Since the early 2000s, the Internet has been seeking an answer to the age-old question: “If all your friends jumped off a bridge, would you?” And if viral Internet challenges are anything to go by, the answer is a resounding yes. Whether it’s swallowing a spoonful of cinnamon, eating a furiously hot pepper, engorging the blood vessels in your lips, or just flat out setting yourself on fire, all these challenges center around some outlandish task that guarantees embarrassment and/or injury.
- Have you ever participated in a dangerous Internet challenge? What and why? (Allow willing participants to share their stories with the class.)
The current challenge in vogue is the In My Feelings Challenge, a task that requires social media users to perform a specific dance to the tune of Drake’s hit song “In My Feelings.” And while this challenge may be fundamentally tamer than those that came before it, that hasn’t stopped some from taking it to a dangerous next level.
Play this clip for your students [3:51].
Drake Almost Got Me Killed
- Will Smith is already ridiculously famous and liked by pretty much everyone. Why, then, would he risk injury or apprehension by foreign police just to make this silly video? (We can only speculate on Smith’s motivations, but it’s a safe bet that the pressures of social acceptance played a part.)
The current social media landscape has many of us finding our worth in the acceptance of our peers. The pressure to be or become or remain popular creates a constant distraction that can take us down paths that are truly unwise to take.
Today, we’ll learn how to listen to the one Person who always has our best interests at heart and will always guide us in the right direction.
