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This challenge was around in the early 2000's, probably before. I don't think anything has really changed it's just a new app so journalists can write new artic

This challenge was around in the early 2000's, probably before. I don't think anything has really changed it's just a new app so journalists can write new articles. Is there any evidence this challenge is more popular now than it was 15 years ago? This seems like another case of Politician's Syllogism: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politician%27s_syllogism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politician%27s_syllogism

usrusr 6y ago
Well, pretty much everything you can do alone at home would be more popular now than 15 years ago. But the general pattern of kids bonding over imitation and acknowledging an informal hierarchy via imitation order is certainly not new at all.
__s 6y ago
For more info on how this activity has existed for awhile, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choking_game https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choking_game
psyc 6y ago
We used to do this in middle school. That was 30 years ago. We used to do it a lot. You stumble around on autopilot talking gibberish. The world looks like that shadow world Frodo goes to when he puts the ring on. Then you come to on the ground with short term amnesia. You can see how 11 year olds would think it was awesome. I didn’t know it was dangerous until my dad found out and completely lost it with me.
klyrs 6y ago
I discovered the effect all by myself. I noticed that I could deliberately make my face beet red (as a ginger, the effect was quite drastic). It was hilarious to my peers, but I was always the wild one, so it was a spectator activity for them. One day, I clenched too hard, or too long, passed out, and fell to the ground. I got up quick as I could, brushed it off... but never did it again. So in a sense, yeah, I'd bet that kids have been doing this "forever." OTOH, what's missing from my story is the peer pressure (albeit their amusement encouraging me) and the network effect. Social media can transmit memetic disease faster than we've ever seen. Is social media to blame for this behavior? Hell no. Does social media aggravate the situation? Without question.

usrusr 6y ago

Well, pretty much everything you can do alone at home would be more popular now than 15 years ago. But the general pattern of kids bonding over imitation and acknowledging an informal hierarchy via imitation order is certainly not new at all.

__s 6y ago

For more info on how this activity has existed for awhile, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choking_game https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choking_game

psyc 6y ago

We used to do this in middle school. That was 30 years ago. We used to do it a lot. You stumble around on autopilot talking gibberish. The world looks like that shadow world Frodo goes to when he puts the ring on. Then you come to on the ground with short term amnesia. You can see how 11 year olds would think it was awesome. I didn’t know it was dangerous until my dad found out and completely lost it with me.

klyrs 6y ago

I discovered the effect all by myself. I noticed that I could deliberately make my face beet red (as a ginger, the effect was quite drastic). It was hilarious to my peers, but I was always the wild one, so it was a spectator activity for them. One day, I clenched too hard, or too long, passed out, and fell to the ground. I got up quick as I could, brushed it off... but never did it again. So in a sense, yeah, I'd bet that kids have been doing this "forever." OTOH, what's missing from my story is the peer pressure (albeit their amusement encouraging me) and the network effect. Social media can transmit memetic disease faster than we've ever seen. Is social media to blame for this behavior? Hell no. Does social media aggravate the situation? Without question.