Bird Box is a recently released horror movie by Netflix, and it could be one of the most successful releases ever by the streaming service. The movie received major acclaim and has attracted a lot of fans. Netflix confirmed that millions of people who have subscribed to its service have already streamed the movie. Bird Box imagines a world where each person has to wear blindfolds as they move around to protect themselves from a killer force. A lot of people have compared it to “A Quiet Place”, another apocalyptic thriller that has a global fan base. Although the movies are quite different, there’s one factor that appears to unite them. They have all sparked a weird and viral online challenge.
Social media users from all around the world are posting pictures and videos of themselves wearing blindfolds just like in the Bird Box movie. The craze has gone so viral over the last few days that Netflix has decided to step in and ask everyone to chill out. In a tweet posted in Netflix’s US account, the streaming service cautioned social media users about the challenge. The company expressed dismay that people had to be reminded how dangerous it can be walking or moving around blindfolded. The tweet also urged people to stop with the challenge or they could risk ending up in a hospital or worse.
But some users are seeing the funny side of it. One user tweeted ironically stating that he had completed the “Bird Box Challenge” where he watched the full movie blindfolded. But others are taking it too far. For instance, images of an adult and two kids all blindfolded in what looks like a backyard have attracted the attention of other users. Although it may seem harmless, there’s no knowing what can happen next if you don’t see where you are or where you’re going.
It’s not the first time though that we’re hearing about potentially dangerous online social media challenges. The “Tide Pod” challenge, in particular, was of huge concern after people started posting videos of themselves ingesting detergent. The Consumer Products Safety Commission issued a warning at the time that ingesting detergent posed massive health risks but even then, the challenge just went viral.
But later on, YouTube started to take measures to limit the spread of these videos. The video sharing platform said that it would ban any videos depicting people ingesting the detergent. By the time the craze died down, a total of 220 people had already been affected. What was more worrying at the time was that almost all of these victims were teenagers.
It looks like Netflix doesn’t want to be responsible for this kind of social media craze. Although blindfolding yourself is not nearly as dangerous as ingesting detergent, there are many kinds of risks people expose themselves to if they decide to blindfold themselves. We’re not sure whether social media users will heed this warning. But there are calls already on social media by other users to take it easy. Bird Box was released in 2018 and features Sandra Bullock.
