Internet Challenges Through the Years

Throughout my years of being an internet user, I have noticed many internet fads and challenges come and go. In this blog post, I would like to walk through different internet challenges and show how they have changed through the years.

1) The Cinnamon Challenge - 2012

This challenge is one that came about right when I was starting to get into Youtube and other social media outlets. The goal of the Cinnamon Challenge is to swallow a spoon full of cinnamon in 60 seconds without drinking water. This may seem easy, but swallowing a spoon full of cinnamon is actually very dangerous because the cinnamon coats and dries the mouth and throat, resulting in coughing, gagging, vomiting and inhaling of cinnamon, leading to throat irritation, breathing difficulties, and risk of pneumonia or a collapsed lung. People still participate in this challenge today, despite knowing how dangerous it can be.

2) ALS Ice Bucket Challenge - 2014

This challenge is one that I actually participate in when I was in high school. The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge was started by the ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) Association in hopes to raise money for ALS research. Participants in this challenge would dump a bucket of ice water over their heads and tag friends to participate. If you were tagged and did not participate you were supposed to donate $100 towards ALS research. The significance of the ice bucket was to simulate how those with ALS feel complete paralysis. This challenge was amazing for both bringing awareness to the disease and raising $41.8 million dollars towards the cause.

3) Tide Pod Challenge - 2018

This challenge is possible one of the most idiotic challenges that I have seen on the internet. It originated as an internet joke, many people made memes about how yummy Tide Pods look. Gen-Z took this joke a little too far when kids started actually consuming the pods. Those who took this viral internet joke had bad reactions to the pods including burns in the mouth and esophagus. Read this article by BuzzFeed on the negative health effects of Tide Pods.

4) Condom Snorting Challenge - 2018

In the past couple of days, a new internet challenge has arisen and it is possibly more stupid than ever. The goal of the Condom Snorting Challenge snort a condom up your nose and pull it out of your nose without choking or suffocating to death. There is no known point of this challenge and parents are very concerned for the well-being of their children. USA Today wrote an excellent article giving an overview of the challenge and explaining its dangers.

Though many of the internet challenges that have gone viral are very dangerous, challenges like the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge can be used to promote an important cause to an audience of millions of people. What do you think about internet challenges? Do you think more companies should try to create challenges to promote their cause or products? Let me know in the comments below!