SYN Media

By Cameron Cook

To many of you Bubbling is a new term that has featured on the internet over the last couple of weeks with it being reported in the news and the newspapers. It first came to the media’s attention when former NRL Cronulla Sharks player Todd Carney was seen performing this new trend in a photo that was posted on popular social networking site Facebook. So, what is bubbling and where did it all start from as before we had never heard of it until today.

Bubbling is when a young man urinates in their own mouth as defined by US staking magazine VICE. Bubbling is very popular within the stake boarding community as many have reported doing the act and mentioning that it makes them stake better. A skateboarder told VICE magazine “it started in Australia and became very popular throughout Europe within the skateboarder touring the continent. The skateboarder also told the magazine that “his dad taught him how to do bubbling when he was a kid.” In the Courier Mail, it was report that a Brisbane skateboarder named Roach as he believes that he is responsible for starting the new social media trend last year when he placed a picture of himself doing it and was reported in a Queensland skateboarding website. The 21 year old also believes that he started and created the bubbling craze. In recent times, a Melbourne skateboarder has also played a part in boosting the profile of this new trend after he was allegedly caught on camera performing the act at a mosh pit in a punk-rock concert. It was reported that the spectators were disgusted of the skateboarders’ actions and the environment that he did it in. Also Cronulla Sharks player Todd Carney was caught out when a friend took a snap of him doing this trend while in a hotel bathroom.  Carney was reported to have lost his position within the Cronulla Sharks due to the photo. After this was reported a Facebook groups and pages were created in support of this cause with young men taking photo of themselves doing it and posting it online. Facebook has quickly taken down the pictures and pages in reaction to the public and their policies as the snappers genitals were clearly seen in some pictures.

In my opinion, bubbling has been around for years and even generations but with the powers we have today of the internet and social media it can quickly become an issue or a news worthy piece. It just isn’t in the skateboarding community that bubbling happens, it features in a lot of porn videos, television thanks to Bear Grylls and many more. As human beans, as my University communications lecture describes it best as “humans like to give things names so we know what it is” and we see this as a very common way with social media and the internet. Like most other trends like planking and such it will become unpopular soon and a new trend will rise. The Courier Mail also has reported “others in the skateboarding community have tried to distance themselves from anything to do with the questionable practice.”

References

Snowdon and Carson, T and J, 2014. Brisbane skateboarder claims to have started posting ‘bubbling’ antics on social media. The Courier Mail, 01 July. http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/brisbane-skateboarder-clai….

Staff, Vice, 2014. Pissing into your own mouth is ‘huge’ in Australia. Vice Magazine, 24 June. http://www.vice.com/read/pissing-mouth-australia-skaters-troy-weston.

McKenny and Olding, L and R, 2014. Todd Carney lewd photo inspires Facebook ‘bubbling’ copycats. The Sydney Morning Herald, 30 June. http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/todd-carney-lewd-photo-inspires-faceb….