Apparently being drunk isn’t enough, now people are drinking on roofs, out of toilets, in the bathtub, in grocery stores, while snowboarding. They’re drinking live fish, dead mice, insects, motor oil—and of course, large quantities of alcohol.
Whatever creative way they can come up with, it’s all captured in a short video to be spread across the Internet. In fact, these videos now clutter my news feed. People I know from high school and even their moms, no joke, are accepting the challenges:
A guy two classes below me chugs a beer, then nominates three more people, “You have 24 hours or a case of Busch Light, your choice.”
My junior-high crush responds: “Thanks for the nomination…” as he stirs a shake of Budweiser, cottage cheese, raw hamburger meat, vodka, Tabasco sauce, and a live Betta fish. “Bottoms up.”
He nominates three more.
I can’t help but read the comments:
- this game has got so out of hand! …and I love it
- Keep these coming. They are hilarious! Free entertainment
- you’re a champ!!! But I hate you for nominating me ; )
- You win! I don’t know how to end this game but you just won.
If only it did end there . . .
Created just over a month ago, the “Neknominate Videos” Facebook page has received more than 8,500 “likes.” Major news sources like CNN, CBC News, and BBC News, have picked up on the story and shown the world Neknominate.
A “Neknominate” Wikipedia page was even created—the page includes a seven paragraph description of the game’s history and criticism.
This game is real, and it has gone viral. It has gotten out of hand, and I don’t especially love it.
I dare you to find a crazier way to drink
Playing Neknominate is simple: make a video of yourself drinking something in a radical fashion, nominate someone else to “match” or outdo your absurdities, then post your video on Facebook for the world, and the nominee, to see.
Christmas Day, 2013—“Necknominate” is born
Ross Samson, a British rugby star, posts a video clip of himself “necking” (British slang for drinking quickly) a bottle of beer in his Edinburgh family home. The clip is accompanied by a challenge: “I nominate all of you whose birthday it’s not. Merry Christmas.”
Okay, for a normie, one bottle of beer is fairly harmless. But, Samson now speaks of the video with regret, “This was not how it was supposed to go,” he told Mirror News (a local UK news source), “in light of the deaths of people taking it too far, I would rather not be attached to it in any way, any more.”
Samson is speaking of the five lives that ended soon after the camera was turned off—all men, all under age 30, all victims of the game.
And now a question looms: Why? If the chance of death is real, and the discomfort after the video is shot inevitable, then why take it to such a dangerous level in the first place?
Peer pressure and social media
“It seems like a new way to show off,” says John Smith, a Substance Abuse Counselor. And when you boil the game down to pure motives, he’s probably right.
Let’s be forthright. These guys and girls don’t drink cocktails of raw meat, cottage cheese, and spirits because they enjoy the taste. They do it for other reasons.
One honest participant shared his interesting perspective on the game when he said,
“Neknominate is just like every other drinking game,” he said, “(it’s) sparked by peer pressure, fuelled by bravado, and fun for ten minutes at best.”
Ten years ago social pressures were limited to real social atmospheres like school, work, church, the mall or the ballgame. Now the pressures of society follow us everywhere our phone goes.
Social media takes the power of peer pressure to a whole new level. And an intoxicated, unstable, or even “addicted” mind is far more susceptible to this pressure than a sober one.
A search for fulfillment and “bravado”
We all seek fulfilment from somewhere. Christians claim to find it in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Muslim seeks it in the teachings of the prophet Muhammad. The humanist or “new-agist” searches for it from within. Recovering alcoholics in their Higher Power.
But in the 21st century, fulfillment-seeking seems to be taking a turn toward lifestyles filled with pixels, 2 minute videos, social platforms and short-lived laughs.
The average person has 300+ Facebook friends. And for many of us, a post/picture/video is a big deal when our name—and sometimes our reputation—is attached to it.
We all want our friends to affirm us by “liking” or commenting on our posts. For any of us who use social media daily, it probably tends to fill the satisfaction void more than we’d like to admit.
And for those to whom peer acceptance is supremely important, Neknominate is an amped up opportunity for them to find this approval they desperately seek. In fact, they will bow to the pressures of their “friends,” accepting a ridiculous and dangerous video challenge—all for a “bravo,” and perhaps even a call for an “encore”.
Standing against peer pressure
The drinking videos and comments alone are surprising. But the thing that actually surprises me most about the game are the people who are not participating when I thought for sure they would.
As I ctrl+click on the tagged nominees to see how far the game has spread, for once I’m not appalled.
The football-basketball-baseball star in my class responds to the challenge in an unexpected way:
How ironic! His challenge is just as ridiculous as the real ones. And notice that the comments are mixed with support and ridicule. He took a stand within his circle of friends. Some will view him as “soft,” but any person whose respect is worth gaining will not.
So how do you avoid peer pressure? This can be especially difficult if you’ve recently begun taking steps toward recovery.
Below are a few practical pointers that I hope will help:
- Avoid: Don’t place yourself in situations where you know you’ll feel the negative pressure from your peers.
Maybe this means staying off Facebook for a few days or weeks, or perhaps it means not going certain places. Don’t think of avoidance as an extreme way to handle peer pressure, think of it as a necessary step in the right direction.
- Think: Consider the end of the path before embarking down it.
Drinking large amounts of alcohol doesn’t make you a champ, it kills you. Even if you wanted to fake it (e.g. drinking water instead of vodka), do you want to encourage an activity that’s already claimed five lives?
- Remember: Remind yourself that you’re not the only one.
When things are popular or go viral, we feel like we are missing out and that everyone is doing it. In reality, that’s not the case. Also, you’re not the only one to experience peer pressure, we all do. So seek advice from others about how they stand against peer pressure.
- Have a plan: Say no from the get-go, before the opportunity to say “yes” arises.
You must say no forcefully and with confidence—this will convince yourself and those around you that “no” is the right response. And know why you are saying no: maybe it’s because employers check Facebook profiles or for health reasons.
- Choose good friends: Find friends who care and lift you higher in life.
Real friends will respect your choice to not drink slow-acting poison. Make sure you surround yourself with friends who are going to influence you in the right direction.
- Have an escape route: Be prepared to get out of negative situations.
No matter what you do or who you are, you’ll probably find yourself surrounded by pressuring peers at some point along the way. And in certain situations the best option is to just leave the scene and make your exit.
Changing the game
Neknominate has become the newest way to “show-off” and have a good time on social media. What used to be carefully crafted pictures of you looking suave and stunning, has escalated into a desperate effort of social media “fun.” Gaining attention, likes and approval are all part of the game.
Neknominate started out relatively harmless, but with all the hype, motivation and degree of “awe” that it has received, we will inevitably watch it grow. I mean, if you knew you could post something, even something a little controversial, and get the attention of hundreds of your friends by doing so, it’s a little tempting.
So, even though saying no to the nomination is important, saying no to the “like” button, or comment bar, may be the game changer.