Culture

Can you even deem the “nek nominate” craze an art?

There’s a fairly simple answer to the title; no. Social media has been swept up in this latest craze, and where one video is posted, there is bound to be another ten hiding in the “friend tags”.

But what is this nek nominate business? It seems innocuous enough, but once you’ve seen one version of it, in a metaphoric sense, you have seen it all.

“Participants” – if that is the correct word – will be “nominated” by a friend to skoll (usually a bottle or glass) of primarily beer or perhaps some other alcoholic beverage.  On top of that, said participants are recorded on any device within reach as they attempt do down the liquid as fast as possible.

The process goes on; each participant must – and this where the second part comes in – “nominate” two people who will become the next to partake in this chain.  Right now it seems like harmless fun, but search the hashtag or phrase, and you might well be very surprised.

Even the police are starting to become interested, and not very amused, by this phenomenon that seems to be most popular with the 18-25 year old demographic.

Health is vitally important to leading a positive and enjoyable life, however, once a social media trend starts to go into the higher echelons, there can be very little that stops it.

Scary thing is, this focus on the young people puts a lot of light on alcohol-related statistics that will frighten most.  In November of 2013 the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Jane Mower wrote about the deadly effects of alcohol, and the rapidly rising costs associated with police call outs.  John Herron, from the Australian National Council on Drugs (ANCD) summed it up perfectly, saying, “The level of alcohol-related damage occurring in our communities is simply appalling.”

Backing this statement up are the statistics, which, in five years, have skyrocketed.  More than a fifth of 14-19 year olds surveyed in 2007 for the National Binge Drinking Campaign consumed alcohol weekly.  Fast forward to the 2011-2012 period, and more than 60% of the same age group consumed alcohol in the 12 months surrounding the study.

Now, we are looking at one in eight deaths alcohol-related, which affect young people.  Scary is an understatement.

Granted, to an extent, this is only one drink, but it’s one drink in a circle of hundreds, if not thousands.  Ask yourself, though; is it worth it just to keep the respect of your mates?

There’s a fine line that you’re treading here; “Friends are encouraged to skol a beer, film it, then dob in their friends. Those who opt out and break the chain risk losing their friends’ respect.”  Doesn’t that seem just a bit ridiculous?  If you look at your true friends, they’re not going to go away.

That isn’t the ultimate point of nek nominate.  It is about showing your mates that you, as the person nominated, have power, confidence and perhaps a hint of authority among your “circle”.

Dangerous almost doesn’t cut it.  Stereotypical trends point to the now accepted norm of youths drinking regularly at parties as a major factor in becoming alcohol addicted.

Competitiveness runs in the best of us, wanting to sit at the top of the table above all others.  It goes to yet another level of stupidity when parents and those of higher-profile status are becoming involved.  Social media trends grow and can rarely be stopped.  Having well-known people involved just makes it much harder to miss.

In Melbourne, Jessica Humphreys, director of Social Concepts – Social Media Consulting is just another on the list of people who see the nek nominate “fad” as a risk to health.

“It is being brushed off by most as a bit of harmless fun, but not only is neknominate potentially dangerous to your health, it also could severely impact future career prospects.

“Young people are being nominated to do something in a public forum where they might not feel comfortable to say ‘no’.”

Underestimating the power of social networks can come with drastic consequences, as can be seen above.  A simple solution is don’t.  Peer pressure is all around us, and while it might seem like a cool thing to go along with, hindsight down the track might well paint a different image.

 

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