#neknominate

Binge drinking seems to have taken a step too far this week with social media going crazy over a so called ‘game’; ‘neknominate’. The game reportedly started in Australia and has since gone global. It encourages friends to ‘nek’ or ‘down’ a beer, (or in some cases a dirty pint filled with all sorts of concoctions) film it, upload the video to Facebook and nominate two friends to do the same thing. If you break the chain and don’t succumb to peer pressure you lose respect from these ‘supposed friends’. By nominating friends online, the videos spread like wildfire with people creating short films of themselves drinking half naked in the Alps, underwater, upside down or even ‘neking’  a pint right before doing a bungee jump. While some may see this only as a game, and call me boring, a spoil-sport, a push over, or any other name for that matter, drinking large volumes of alcohol in a short period of time can have very scary and very real consequences. In the UK this weekend, two boys aged 22 and 19 have died after taking part in this ‘game’. We should be questioning this!

Trust me, I like to go out and have fun like many other students my age, I do not condone drinking alcohol in proportion. But binge drinking? Drinking to excess? Drinking past your limits? To show off? Something doesn’t quite add up here. The really scary part is that because this ‘game’ is all online, the added peer pressure is enormous. Everyone on Facebook can see your nomination and how you respond. If you fail to complete the challenge, make it funny or different, then suddenly you become the characterless, dull friend in your friendship group. Moreover, because you have to respond to the nomination within 24 hours, there is an added time pressure. Not only do you have to decide if you want to give in to your bullying friends, you also have to think of a way to be inventive and how you’re supposed to down a pint in between your classes, rehearsals, sports training, meetings or whatever other commitments you have in those 24 hours.

Surely there is another way for people to show they’re loving life and up for challenges? This game has almost normalised and celebrated the binge drinking culture, forcing people to surrender to nothing more than intimidating friends to make it seem like they are incessantly partying. In my opinion, this copy-cat game is not only pathetic, but extremely dangerous, and needs strong minded people to turn around and simply say no.