What is the Alcohol Challenge on TikTok?
The alcohol challenge on TikTok refers to a dangerous trend of users filming themselves drinking excessive amounts of alcohol in a short period of time, in an effort to collect the most views. It started off with users including hashtag #2000pintchallenge in their videos to refer to the goal of drinking 2,000 pints of beer. Participants record themselves rapidly drinking beer, wine, liquor or other alcoholic beverages, aiming to finish as many drinks as possible. The videos often show users chugging drinks, drinking from multiple containers at once, and continuing to consume more even after vomiting. The purpose is to impress viewers by drinking dangerous amounts of alcohol in a short timeframe.
Some variations of the challenge include drinking an alcoholic pint in 10 seconds or less. Other users will drink alcohol through unusual methods like beer bongs. Participants compete to show who can drink the most alcohol the fastest, making the challenge extremely hazardous. The videos rack up millions of views, which encourages more users to participate in this reckless trend.
Source: https://www.tiktok.com/@j0nmay/video/7251941082290769178?lang=en
History and Origin
The alcohol challenge trend on TikTok, also known as the “BORG Challenge”, first emerged in early 2023. The name “BORG” stands for “Blackout Rage Gallon” and refers to a large container filled with a mixture of hard liquor, energy drinks, and flavorings that students would consume rapidly in an attempt to get extremely intoxicated.
The exact origin of the BORG challenge is unclear, but it is believed to have started at universities in the United States as a dangerous binge drinking game. According to some reports, students at Kent State University were among the first to create and share videos drinking BORGs in early 2023, sparking the viral spread of the challenge on TikTok and other social platforms.
As the challenge spread, the acronym BORG and the concept of quickly consuming a gallon of a potent alcoholic mix became more widely known. By March 2023, videos using the #BORG hashtag had over 5 million views on TikTok, with many students and young adults participating in the dangerous trend.
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/09/style/borg-drinking-tiktok.html
Popularity and Spread
The alcohol challenge on TikTok, often referred to as the “BORG Challenge,” gained popularity in early 2023 among college students. It involves quickly drinking a large amount of hard liquor from a gallon-sized plastic jug known as a BORG (short for “blackout rage gallon”). According to the University of Massachusetts, the challenge led to 28 ambulances being called to off-campus parties in a single weekend in March 2023.
Videos featuring the BORG challenge spread widely on TikTok, with some amassing millions of views. The videos often showed young people chugging copious amounts of vodka, rum, or other spirits from their gallon jugs. While TikTok has removed many such videos for violating its policies, new ones continue to emerge showing the dangerous binge drinking behavior.
According to experts, the viral nature of social media challenges like this enable risky behaviors to spread rapidly among youth. Parents and colleges have voiced concern about the popularity of the BORG challenge and its potential to lead to alcohol poisoning or other severe outcomes.
Controversy and Concerns
The alcohol challenges on TikTok have raised considerable controversy and concerns, primarily around issues like underage drinking and binge drinking. Many of the challenges promote excessive alcohol consumption in a short period of time, often encouraging participants to drink an entire bottle of hard liquor in one sitting. This type of heavy episodic drinking is extremely dangerous, especially for teenagers and young adults whose brains are still developing.
According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, binge drinking is defined as drinking 4 or more drinks for women and 5 or more drinks for men within about 2 hours [1]. Many of the viral challenges on TikTok encourage consuming even larger quantities of alcohol in a single sitting, which drastically raises the risks of alcohol poisoning, injuries, and accidents.
Critics have argued that TikTok is providing a platform for users, often minors, to promote harmful and unsafe behavior. The challenges make binge drinking seem fun and exciting, while ignoring the many risks involved. Some have called on TikTok to be more proactive in taking down videos that encourage excessive alcohol intake, especially those targeted at underage users.
TikTok’s Response
TikTok responded quickly to suppress the spread of the dangerous alcohol challenge on its platform. As early as March 2021, TikTok started removing videos related to the challenge and redirecting related searches tosafety center pages warning about the dangers of excessive drinking.
TikTok stated that the challenge “violates our Community Guidelines and we remove this content from our platform.” The company said it was actively removing content and redirecting searches to discourage participation.
TikTok also imposed restrictions to reduce the reach of related videos and hashtags. Searches for phrases like “alcohol challenge” and “blackout challenge” began leading to a warning about dangerous behavior instead of related videos.
According to a TikTok spokesperson, “The safety and well-being of our community is our priority. This is not content we’d like to promote.” The app has continued efforts to limit recommendations and reach of any copycat challenges.
Impact on Youth
The alcohol challenges on TikTok are especially concerning due to their impact on underage users. According to researchers, 60% of the alcohol-related videos on TikTok show rapid consumption of multiple drinks, which is the most common way that minors drink alcohol https://www.safeandsober.org/resources/underage-drinking-tiktok/. Underage drinking can impair brain development and lead to alcohol abuse disorders later in life.
