I remember the days when we were younger, and when we’d do something stupid our justification for it was, “Well, Billy did it.” Then, of course, our moms would ask us the obligatory, “If Billy jumped off a bridge, would you do it too?” We would then hang our heads in shame, knowing there was no right answer to that question.
Seems as if old habits really do die hard. Except “Billy” has now morphed into the entire Internet and the consequences of those actions can be deadly. If you’ve been on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube lately, you’ll know I’m referring to Neknomination, the drinking game that has gone viral on social media across the world. From New Zealand to New York and even here at San Diego State, this game has been challenging college students to drink as much as they can as fast as they can, then nominate their friends to take on the challenge.
Social media is a powerful thing. Once you post a video of yourself doing something and then publicly dare people to do the same, it makes them more likely to do it, regardless of the task. There’s enough pressure getting called out in front of a group of friends at a party to drink five shots in a row, but calling someone out on the Internet to drink a beer-filled toilet bowl is on a different level. I would even say it’s bullying. No one wants to be mocked by friends, and definitely not by strangers. When people are nominated by Facebook friends publicly declaring, “You have 24 hours to complete this, or else,” it presents a challenge that becomes hard to pass up. No one is forcing anyone to do these outrageous, dangerous tasks, but by posting the videos publically on Facebook, it makes the request harder to say no to.
With the current situation stated, our generation needs to reevaluate the ways in which social media influences our lives.
I don’t blame Facebook for the Neknominations. Rather, I blame the people who abuse Facebook in such a way. People have called for social media sites to take a bigger role in alerting the public of the health risks of drinking an obscene amount of alcohol in a short amount of time.
The problem is, that plan is utterly pointless. Everyone knows the risks, but that doesn’t mean they care. When our generation of college students want to do something, they do it and think about the consequences later. Facebook, Twitter and the like can’t control the actions of the individuals who decide drinking a bottle of vodka before downing a live goldfish is OK. These social media sites can only do so much in terms of regulating what gets posted.
However, Facebook should discourage such behavior by monitoring user content more closely and removing Neknomination videos as soon as possible. The quicker they do that, the less of a chance the trend has to spread. But until we actually take it upon ourselves to stop the foolishness, little can be done on the side of the websites.
By far, the most disconcerting fact about Neknominations is that they have taken a tragic fatal turn. According to CNN, “At least five men younger than 30 have died,” as a direct response to this drinking game. This activity stopped being a game when people started dying. Since no dare, game or challenge is worth losing a life, that is reason enough for the nominations to end.
As with any craze, Neknominations are bound to fade in time. Until that happens, we need to be more vocal about condemning such activities. I’m all for having fun and messing around with friends, but a line has been crossed here. People have already died with the definite possibility of more if this continues. And for what reason? Five minutes of fame? We’re better than that.
Image courtesy of Riotherio.
