Neknomination has become a social media sensation – drinking copious amounts of alcohol, performing dangerous stunts, and then nominating a friend to out-do them.
Videos feature everything from skateboarding down a freeway to jumping off a bridge.
Social media expert, Alec Couros, said tools like Facebook and YouTube are platforms that enable engagement – for better or for worse.
“You have this increased audience, more people can see your stunts which brings about more variables,” said Couros. “So more people can be involved in this and the stunts can get even more extreme.”
Rumored to have started in Australia, the movement has now reached Saskatchewan.
“I don’t know about the rules of mixing protein shakes and Jack Daniels, but I’ve seen a couple of those lately,” said Nathan Sgrazzutti, President of the University of Regina Students’ Union.
But Sgrazzutti said people shouldn’t feel pressured to respond to a nomination.
“If you don’t want to do something that’s idiotic, don’t do it,” he said.
Instead, many are now putting a positive spin on the ‘nek’ movement.
“It doesn’t have to be drinking. It can be random acts of kindness – just going up to strangers and making their day,” said Stephanie Smith, who posted a video to Facebook earlier this week, where she handed a man on the street $20.
Smith and her sister spent Friday handing out cupcakes outside a community clinic in Saskatoon.
She added, “I was quite proud that I was able to take a stance against the other videos that were going around.”
Comments