Netflix has issued a warning to its customers thanks to a meme challenge that has gone viral in which people are choosing to put blindfolds on and navigate the world around them just like the characters in the horror movie “Bird Box.”
Let the hilarity and the hospital visits begin.
For those who spent the holidays visiting friends and not watching Netflix, here’s a quick summary. Netflix released a horror concept movie called Bird Box starring Sandra Bullock. In Bird Box, Bullock and her children, Boy and Girl, are forced to wear blindfolds and navigate a river and spooky forest to protect themselves against the evil monster that, if seen, causes people to kill themselves.
The movie not only broke viewership records, it inspired a bevy of #BirdBoxChallenge memes, including ones in which folks record themselves blindfolded and attempting to do complete tasks, many of which are depicted in the movie.
Can’t believe I have to say this, but: PLEASE DO NOT HURT YOURSELVES WITH THIS BIRD BOX CHALLENGE. We don’t know how this started, and we appreciate the love, but Boy and Girl have just one wish for 2019 and it is that you not end up in the hospital due to memes.
— Netflix (@netflix) January 2, 2019
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Of course, these videos aren’t staying tucked away. They’re being shared with the world on social media. One viral meme shows a blindfolded family paddling away in their bathtub. Another shows a family running through their living room and one managing to hit the wall instead. There are numerous videos of random people walking blindfolded in cities like New York because sure, why not. One person put a hat over his head while driving.
Here’s a sampling.
Bird Box challenge #BirdBox #BirdBoxChallenge pic.twitter.com/6dyHVFEX5s
— Enrique (@EnriqueRuanox) December 28, 2018
https://twitter.com/RealFakeShanti/status/1079539194861629440
https://twitter.com/FleshFire/status/1078245919445925890
my family and i wanted to see how well we’d do if we were in the bird box movie 💀😂 #birdboxchallenge pic.twitter.com/da3d0KWTkO
— Sydneyrella (@LoveMahalHappy) December 27, 2018
The morning talk shows got into the mix as well.
#BirdBoxChallenge: @michaelstrahan attempts to put lipstick on @sarahaines with a blindfold on! #GMADay https://t.co/G4PdrKdY6w pic.twitter.com/h5HIWtJtXw
— Good Morning America (@GMA) January 2, 2019
Last month, the streaming service announced in a tweet that more than 45 million Netflix accounts had streamed Bird Box, which set a new record for the best-ever first week for a Netflix film.
