A 264-hour no-sleep stream broke records. Should platforms have shut it down?

A live broadcast that carried on for 11 days has raised ethical questions about streaming trends. An Australian creator named Norme succeeded in his attempt to stay awake for 264 hours in a row, though he was banned on three different platforms in the process.

Norme attempted to forgo sleep for 11 straight days in order to certify himself as a Guinness World Records holder. Though the actual record is nearly twice as long, that person used stimulants, and Norme planned to eschew uppers during his attempt.

There’s just one problem with that plan: The feat Norme attempted (and eventually pulled off) is extremely dangerous. People who completed similar challenges warned the streamer that it would take years to undo the damage he caused for himself, if he could even undo it at all.

“Sleep deprivation like this can cause serious damage to the brain,” said commentator Philip DeFranco in a video discussing Norme’s stunt. “This type of challenge can be so dangerous that the Guinness Book of World Records doesn’t monitor this record anymore.”

Some of Norme’s fans did attempt to halt his attempt. As his friends kept him conscious through delirium and hallucinations, viewers argued that he was no longer able to consent to the constant wake-up calls. Someone even called the cops on him, though the welfare check did not faze him.

As Norme got closer to the record he sought, he met resistance from the streaming platforms themselves. He was hit with a ban on Twitch, YouTube, and Kick. (Side note: When you get banned on the platform that’s known for welcoming banned streamers, that should probably give you a hint that what you’re doing is not OK.) To cross the finish line, Norme had to end his stream on Rumble, the platform known for its right-wing, anti-censorship culture.

The sites that banned Norme were justified in their decisions to limit the reach of a dangerous and unhealthy stunt, but Norme’s persistence is a reminder of the rising tension between streamers and the platforms on which they operate. Marathon, stunt-filled streams can become palpable business opportunities, as Kai Cenat showed us when he hit the jackpot with a 156-hour playthrough of the video game Elden Ring.

More recently, streaming star iShowSpeed caught a ban on YouTube when he jumped over two sportscars. Creators like him  are compelled toward severe risks if they promise fame or followers. Platforms that ban the perpetrators of those acts are taking a step in the right direction, but it’s time for deeper conversations about the culture that inherently rewards this specific brand of unsafe behavior. Perhaps, as Norme shakes off the insomnia that will no doubt follow his 11-day marathon, he can host a long-form, wide-ranging discussion about the drawbacks of dangerous streamer behaviors.