Celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness with Energy

            Now begins the flurry of pink products to celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness month. 5-Hour Energy has a new flavor to match its pink promotional bottles: pink lemonade. The idea of 5-Hour Energy drinks has always been disgusting to me. I have never tried the product for fear that my body would start glowing neon yellow or orange because it had become radioactive. I have worked overnight shifts for great lengths of time, which proves that I know what sleep depravation feels like and what it is like to desperately want a 5-hour pick-me-up to get me through the “day.” However, I have never desired to ingest something that had so many ingredients that I cannot pronounce and have never heard of. There are more natural ways to get energy. Additionally, I have been told 5-Hour Energy tastes sickly sweet. I tried Red Bull one time many years ago and I inadvertently bought an energy drink more recently. I did not like the taste of either. I do not like overly sweet foods or drinks. I also did not like the gritty flavor; it was as if I was drinking something that had non-dissolvable fiber in it (but not a healthy form of fiber). I can imagine that the pink lemonade flavor will make the energy shot slightly more palatable and it may be a hit among slacktivists. Breast Cancer Awareness Month provides a perfect opportunity for slacktivists to come out of the woodwork. People can pretend to be activists on a certain issue, breast cancer awareness in this case, by not doing much at all to support that issue. They can buy an item while shopping for something else, going on a 5K walk, or clicking a “like” button on facebook. 

Note: Slacktivism is a phrase that was coined by Dr. Waite, Assistant Professor at Ball State University.