Desafios extremos da internet e contágio psíquico: sintomas da cultura do espetáculo

This article analyses the patterns of manifestation of ‘internet challenges’, a viral manifestation in which mainly preadolescents and adolescents participate and which stimulates worldwide participation in challenges that generate altered states of consciousness that carry a potential risk of death. The objective was to trace the patterns of incidence of the Google Trends tool to map patterns of manifestation that are analyzed from the point of view of the psychic contagions of the masses of the societies taken by the communication networks. The analysis of the patterns of incidence is followed by a theoretical reflection on the phenomenon and its consequences based on the theories of communication, the media and Jungian psychology, especially concerning the phenomena of the masses. For the discussion, we used Dietmar Kamper, Jean Baudrillard, Norval Baitello Junior and Malena Segura Contrera as basic references.