Facebook’s 'NekNominate' drinking craze: Harmless or lethal?

It started as an apparently harmless social media craze - but now there are fears that ‘NekNominate’ Facebook challenges are getting out of control.

The online ‘NekNominate’ game involves people videoing themselves downing an alcoholic drink, before nominating a friend to follow suit in more daring fashion as part of a Facebook chain.

But as police investigate whether two deaths this weekend in Ireland were connected to ‘NekNominations’, campaigners say the game is becoming increasingly dangerous.

The trend started in Perth, Australia, but has swept the world in just a few weeks through the power of social media.

Participants keen to produce the 'ultimate' NekNominate video have filmed themselves downing whole bottles of vodka, bourbon and Jagermeister. Some will attempt go further and attempt dangerous stunts straight after they've consumed the alcohol.

In one video, a man pours beer down a toilet before being held upside down by his friends so he can drink it from the bowl.

Another appears to show a young Australian illegally traveling in the boot of a vehicle in an attempt to make the ultimate ‘NekNom’ video.

An even more hazardous NekNominate video shows a man claiming to drink a pint of WD40 lubricant.

NekNominate Facebook pages rely on the power of peer pressure, urging people to continue the trend.

The description for the NekNominate New Zealand page says: ‘Neck your drink. Nominate another. Don't break the chain, don't be a dick. The social drinking game for social media! #neknominate. Drink Responsibly.'

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And while there are safety warnings on these pages, the combination of peer pressure and online one-upmanship leads to increasingly risky and outlandish challenges.

Campaigners say NekNominate is a ‘potentially lethal phenomenon’ - but the fear is their warnings may have come too late to save two young men from Ireland who are thought to have been swept up in the craze.

Ross Cummins, 22, was found unconscious in Dublin early on Saturday morning, and died later in hospital.

And the body of Jonny Byrne, 19, was found later the same day floating in a river in County Carlow, Ireland.

Both are thought to have attempted NekNominate challenges before their deaths, with Byrne reportedly jumping in the river after necking his drink.

Byrne’s family have since pleaded with people not to take part in the drinking game.

His father Joe told Irish station RTE today: 'I'm pleading to every youngster to think of the things they're doing.

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'It has cost my son his life. The whole family is devastated and our lives will never be the same again.

'I hope this message is heeded because for us, life is virtually over.’

Ireland's Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Frances Fitzgerald, added: ‘This is not a game. It is a highly dangerous - potentially lethal phenomenon, where an inappropriate peer pressure element adds to the risks.’

As well as the safety risks, campaigners told Yahoo today the ill-advised online videos could harm young peoples’ career prospects if they are seen by their university or prospective employer.

Dr Sarah Jarvis, medical adviser to alcohol education charity Drinkaware, said: ‘Young people often say they feel peer pressure to drink to fit in, but competitions to drink excessively in a short space of time can be dangerous and this should not come as a surprise.
 
'Quite apart from the risk of accident or injury as a result of drinking to excess, there is another aspect to these online drinking games which is the 'cybershame” some young people may experience.

‘So while it may seem like a lot of fun at the time, the range of negative consequences are no laughing matter.’