NEKNOMINATIONS
A U of S group is warning that an online meme promoting the chugging of alcohol is not worth the minute of Internet fame.
Chug on this: one minute of Internet fame isn’t worth the risk of slamming back a potentially toxic cocktail.
That’s what a University of Saskatchewan group has to say to students about a social media meme that has friends nominating each other to film themselves chugging booze — sometimes in dangerous amounts — and then doing something stupid.
What’s Your Cap, a student-run group at the U of S that aims to prevent binge drinking, says students need to give the so-called Neknominations campaign a sober second thought before putting themselves at risk.
Project co-ordinator Justine Shenher said as the online campaign spreads, young people are trying to one-up each other as they post their own larks and challenge their friends.
“People have already died from it. People have got really sick. People have got injured, and it’s for a one-minute video,” Shenher said.
At least four people have died doing a Neknomination, which involves rapidly consuming alcohol, sometimes followed by performing some kind of stunt. People have run naked in the snow, swallowed live goldfish, and climbed onto the hood of a moving car to chug their beer.
“Once you put something on the Internet, it’s there forever. Have fun explaining that to your future employers or your family,” Shenher said.
Some people who have been Neknominated by their friends have opted to film themselves performing a random act of kindness instead, or a healthy activity like a
“PEOPLE HAVE ALREADY DIED FROM IT. PEOPLE HAVE GOT REALLY SICK. PEOPLE HAVE GOT INJURED, AND IT’S FOR A ONEMINUTE VIDEO.”
JUSTINE SHENHER
series of burpees (squat thrusts). Videos are now circulating of young adults giving coffee and doughnuts or flowers to strangers.
What’s Your Cap has attempted to counter the movement on social media sites by “nominating” University of Saskatchewan students to end the trend.
Meanwhile, the University of Regina’s Student Union (URSU) is not taking a stance on Neknomination.
“It’s not our place to tell students what not to do,” said URSU president Nathan Sgrazzutti.
Rand Teed, an addictions councillor, said young adults tend to glorify alcohol the most. He warns Neknominations are extremely dangerous.
“It’s glamorizing dangerous alcohol use,” he said, noting the videos don’t show the after-effects of heavy drinking, such as stomach pumping and depression.
After he was nominated, U of R student Dickson Tomyn had to Google what Neknomination was before participating.
“When I drink alcohol, I’d rather sit and enjoy a drink, but I decided that if I was going to do this I was going to go all out. It’s a one-time thing, so why not? I drank a mix of gin, rum, whiskey, coffee liqueur, hot sauce, and one raw egg,” Tomyn said.
Scott Manson, an education student at the U of R, also took part in a Neknomination, but didn’t post it on his Facebook timeline. He decided to only share it with a few friends.
“As a teacher, they try to get people to go for a positive digital footprint,” he said.
The game sets up an “I dare you” situation, Teed said.
“It looks amusing on social media ... people want that kind of recognition.”
Tomyn sees this as just another social media fad, like planking, that will disappear.
“Do I think it’s stupid? Absolutely. I still figured I’d give it a shot, though,” he said.
Meg Sinclair, a corporate communications officers for Facebook, said Neknomination does not violate Facebook’s community standards. If the posts were to contain nudity or harassment, Sinclair said they would be reviewed.