For – Bronwen Weatherby
The recent backlash against NekNominate or ÔÇÿneck and nominateÔÇÖ, has seen many people take to social media sites to condemn the trend that is sweeping the nation and the world. Many have staged passive protests, such as drinking a cup of tea as their NekNominate challenge whilst others have been more forceful, viciously attacking already posted videos of the game, which letÔÇÖs be honest, is completely unnecessary. Just like anything, there are two sides to every coin and although to some it might sound controversial, there are positives to the game that should be noted.
Firstly, what the fad has achieved is the uniting of members of different countries and cultures through the sharing of an experience. Social media has in the last few months come alive with interaction. It has created a world- wide platform for creativity and innovation to a point where people are now moulding and reshaping the game to suit themselves. Moreover, on a basic level, the whole experience can just be exciting and interesting, and for students (let us be honest) it is a different way of filling our time, rather than with the normal drinking games.
Not that there isnÔÇÖt cause for concern, where this recent trend is concerned, because there is; and the fatalities in the recent weeks of two young people resulting from playing the game is tragic. However, the fact that the UK is the only country to have had fatalities from it says more about our drinking culture and less about NekNominate itself. What I think must be realised is that NekNominate is just a fad, but the deep-rooted drinking culture that we have inherited will remain. NekNominate has illuminated a problem within our society that rears its ugly head as a popular culture topic every couple of years. The simple fact is that people are astonished and appalled by the sheer volume consumed in some of these videos, but it isnÔÇÖt wrong in saying that we have all seen people drink the same amount, or more, during pre-drinks. This is perhaps not a good thing, but it happens never the less and most of us do it to some extent and therefore this infatuation with alcohol is not new and a result of NekNominate.
These crazes are essentially what you make of them, and are only dangerous when individuals take it too far, which has been the case with NekNominate as well as many others that have come and gone, for instance, planking. It is for this reason that many have expressed a concern for the peer pressure involved in the game, however if peer pressure has been a part of most peopleÔÇÖs decision to join in with the fad, then I think there is a wider issue that we as adults need to address.
What is clear though, is that ÔÇÿpeer pressureÔÇÖ or social conformity has not stopped people from using the NekNomination platform to create something positive and profound. For instance, Brent Lindeque from South Africa, who chose to tackle the issue of poverty in his country through his nomination. On a smaller scale, many people filmed themselves giving a donation to a charity. At the end of the day, it is very easy to be sucked into a craze and be swept along with it, but it is a testament to the human spirit and resilience that something potentially harmful can be turned into something uplifting and positive.
If we are not going to think too in depth about this topic, then one can see that if the game is not taken too seriously or too far, at the end of it all it is just a little bit of fun for a short space of time. Most people will do it once and that will be it, and NekNominate will soon sail off into the back of our minds to join the memories of the other trends that have come and gone.
Against – Matt Hale
I enjoy a drink as much as the next man/woman/student. In fact I am a Lash season ticket holder and can often be found frequenting The Taf when the strains of my 5 hour working week become too much.
However, I disagree with the latest internet phenomenon, the confusingly spelled ÔÇÿNekNominateÔÇÖ challenge. This first came to my attention about a month ago, when a friend studying at Aberystwyth sent me a video of his flatmate downing a pint of vodka. I deduced that after completing the ÔÇÿchallengeÔÇÖ, he was expected to nominate three of his friends to outdo him within 24 hours. This seems an extremely pointless and potentially dangerous exercise. Although I admit that pointless things can be enjoyable. The determination I have put into ÔÇÿFlappy BirdÔÇÖ this week is testament to this. However, at the time of writing, no one has died or been seriously injured from that particular app.
Like a lot of things, it can be harmless banter between mates trying to outshine each other. Yet, it has the potential to escalate at a rapid pace. As this phenomenon is intrinsically linked to Facebook, individuals have seized upon the opportunity to think of the most outrageous ÔÇÿNekNominateÔÇÖ they can, in the hope that it will go viral and earn them thousands of dopamine-releasing likes. Inevitably this has resulted in some truly stomach churning efforts.
Over the past few weeks, Facebook has been abuzz with videos of young people attempting everything from consuming a standard pint to seeing off a glass of goatÔÇÖs milk whilst doing a handstand. The absolute low point, in terms of repulsion, has to be a video of a naked man downing a pint of his own blended faeces. The sad part of this is that he is almost certainly not the only one to have attempted such a vile act. The fact that someone is willing to film themselves drinking their own excrement for attention on a social networking site is a damning indictment of todayÔÇÖs society.
The fact that ÔÇÿNekNominateÔÇÖ has been linked to the death of 19 year old Jonny Byrne in Northern Ireland offers us cast iron proof that this craze is not simply harmless fun. His family claim that after downing his pint, he wanted to outdo his friends by jumping into the river, which ultimately led to his death. There can be no argument that NekNominate is a good thing after this tragic turn of events.
It is interesting that one of the most popular of these videos is of a girl downing a pint of water and nominating the online community to ÔÇÿget a gripÔÇÖ. This is a strong indication that this craze is by no means universally popular among the young adult demographic.
Perhaps the one good thing to emerge from this craze is that it has spawned its antithesis ÔÇÿRakNominateÔÇÖ. This is essentially a counter idea which involves a person performing a ÔÇÿrandom act of kindnessÔÇÖ and then nominating their friends to do the same. This is an uplifting response and in an ideal world it will grow to dwarf the original in popularity. 4th year Physics student, Ben Hampson, was himself ÔÇÿNekNominatedÔÇÖ but decided to ÔÇÿignore the drink, make it a RakNominate challenge and spread it onÔÇÖ. He proceeded to hand out chocolate bars in Cardiff City Centre. He disagreed with people ÔÇÿdoing silly things, just for the sake of a videoÔÇÖ and believes that if ÔÇÿRakNominate were to spread as quickly as NekNominateÔÇÖ then weÔÇÖd ÔÇÿlive in a better placeÔÇÖ.
Thus, ÔÇÿNekNominateÔÇÖ should simply be labelled another transient trend as soon as possible before more fatalities and revolting acts occur. If you want to be part of an internet craze, get RakNominating!
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