--- title: Neknomination: The Deadly Social Media Drinking Game Coming To U.S. description: 'Neknomination' challenges reportedly responsible for deaths in Britain. Is the U.S. next? canonical: https://time.com/7933/the-deadly-social-media-drinking-game-set-to-invade-the-u-s/ author: Francesca Trianni article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-02-15T22:21:37.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-01T08:47:49.370Z article:section: Health og:title: Neknomination: The Deadly Social Media Drinking Game Coming To U.S. og:description: 'Neknomination' challenges reportedly responsible for deaths in Britain. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=ac936ac0-c05c-40e8-8c88-ff9a9f809262&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: The Latest Deadly Trend: The Game Neknomination [Watch (HLS stream): The Latest Deadly Trend: The Game Neknomination](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/8mV6uVd9.m3u8) (3:46)  _Published 2014-02-15. The Latest Deadly Trend: The Game Neknomination_  by [Francesca Trianni](https://time.com/author/francesca-trianni/)  ## Francesca Trianni Feb 15, 2014 10:21 PM UTC The Latest Deadly Trend: The Game Neknomination  by [Francesca Trianni](https://time.com/author/francesca-trianni/)  ## Francesca Trianni Feb 15, 2014 10:21 PM UTC A potentially hazardous internet drinking game called ‘NekNomination’ has reportedly [claimed](http://www.independent.co.uk/student/news/internet-neknomination-drinking-game-linked-to-two-deaths-over-the-weekend-grows-in-popularity-amongst-british-students-9105254.html) two lives in the U.K., and has some worried it might spread to teenagers in the United States too. The game is simple: teens film themselves downing a drink and post the video on social media. Then, they nominate a friend to outdo them. If the rival doesn’t post a more extreme video, he or she is ridiculed on Facebook or Twitter for not participating in the game. Dares have included drinking alcohol from a toilet bowl, or even mixed with dog food, a dead mouse or a live goldfish. The competitive nature of the game has authorities worried, with some[ wondering](http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/poll/2014/feb/11/neknominate-facebook-ban-drinking-game-deaths-social-networking) if Facebook should take a more active role in closing down pages that encourage potentially dangerous drinking. The game began in Australia, according to CNN, but some say it’s only a matter of time before this mix of alcoholic excess, social media and peer pressure becomes a recognizable trend in the United States. ## Transcript [00:00] >>Thanks for the nomination, Luke. Today, well, I've [00:01] got for you guys a brand- new, just opened as you can [00:05] see a Sambuca, with some [ unk ] as well. And it's [00:09] [ unk ], I do believe. [00:12] >>This is how it all begins. [00:13] >>Whoo. [00:15] Okay. [00:18] >>A nomination followed by cocktails of spirits. The [00:21] game is called Neknominate, and it's thought to have [00:24] originated in Australia. Now, it's sweeping through [00:27] Britain. [00:27] >>I neknominate [ unk ]. You've got twenty- four [00:27] hours, lads. Get it [00:37] done. [00:37] >>But what [00:42] started for some as a game has already begun to [00:44] claim lives. Four victims, all men under thirty. [00:48] >>This is a lethal game. The point about [00:52] alcohol is that it affects your ability to recognize that [00:55] you're in danger, and it absolutely affects your ability [00:58] to react to danger. So we have a double whammy [01:01] here. -[ unk ]. [01:06] >>The premise of the game is simple. People film [01:09] themselves necking or downing a large drink. The [01:13] majority of times, it's alcoholic and of large quantities. [01:17] Then they post it on to social media via Facebook or [01:20] Youtube, and then they nominate a friend to outdo [01:24] them. If the friend denies the challenge, they are [01:27] ridiculed on Facebook or Twitter. Each nomination [01:31] becomes more and more daring and outlandish. It [01:34] started as exhibitionism, with this woman stripping in a [01:37] supermarket and downing a drink. But the bravado [01:41] has escalated into extreme cocktails. This one mixes [01:45] spirits with a dead mouse, among other things. Not [01:48] surprisingly, the trend has politicians calling for schools [01:52] to play a bigger role. [01:53] >>So what role does the [ unk ] state believe that [01:55] schools have in building resilience in our young people [01:59] to resist peer pressure? [02:00] >>Yeah. [02:02] >>Yeah. [02:02] >>Brian Viner, who's own son has played the game, [02:05] says responsibility must come from Facebook, which [02:08] still today displays adverts next to videos of people [02:11] taking part in the challenges. He told me his son was [02:14] nominated and pressured to play the game but drank [02:17] water instead of vodka so as not to harm himself. [02:20] When you found out about it, when you found out the [02:23] fact that your son had done something like this, how [02:26] did it make you feel? [02:27] >>Cross with him, but more cross really with [02:32] the social media involved and the way that this game [02:35] was just spread. You know, the whole thing is madness [02:37] and then some- it needs some kind [02:42] of sharp and swift action in regard of these social [02:46] networks to stop it. [02:47] >>Well, in a statement to CNN, Facebook says, " We [02:51] do not tolerate content which is directly harmful, for [02:54] example, bullying. But behavior which some people [02:57] might find offensive or controversial is not always [03:00] necessarily against our rules. We encourage people to [03:03] report things to us which they feel breaks our rules so [03:06] we can review and take action on a case by case [03:09] basis ." But to stop this once and for all, Dr. [03:14] Sarah Jarvis says Facebook must recognize its own [03:16] wrong in the game. [03:18] >>It's very difficult in this third- person liberties to say [03:21] that Facebook shouldn't be condoning this and should [03:23] be taking these videos offline. Personally, I'd like to [03:25] see that happening because apparently if the thrill [03:28] wasn't there because your mates won't see you, I [03:31] suspect it would very rapidly fizzle out. [03:34] >>Whether it's a fleeting craze or a long- term trend, [03:37] one thing is clear. 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