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Nerf Today
Nerf in the News
Take a look at a couple different ways that Nerf is being talked about in the news today.
This article touches on the fact that while Nerf guns are differentiated from real guns, a comparison exists. Here, the New York Daily News dives into a terrible scare that a Nerf gun unknowingly gave to a high school as a result of its gun-like structure and qualities.
This article expands on the idea of Nerf guns' similarities to real guns, and how their presence on campuses could make people feel unsafe. Gain a perspective about how the community perceives Nerf gun use.
This article is related to idea of "Nerf mods" (find more about that below) and how these trends have seeped into today's media and news.
This article is a continuation of the evolution of Nerf (to learn more about that click here). It captures Nerf's new push to team-up with video-game franchises, such as first-person shooter game Overwatch, to make the video-game guns come to life. This trend is also reflected in the recent news that Nerf is supposedly partnering with the über-popular Fortnite to make Fortnite guns.
Nerf in Play​
This is a short video I made where I interviewed a couple kids about their thoughts on Nerf guns and how they play to gain a better understanding of how the target audience is using Nerf guns.
Nerf Phenomena
Outside of using Nerf guns to play tag or shoot friends, there are two major Nerf subcultures today. The two are related and often go hand-in-hand. The first is "Nerf mods." The second is a Nerf gun war game called "Humans vs. Zombies".
Nerf Mods
Nerf mods are a trend that takes regular Nerf guns and accessorizes or modifies them, usually to make the guns more militaristic. This trend has a gained a lot of popularity via YouTube, as many people who do Nerf mods videotape and post them online.
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To better understand Nerf mods and Nerf-mod culture, below are some videos of popular Nerf mods and also an article about the world of Nerf mods.
DID YOU KNOW? Due to the fact that these "mods" are potentially breaking Nerf safety-codes, Nerf has had to compete against these Nerf modifiers to maintain safety standards that they advertise. Such, there is a continuous trend of militarizing Nerf guns further to compete with this select group of consumers. (Learn more about the changing features of Nerf guns in the Evolution section)
Humans vs. Zombies
Humans vs. Zombies is "a game of tag played at schools, camps, neighborhoods, libraries, and conventions around the world," according to the official Humans vs. Zombies website. Everyone starts out as humans, except for the "Original Zombie." If a zombie tags a human, the human becomes a zombie. Humans can defend themselves using blasters or socks. (For more in-depth rules, history and any additional information, visit https://humansvszombies.org/)
The game was created by college students and is now played in several different countries and on and off campuses. Oftentimes, many of the blasters that "human" players use are modified Nerf blasters.
