It’s kind of hard to ignore the Neck and Nominate (or #neknomination) craze that is all over our facebook newsfeeds, and I have to admit I found it vaguely entertaining watching my friends come up with more and more inventive ways to “out-lad” their nominator. But as all things do on social media, things have escalated.

I appreciate I’m just going to sound like your mother and after all you did not come to university to be told what to do by someone like me but I wouldn’t be welfare unless I felt obliged to weigh in on the debate.

Sometimes the videos are mildly funny, but they’re instantly forgettable because they are just one of many. The videos that stand out are the ones that are different – and I don’t mean the ones where you’re wearing outlandish clothes and making a questionable mix of spirits, lager and milk (and usually a raw egg for good measure). The videos that get the most attention are the ones where people are a bit like actually I don’t really want to look like a knob so I’m going to sit here and down a pint of water. Or even better when you partake in the alternative, and altogether more wholesome version #raknomination - where people take part in random acts of kindness. Your karma increases and you don’t throw up. Everyone’s a winner.

I don’t need to go on and on about the dangers of excessive drinking, to be quite frank if you know me you know that I’m not great at handling alcohol – but it’s pretty obvious in the sad deaths of the young Irish guys who passed away in the last week that things are going a little too far. The predictable reply I’m assuming I’d get is “well I wouldn’t be that stupid” – but realistically can you think of any one of your friends who would think it’s an excellent idea to try and outdo their nominator by doing something stupid, risky and unexpected?

Everyone has the liberty to do whatever they want, but please just be aware of the consequences. No one is going to slap you on the back and say congratulations if you end up in the hospital wasting a lot of people’s time and money.

I’d rather see something heart-warming like someone donating a pint of blood on my newsfeed than someone about to be sick after a dirty pint. It’s not pretty.