Enough is enough: This 9-year-old girl should not be lying in a hospital bed.

UPDATE:

The girl’s name is Rhiannon Scully. She’s 9 years old. And her parents have just made this photo of their daughter public as a warning to others.

You see, Rhiannon has just become the latest victim of a internet craze that’s gone too far.

This week, the little girl reportedly consumed a combination of vodka and whisky after her friends – who had seemed similar stunts performed in videos on Facebook – dared her to.

It’s all part of a craze called #Neknomination. It’s where a person gets in front of a camera, skolls (or “necks”) a glass or bottle of alcohol, then dares someone else to do the same.

We thought the trend might have ended by name, but Rhiannon’s story shows that it’s still around and – scarily – that children are staring to catch on to the idea.

Rhiannon – who had to have her stomach pumped after she was found by her parents – is expected to recover.

But some other victims have not been so lucky.

Mamamia previously reported:

An internet drinking game is being blamed for the death of two young men in Ireland. 19-year-old Jonny Byrne was found in the river below Milford Bridge in County Carlow. According to friends, he had jumped off the bridge as part of a dare.

22-year-old Ross Cummins was found unconscious at his home and taken to a hospital in Dublin, where he was pronounced dead. He died as a result of alcohol overdose and his drinking was also part of a dare.

Both deaths have been linked to the internet sensation Necknominate.

Neknominate is a binge-drinking game: One person gets in front of a camera, skolls (or “necks”) a bottle of beer, then dares someone else to do the same.

Their video goes on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter and the nominated person must respond by filming themselves skilling a beer. Bonus points for risking your life to get a good video.

The trend apparently started here in Australia, in Perth, with a simple dare between friends. Once a video of the dare hit social media, it went viral and it’s now a worldwide phenomenon. Predictably, straightforward videos got old fast and young people around the world started taking the dare to dangerous extremes.

It’s the Drunken Idiot version of Chinese Whispers, with a ripple effect of thousands of young people skolling alcohol on camera. Until today, it was just stupid. Now? It’s stupid and deadly.

And it has stop before more young people endanger or lose their lives.

Jonny Byrne’s family have called for the end of the Neknominate craze. His brother Patrick Byrne posted this today:

Hopefully that message will reach young Australians, who continue to put themselves in danger. Just last month, Victorian police were forced to investigate a stunt in which a 21-year-old man travelled in the boot of a moving car before jumping out, necking a beer, and getting back in to drive.

Then there’s this unbelievable footage of men skulling beers while hanging from a moving helicopter with no safety restraints. It’s unclear where it was filmed, but we assume Australia because them men are drinking VB and calling each other “Bro”.

This isn’t the first time an internet craze has lead to fatalities. The “planking” craze of 2011 – where people took photos of themselves lying face down on different surfaces – also took a life. 20-year-old Brisbane boy Acton Beale was “planking” on the edge of his balcony when he plummeted to his death. In the same month, a young man was arrested for trying to “plank” on a police car.

At that time, authorities called for the planking craze to end but it only got more competitive. Even then Prime Minister Julia Gillard warned of its dangers: “We’d like to encourage any members of the planking group and the general public to undertake this in a safe and responsible fashion. There’s a difference between a harmless bit of fun done somewhere that’s really safe and taking a risk with your life.”

We think this photo, of a man”planking” on the top of a building, is not just harmless fun:

So what is it about these crazes that makes young men in particular so competitive?

Could it be that receiving a dare from someone on the internet is more powerful because it feels like the world is watching you respond? Is being famous for a ridiculous prank important enough to risk a life for? And more importantly, how do we stop it from happening again and again?