BBC 'Discovers' Prinking On Friday..

Last Friday the biggest news broadcasters in the world, The BBC referred to "prinking" or pre-drinking as a 'new' trend in 2014?

An article was written after incidents at DJ Hardwell's gig in Belfast. Everyone, bar the BBC it seemed, knew pre-drinking is a night out ritual for quite some time now. Half the people in this country seem to prefer the pre-drinking portion of the night to any other part or at the very least view it as essential with such massive booze prices these days.

The fact that this was highlighted as a 'new' trend just this morning, when even my mum knows what it is, just goes to show how out of touch the media is with student culture and young people in general. A bit more research may have helped in this case. Does no one at the BBC have children? Do none of them of them use Facebook or use the internet at all?

Another example of this comes back to Neknominations, amid the claims that a young man a died because of the Facebook drinking game, the Irish Times said that when you were nominated you had to drink a pint of alcohol, usually spirits.

Eh, no?!

As I remember it started with 'Neking' a pint, and then just to outdo their competitors the ante was upped. A few attention seeking participants drank pints of spirits and the Irish Times got all in a fluster. Had they followed the craze from the start they would have known this. It's a pint of beer, advocating downing a pint of any spirit would just be foolish.

The BBC have since taken down their embarrassing reference to prinking being a new trend. Reddit highlighted how stupid they looked and some old hack in the BBC took out his fountain pen and amended the site's article.

Like your dad showing up to pick you up from a disco, some things are just embarrassing, and the elders should wait outside. The BBC should bow it's head in shame and if it wants to have an opinion on student culture, get involved, get some reporters on campus, maybe join Facebook and above all, get their facts straight.