The “Neknominate” drinking game was believed to have been started in 2008 in Australia by a couple of university students. The game started off as challenging your friend to “down” a beer or spirit in one gulp whilst filming it. Drinking games like these have been around for years and are most popular with young adults and students.
Recently the game has become even more extreme, and dangerous adaptations of the game where beverages such as vodka, whiskey, lager and even cleaning products have been mixed together creating a toxic cocktail that exceeds more than 7 units at a time. This game is more widespread amongst men, and even though men have a higher “ideal” units a day (3-4 units) the amount young people are drinking is more that double or triple this.
And to add to this, 20 year old Isaac Richardson from Cardiff died after attempting to drink a mixture of wine, whiskey, vodka and lager and 29 year old Stepehen Brookes died after drinking 3/4 of a litre in a minute.
Last year, David Cameron stated that the minimum price for alcohol would be 40p per unit. Although the price has raised slightly, we must ask – is this enough to control the binge-drinking and excessive alcohol intake in the 18s and above? The internet is a strong part of the young person’s community, so having videos of people putting themselves at risk freely on social media could have a negative impact. Most of these “Neknominate” challenges are made via Facebook, and social networking is an easy way to make trends go viral.
Maybe there should be more regulations on the internet, to prevent deaths and tragic losses in the future. Drinking and drinking games have always been a highlight in university and young people’s lives, but maybe the media should work on trying to reduce the risk of overloading on alcohol by trying to send out less glamourised ideas of student life and partying, potentially saving a few lives in the process.
