A new game has swept across Britain, and it's no board game.
Instead, it's a drinking game known as Neknominate. CNN
reported Tuesday, February 18th that the game is believed to
have originated in Australia. This deadly game has now made its
way over to England and around the world.
The game works like this:
- Obtain an alcoholic beverage
- Record yourself "downing" the beverage
- Nominate a friend to outdo you
- Post this nomination on a social media platform
While Neknominate appears to be just a game, it has proven to
be deadly. Five young males have died from consuming lethal
alcoholic drinks during the game, and people are beginning
to warn against partaking in Neknominate.
Since the game is played by posting a nomination/challenge video
to a friend via social media, like Facebook, many people are
beginning to place the blame on these social media networks for the
games increased popularity.
Even though social media does play a role in Neknominate, I don't
believe it is fair to place the blame on Facebook for these deadly video
posts. Brian Viner, who's son took part in the game stated, "I was cross
with him but more cross with the social media involved and the way
this game has just spread." Viner feels that social media should be more
heavily involved in putting a stop to this destructive game.
harmful, for example bullying, but behavior which some people may
find offensive or controversial is not always necessarily against our
rules."
I agree with Facebook's stance on this. It is a persons choice to partake in
and post certain material on social media platforms. While social media
companies have the right to stop bullying, I do not feel they have authority
to tell people what they should and should not post.
What is right and what is wrong should be known and decided by the user.
If they chose to partake in dangerous and offensive posts on social media,
they are the ones to blame, not the social media companies. These companies
are there solely to provide users with a way to express their thoughts, ideas and
beliefs to others within the social media world.
Interesting post Jenna, its crazy to see how far people take things sometimes especially when it includes social media. In addition Drinking games in general aren't the best idea because when you incorporate competition into an already potentially dangerous situation it can go from bad to worse quickly, I just never would have thought that a drinking game could spread over social media like it has, but i guess pretty much anything can spread over social media these days.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Jenna. This is perfect since this "Neknominate" game is just beginning to go viral. I have already seen two of my friends participate in this game and though they are okay, it is still a very dangerous activity. After consuming a large amount of alcohol, they proceeded to nominate more people that I know. People can be harmed from this and it could even lead to death. I definitely agree that Facebook cannot be blamed for this. Though Facebook is the reason why this game is popular in the first place, we cannot point our fingers. It is just the tool that is being used. I also wonder if these kids understand that potential employers can see these videos and it could affect their chances of getting a job. It's all fun and games until....yeah, you get the point.
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