UAE residents find viral #BirdBoxChallenge ridiculous
dubai — As we start the new year gearing up to face new challenges, social media is abuzz with a new challenge. This one is called the BirdBoxChallenge that features people uploading videos of themselves doing tasks blindfolded. Several videos posted online show people stumbling around houses, stairs and parks with their eyes covered by a blindfold.
The challenge is inspired by a
Netflix thriller called Bird Box that shows a family fighting a mysterious force by staying completely blindfolded. If any character in the movie opened eyes, then he or she would be seized by an immediate, irresistible urge to kill himself.
The popularity of the challenge can be gauged by the number of memes and videos surfacing on social media of-late. However, the trend has not picked up in the UAE and on the contrary, people in the this part of the world are discouraging it and calling it ridiculous.
Streamlining service Netflix has also urged Bird Box movie fans not to take part in the #BirdboxChallenge due to safety concerns.
Calling the challenge ridiculous, 23-year-old Misbah, a Dubai resident, said: “If you look around, you anyway see people absentminded, hitting the poles as they are glued to their gadget screens. And this new
challenge will make it even worse. I am someone who enjoy these social media challenges but this one is nonsense and I would never try this because I do not want to get hurt. I mean when God has blessed you with sight, then why do you want to act disabled and ridicule those who actually are facing this issue. I would never want to be in a situation where I am not in control of myself and act irresponsibly.”
A concerned parent Madhvi said: “Like all movies that make an impact, there will be some kind of following to Bird Box as well. I’ve seen the trailer and honestly I found it intense but I wouldn’t watch it with kids. It’s our job as a parent to be aware.”
Comparing the challenge to the Blue Whale challenge, Prateeksha Shetty, clinical psychologist at RAK Hospital, said: “The Bird Box challenge is similar to the Blue Whale challenge as it triggers vulnerable people to imitate acts that are seen to earn them fame and derive a sense of achievement. With the world becoming a global village, many children feel that they need to compete and keep up with their peers — be it academics or to prove their skills to one another. Children who are high on risk-taking behaviour, impulsive, prone to boredom or who seek external validation may try out such challenges in order to gain some sense of popularity among their peers. Peer pressure and the need to be one among the hip crowd could be another factor.”
Giving similar views, Dr Mohammed Yousef, specialist psychiatrist at Aster Clinic, Al Muteena, said: “Children are more susceptible to engaging in like for like behaviour if they see that their friends or those they are following on social media are promoting it. Parents should therefore consistently monitor their children’s social media usage, especially those under the age of 18.”
One of the viral Bird Box challenge videos posted on Twitter shows an adult, a young child and a toddler — all blindfolded — running around the house recreating a scene from the movie and at one point the toddler runs into a wall. Another video shows a man trying to drive at night with a blindfold.
The Bird Box challenge is similar to the Blue Whale challenge as it triggers vulnerable people to imitate acts that are seen to earn them fame and derive a sense of achievement.” Prateeksha Shetty, clinical psychologist at RAK Hospital
Children are more susceptible to engaging in like for like behaviour if they see that their friends or those they are following on social media are promoting it.”
Dr Mohammed Yousef, specialist psychiatrist at Aster Clinic, Al Muteena