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This article highlights harmful TikTok challenges and explains why they are risky. Aimed at parents, it provides essential knowledge for ensuring online safety for children.
Updated Sep 4, 2023 | 10:35 AM IST
Dangerous TikTok Trends Parents Must Be Aware Of (Credit – Twitter)
Authorities are cautioning parents about several risky behaviours that are gaining popularity on social media, especially on the video-sharing platform TikTok. Specialists from SellCell highlight that young people may be endangering themselves by trying to replicate these viral trends at home. Parents are being advised to closely monitor what their children are viewing online.
This warning follows a study revealing that nearly 42% of kids devote over four hours daily to their smartphones, making them more vulnerable to encountering unsuitable material.
While TikTok was initially created as a platform for sharing and viewing short, fun videos, the emergence of various challenges has led to young users potentially engaging in hazardous activities. Authorities now identify specific trends like the blackout, chroming, and Cha Cha Slide challenges as posing significant risks to safety.
Experts have now compiled a list of the most dangerous social media challenges that parents need to know about:
Borg Challenge
The Borg or “blackout rage gallon” challenge entails mixing a gallon jug with equal parts of water and vodka, along with caffeinated flavourings and electrolyte supplements. The misconception is that the water and electrolytes make this concoction safer, but this is misleading. The large quantity of alcohol in the mix makes it hard to control consumption, leading to dangerous levels of alcohol intake.
Mouth Taping During Sleep
Blackout Challenge
Chroming
The chroming fad involves participants daring one another to inhale vapours from hazardous substances like aerosol sprays, deodorant cans, paint canisters, or nail polish removers. While the objective is to achieve a brief high, many are unaware of the grave health risks associated with this activity. Engaging in this challenge can result in severe health consequences like heart attacks, seizures, asphyxiation, comas, and choking hazards. It can also lead to irreversible organ damage and even death.
Fake Piercings with Magnets
In this trend, people use small magnetic balls, often marketed as imaginative toys, to mimic facial and tongue piercings. The risks arise if these magnets are unintentionally ingested. Swallowing more than one can cause the magnets to attract each other inside the body, potentially pinching intestines or bowels and disrupting blood flow, which can be life-threatening.
Benadryl Challenge
Participants in this challenge consume excessive amounts of Benadryl, an over-the-counter antihistamine, to induce hallucinations. They often take almost twice the advised daily dosage in a short span of time, capturing the experience on video. Overdosing on this allergy medication poses severe risks, including heart issues, seizures, comas, or even fatal outcomes.
Cha Cha Slide
Although the Cha Cha Slide challenge may sound like harmless fun, it’s actually one of the riskiest trends circulating on TikTok. The challenge urges teens to drive recklessly in sync with DJ Casper’s popular Cha Cha Slide song. Drivers zigzag their vehicles left and right, making sharp turns, especially during the “criss-cross” lyrics. Such erratic driving behavior can cause the car to swerve into oncoming lanes, potentially resulting in catastrophic accidents.
The Deodorant Challenge
In this concerning trend, young people spray deodorant from an aerosol can directly onto their skin for extended periods, aiming to achieve an ice-cold sensation. This practice can result in severe skin burns, as the pressurized gas from the can rapidly cool the skin to freezing temperatures. Some participants have sustained injuries so severe they require years of healing and even plastic surgery.
Sarah McConomy of SellCell commented that the drive to conform and gain popularity on social media platforms can impair young people’s ability to think critically about the potential risks associated with engaging in dangerous online trends. Given that children are spending an unprecedented amount of time on their phones, their likelihood of encountering inappropriate or hazardous content is consequently higher.
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