Earlier this year, Rhiannon Scully had too much to drink.
Two of her friends encouraged her to guzzle a mixture of vodka and whiskey.
They issued their dare to Rhiannon after seeing someone do the same on a viral
Facebook video. When her mother found Rhiannon with her eyes rolling back in
her head, she called an ambulance. Rhiannon was fortunate. After spending the
night in the hospital and having her stomach pumped, she returned home.
Rhiannon is nine-years-old.
Rhiannon Scully had indulged in a competitive
social-media-fueled drinking game that’s sweeping through Australia, the United
Kingdom, and now the United States. Known as NekNominate, this new and dangerous competition is especially
popular among the under-30 crowd, including young adults, college students,
teenagers, and even pre-teens.
Originated in Australia, NekNominate combines “Necking” (the
Australian slang term for guzzling or chugging alcohol) with nominating others
to do the same. How does it work?
First, an individual creates a pint-sized or larger drink that combines two or more types of alcohol (beer, whiskey,
vodka, etc.). In addition to the alcohol, other substances are mixed into the
drink. As the popularity of the game has spread, these other substances have
become increasingly outlandish and dangerous, including things like dead mice,
goldfish, urine, insects, motor oil, dog food, raw eggs, hot sauce, and hair. .
. to name just a few. The more extreme, the better.
Second, the individual will choose an activity to engage in
while chugging or “necking” the alcoholic concoction. The more extreme,
dangerous, public, and outlandish the setting. . . the better. For example,
NekNominators have chugged while surfing, riding a motorcycle, standing on a
moving car, skateboarding, and jumping off a bridge. Others have gone to the
front of the classroom and interrupted college lectures, stood naked in grocery
store aisles, or set their clothing on fire. One of the most popular Neknominate
videos shows a young man being lowered headfirst into a dirty toilet filled
with beer. Still another shows a man biting off and eating the head of a live
chicken after guzzling his brew. Seemingly, there are no limits and the
envelope is continually stretched.
Finally, the entire episode is recorded on video and then
posted online on social media sites like Facebook and YouTube, where the videos
quickly go viral. To be sure that the Neknominate fad continues, the person
looks into the camera and nominates at least two other people by name who have
to do the same - or something more extreme – all within the next twenty-four
hours. For those who don’t accept the nomination and take the dare, they can be
sure to face online ridicule, harassment, and being socially ostracized. Not
surprisingly, YouTube and Facebook are currently home to thousands of Neknominate
videos and pages, with that number growing leaps and bounds as the Neknominate
trend continues to spread.
As expected, government and health care officials are
sounding an alarm regarding the Neknominate fad, as it encourages dangerous
binge-drinking and other types of alcohol-fueled high-risk behaviors that can
lead to serious injury and even death. In fact, officials in the U.K. have already
attributed five recent deaths to Neknominate, including incidents of fatal
alcohol poisoning and one where an Irish teenager chugged his drink before
jumping off a bridge and drowning.
We believe that there are several factors contributing to
the popularity of Neknominate.
First, our culture glorifies excessive consumption of
alcohol. In fact, marketing has effectively created an environment where
alcohol consumption is seen as necessary prerequisite to having a “good time.”
Second, drinking is seen as a “fun” activity and rite of
passage. In
addition, drinking has become an expected “marker” on the passage from
childhood to adulthood. It's a sign of "growing up."
Third, our culture’s loss of a collective moral compass
leads to a climate where anyone can
do anything. . . because, after all.
. . it’s just a matter of personal preference and choice. There is no right or
wrong.
Fourth, our kids are at a developmental stage where peer
pressure reaches its apex. Even those who have been taught and know right from
wrong will sometimes compromise their morals as that is a far-less-risky
proposition than going against the will of the peer group. Because the risk of
harassment is high for those who don’t take the dare, Neknominate is a game fed
by adolescent insecurity.
Fifth, teenagers tend to be risk-takers. Even in the
presence of warnings and hard evidence of clear and present danger, there is
always the sense that “I can totally get away with this” and “nothing bad will
happen to me.”
Finally, the popularity of NekNominating is testimony to the
viral power of social media. A game that originated in a college dorm in
Australia went global almost overnight. And in a world where young people
embrace social media as a perceived passport to developing an audience that
will feed their celebrity and fame, kids will gravitate to filming and posting
outlandish behaviors as an investment that they hope will yield huge dividends
of social capital in the form of likes, views, and followers.
We expect that the Neknominate fad will continue to catch on
and spread. We believe that because of age-compression (typically older
pressures and behaviors embraced at younger and younger ages) and
age-aspiration (kids want to be seen, treated, and feel like they are much
older than they really are), we will be hearing more and more stories like
those of young Rihannon Scully. This trend will grow in popularity among
pre-teens who want to look and feel older than they are. We can also expect to
see fall-out in terms of consequences including illness, injury, and even
death. In addition, other knock-off games will develop and spread through the
youth culture. Already we are hearing about variations of Neknominate known as
“The 1-Pint Challenge” and “Icing.” And finally, it is reasonable to expect Neknominate
videos to depict unimaginable extremes in terms of what people choose to
ingest, and the risk-taking behaviors they engage in while doing their
drinking.
CPYU offers the following suggestions to parents, educators,
youth workers, and others who love and care for children and teens.
·
Warn kids about the moral, physical, and legal
dangers of Neknominate. Because the trend is reaching kids at younger and
younger ages, it is essential to speak even to pre-teens about this dangerous
and deadly trend.
·
Clearly lay out behavioral expectations and
parameters for your kids. Let them know what is and is not expected of them,
along with the consequences for violating those parameters. Be sure to
follow-up if they disobey your boundaries.
·
View, deconstruct, and talk about alcohol
marketing wherever and whenever you encounter it with your kids. Point out and
discuss the messages equating alcohol consumption with maturity, relational
connections, and fun.
·
Come to a decision about how you will model
responsible alcohol consumption, whether that be by choosing abstinence or
moderation. Your children are watching and learning.
·
Limit and monitor your child’s exposure to
social media. Do not put Internet-capable, unlimited-access, camera-equipped
smartphones in the hands of elementary-aged and middle-school-aged children.
Supervise and monitor the use of devices by older teenagers.
·
Warn your children of the dangers (moral, legal,
and physical) of daring someone else to engage in behaviors that could result
in injury or death.
No one knows how long the Neknominate fad will last. In the
meantime be aware and equip your kids to beware of this dangerous trend.
Want a downloadable pdf copy of this trend alert to pass on? Click here.
No comments:
Post a Comment