Social Media Craze ‘Planking’ Comes With a Warning

It seems the pretty much the whole world is on Facebook or Twitter, so maybe it’s no surprise when someone first posted a picture of themselves laying face down and acting like a plank of wood, it spread like wildfire.

Who knows how fads like parachute pants, tie-dyed T-shirts, or popping your collar became a hit, but every generation must have something to claim itself with, and right now, it’s Planking.

Kids and adults the world over have decided to venture the plank, and post themselves sometimes in the most extreme, and often dangerous places.

The middle of the road, the edge of a building, or laying down on a railroad track…this facedown, Facebook phenomenon, no matter how juvenile it seems, can come hand in hand with an element of danger.

Social media experts warn planksters to be careful when posting pictures on the internet. Once it’s there, it never leaves, and it could come back to hurt future job prospects. 

“In the context of where you’ll be six months from now, does what you’re doing now make sense to post online, where it’s going to there forever and for anybody to see it? I think that’s sort of the pass/fail, and if you can’t make that judgement call, then you’re probably running the risk,” Geoff Halsema of the American Advertising Federation warns.