club during this. However, majority of them were left in the club. They continued partying till the wee hours of the morning. By 5am everyone had left the club. The security men on night duty locked the doors of the club and the music was stopped. The people that were still in the club by 5.30am in the morning were forced to leave.
Conclusion
Interactions in the club are restricted to the age groups. It is evident that the most interactions are either between the old people or between the young. Majority of old people go to clubs in couples consisting of a man and woman. The young, on the other hand, go to in groups of three or more. These groups consist of both males and females. The young people party for longer hours as compared to the older people. There is minimal interaction between the young and the older people. The older people are very orderly even when drunk. Some of the young people become unruly and violent when drunk. Alcohol stimulated interaction between different groups of people. This way people meet new friends in the club.