These viral challenges make binge drinking look fun and normalize dangerous behavior for teens. Some experts estimate that 90% of underage alcohol consumption is in the form of binge drinking https://www.safeandsober.org/resources/underage-drinking-tiktok/. The accessibility of these videos on social media facilitates peer pressure and influences youth to participate.
Parents, schools, and health organizations need to be vigilant about educating youth on the risks. TikTok also has a responsibility to moderate harmful content and protect its underage user base from dangerous trends.
Dangers and Risks
There are potentially severe health risks and dangers associated with participating in the alcohol challenge on TikTok. Binge drinking large quantities of alcohol in a short period of time can lead to alcohol poisoning, which can cause vomiting, seizures, hypothermia, irregular or slow breathing, blue-tinged skin, and unconsciousness. In extreme cases it can even result in coma or death from respiratory arrest.
Some of the TikTok drinking challenges like the “blackout challenge” explicitly encourage participants to drink dangerous amounts with the goal of losing consciousness. Even for those who don’t drink to the point of blacking out, consuming excessive alcohol impairs judgment and motor coordination, increasing the risk of accidents, injuries, violence, unsafe sex, and other reckless behavior. The availability of alcohol on college campuses and the competitive nature of these viral challenges creates a perfect storm for alcohol abuse and alcoholism among teenagers and young adults.
Binge drinking also stresses the body and can lead to alcohol poisoning, hypothermia, seizures, irregular heartbeat, brain damage and death. Frequent binge drinking has numerous risks including liver damage, digestive problems, sexual dysfunction, neurological impairments and increased risk of cancer. The brain does not fully mature until around age 25, so alcohol can alter development and cause lifelong cognitive deficits for teenagers participating in binge drinking challenges.
Expert Opinions
Health experts have widely condemned the alcohol challenge trend on TikTok and warned about the dangers it poses. Dr. Michael Lynch, an emergency room doctor at Pittsburgh’s UPMC Mercy hospital, called it “incredibly concerning,” saying the trend promotes “reckless behavior” that often results in “disastrous consequences” (https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/health/2023/03/09/doctors-warn-of–borg-tiktok-drinking-trend-after-28-ambulance-calls-near-college).
Dr. Alexa Mieses, a family physician, noted these viral drinking challenges “normalize risky behavior” and send a dangerous message to youth that excessive drinking is “cool” or a game to be won. She urged parents to talk to their kids about responsible alcohol use and look for signs of alcohol abuse or addiction (https://www.alcoholrehabguide.org/blog/dangerous-tiktok-drinking-challenges/).
Many experts agree that social media platforms like TikTok need to do more to moderate dangerous content and protect young users. However, the primary responsibility lies with parents and communities to educate youth about alcohol risks. More open conversations are key to countering the glamorization of binge drinking on social media.
Preventive Measures
There are several ways to discourage participation in dangerous alcohol challenges and raise awareness about the risks involved.
Experts recommend having open and honest conversations with teens and young adults about the dangers of binge drinking and alcohol poisoning. Parents, teachers, counselors, and healthcare providers should talk about the risks, monitor social media activity, and watch for warning signs of excessive drinking.
Schools and colleges can send alerts to students and parents when unsafe trends emerge online. They can also organize educational programs and offer counseling to students who may be influenced by social media challenges involving alcohol.
Social media platforms like TikTok need to be proactive about removing videos that promote dangerous behavior. TikTok has banned content related to the alcohol challenge, but more rigorous monitoring and enforcement of policies is required (Source 1).
Influencers on social media should use their platforms responsibly and avoid participating in or encouraging risky viral challenges. They can play a key role in spreading awareness about the dangers of binge drinking.
Finally, local communities, healthcare organizations, addiction support groups, and anti-drinking advocacy groups should actively run awareness campaigns. These can highlight stories of people impacted by binge drinking and educate about responsible alcohol consumption.
The Future
As social media evolves, TikTok challenges and trends rise and fall rapidly. While the Alcohol Challenge gained significant traction in 2021, its popularity appears to be waning. According to [1], alcohol advertising on TikTok faces an uncertain future as the platform develops its policies and balancing act between viral content and safety concerns.
Some experts predict these dangerous drinking challenges will fade into the background as new trends take over, especially with increased moderation and age restrictions from TikTok. However, the tendency for viral challenges to promote risky behavior remains concerning. While the specifics may change, the Alcohol Challenge highlights vulnerabilities that persist across social platforms.
Many advocate for increased social responsibility from tech companies to better protect young users from content glorifying excessive drinking and intoxication. With conscious effort, perhaps future platforms can promote entertainment and connection without breeding the normalization and incentive for dangerous behavior.
[1] https://vinepair.com/articles/business-alcohol-advertising-tiktok/
