Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more
Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more
Health experts have issued a warning about the dangerous BORG (also known as “blackout rage gallon”) drinking trend prevalent among Gen Z college students.
According to the National Capital Poison Center, BORG drinking typically takes place at day parties, commonly known as “dirties,” where attendees carry around gallon-sized plastic jugs filled with a potent alcoholic concoction.
Consisting of vodka or other distilled alcohol, water, flavorings, and electrolyte powder or drink, there is usually far more alcohol in the jug than any other ingredient, which experts say is So much so that they call it “a threat to the world.” ”
“Drinking this can lead to potentially life-threatening alcoholism and alcoholism,” Dr. Anna Lembke, a professor of psychiatry and addiction medicine at Stanford University, explained to CNN.
Unlike the long-reigning likes of Jungle Juice (usually a party-sized mix for everyone), BORG is meant for personal use. However, the end goal is ultimately the same. In other words, get extremely drunk.
“BORG often contains a fifth. [25.6 fluid ounces or 3.2 cups] Vodka and other hard alcohols, which is the equivalent of about 17 standard drinks, is a huge amount of alcohol. ”
Dr. Lembke believes that the rise in BORG drinking is due to “social contagion,” made worse by the ubiquity of social media like TikTok.
“Kids see other kids doing it and want to do it themselves,” she says. “This is the other real danger here: taking dangerous deviant behavior and normalizing it by spreading it on social media.”
A 24-year-old creator and editor-in-chief. Gilenialgin, Sabrina Grimaldi said she first learned about the trend when one of her interns, Kelly Xiong, 21, pitched a story about the popularity of the binge-drinking phenomenon.
As someone who hadn’t been part of the “college party scene” for five years, she was perplexed at how much had changed in such a short period of time. She said, “Kelly and I are so close in age, it’s crazy how these micro-trends pop up.”
Zion discovered the burgeoning popularity of BORG drinking when she went to Dirty on St. Patrick’s Block, noting that almost everyone was carrying around a gallon full of their own concoction. did. She told the outlet that BORG is especially popular during “special occasion dirty” occasions, which usually celebrate holidays or outdoor events.
BORG’s popularity has spread far and wide, and it has frequently been linked to hospitalizations of students who attended the party. In 2023, dozens of University of Massachusetts Amherst students suspected of possessing BORG were hospitalized after an off-campus incident.
BORGs are not only gaining popularity in the college party scene, but are also slowly making their way into the high school set, with students reportedly drawn to the creative side of making their own BORGs.
All over TikTok, BORG videos are filled with various jugs with pun-inspired nicknames like Captain Bogan, Bogan Donner, and Bogan Warren.
“You have to name your BORG and write your name in Sharpie and get creative,” said a high school senior named Virginia. But she said she knew how hard it would be to regulate her own alcohol intake, especially since many people are free to choose how much they drink. “Nobody’s really rationing how much they drink.”
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the average drink in the United States contains 1 to 1.5 ounces of spirits, 5 ounces of wine, or 12 ounces of beer. Drinking standards for men and women are different, and experts say it is considered binge drinking for women to drink four or more standard drinks within two hours, and for men to drink five or more.
