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• ObjectiveThe aim of this paper is to understand the social dimension of the process underlying young people’s engagement in binge drinking and its consequences. This practice poses significant problems in terms of public health, ethics and prevention, particularly among the young. • MethodologyThis study is based on 17 interviews conducted in 2013 with young binge drinkers. As the normative framework (legal, social and medical) has not changed since then, but the means of communication used by young people have, the study was completed in 2021 by a netnography on the online social network TikTok. • ResultsThis research identifies four stages in the process of youth engagement in binge drinking: obtaining supplies, meeting intermediaries, practicing to learn the technique and learning community rules. • Managerial implicationsThe results of this study lead us to question the relevance of the solutions proposed by social marketing to counter binge drinking in young people, but also the responsibility of marketing in this process. • OriginalityThis research takes a different theoretical approach to binge drinking. It reveals the limitations of the psychological approach to engagement and adopts a social approach to this process inspired by Becker’s work.