A 17-year-old, who was driving blindfolded, crashed into another vehicle while attempting the #BirdBoxChallenge in the US. Thankfully, she escaped with minor injuries. Ever since the movie was released on Netflix in December 2018, fans have taken inspiration from Bird Box and have tried to carry out their daily activities blindfolded.
In the movie, the characters blindfold themselves as a protection against an unseen force, that manifests into people’s greatest fears, leading them to kill themselves.
The fans who try out these activities post those videos on social media using the hashtag #BirdboxChallenge. The videos uploaded include people cooking, crossing the road, taking the stairs or sometimes even driving, all blindfolded.
In fact, the challenge turned out to be so dangerous that Netflix asked netizens to stop. “Please do not hurt yourselves with this Bird Box Challenge. We don’t know how it started and we appreciate your love, but Boy and Girl have just one wish for 2019 and it is that you not end up in the hospital due to memes,” read the statement.
Unfortunately, even after Netflix’s announcement, people like YouTuber Jake Paul didn’t seem to get the memo.
Couple of days after the safety warning from Netflix, Jake posted an 11-minute video on his channel where he started the challenge by driving a car out of the driveway, hitting a row of garbage cans on his way out. It also showed him and his friends being kicked out a library and walking into the traffic.
The description of the video said that this should not be attempted by any of his viewers and they did it after proper safety measures were taken. It also added that it was made only for entertainment purpose. The video initially went viral, but now has been taken down. It’s not known who removed the post — YouTube or Jake himself.
Though the challenge hasn’t caught on in India yet, people here have attempted other dangerous viral challenges in the past. Here’s hoping that this time it is different.
In all seriousness...
While this may seem like fun and games to the social media world, being visually impaired is a sensitive topic as many concerned netizens have pointed out.
This challenge is not just dangerous because of the possibility of experiencing injuries but also for creating a negative bias towards blindness itself.
Though research has proved that the lack of a particular sensory ability is compensated by sharpening of the other senses, this cannot be achieved overnight.
Kiki Challenge
Based on singer Drake’s song ‘In My Feelings’, the challenge involves dancing alongside a movie car and mimicking the lyrics. While many were successful in making some interesting videos with it, it was dangerous when done along with a moving vehicle in traffic.
Mannequin Challenge
This was probably one of the most trending online challenges across the world. It required the participants to remain frozen in action like mannequins while the camera filmed them, along with a song ‘Black Beatles’ by Rae Sremmurd in the background. Those who attempted this challenge mostly did it in a safe environment but there were a few who attempted it in a heavy traffic area which wasn’t the best option.
Ice Bucket Challenge
This is probably lesser harmful than many of its contemporaries. It was also done to raise money for ALS. It required people dumping a bucket of ice and water over their head, to promote awareness about ALS. However, it was criticised as a waste of water.
Blue Whale Challenge
It was reported to be an online suicide game aimed at teenagers. Each player was given 50 tasks over 50 days, with the last task being to kill themselves. Many deaths have been reported because of this game.