There’s been a lot of good that’s come from social media. We meet friends and sometimes find groups of people who help us through those early days of parenthood. Social media gives us a laugh when we feel all alone while we’re up for the fourth day straight with a kid who doesn’t feel well. We have an amazing community of people right in our pockets, thanks to our phones.
But social media also has some downsides. Especially so when it comes to our children. They have easier access to see things that might not be the best for their health, whether mental health or physical health. TikTok is proving to be a platform that parents need to know if their kids are spending time on it.
TikTok is popular thanks to viral challenges. They can range from intense dance routines to dangerous challenges that put our kids’ lives at risk. For any parent with kids old enough to use TikTok, here are some of the difficult challenges that have gone viral on the platform that could put kids in harm’s way and potentially lead to serious injury — or worse.
Scalp Popping Challenge
The scalp popping challenge went viral on TikTok in late 2020. Users would record videos of themselves yanking out a hair or two from the scalp quickly. The idea is it would make a popping sound as the hair releases from the scalp. But experts warned that the challenge could lead to scalp damage, bald spots, or hair loss.
Blackout Challenge
Authorities started to warn parents about the dangers of the blackout challenge, which went viral on TikTok. It had users choking themselves until they black out, which is obviously dangerous. Unfortunately, it has led to the death of more than one person, including a 10-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy.
Full Face Wax Challenge
@kapsalonfreedomboxmeer
The Full Face Wax Challenge is exactly what it sounds like. People put wax all over their faces, covering their lips, eyes, and nose. Then, the video shows a second person attempting to take the wax off in one rip. In reality, it never happens like this. It’s supposed to be funny, but it’s actually dangerous. Not only because it’s damaging to the skin, but people are obstructing their ability to breathe.
Silhouette Challenge
@yoelise everybody say thank you picsart
At first, the Silhouette Challenge seemed like any other dance video that goes viral on the platform. It went viral with millions of people trying out the move themselves, which has them transition their dance into a nude one with a heavy red-light filter. The dance is usually sexy, supposed to show off your naked silhouette. But someone figured out that it’s not too hard to remove the red filter off anyone’s video. And many people, largely men, used this to have the woman’s nude body that was obscured by the filter to now be visible.
Frozen Honey Challenge
@daveyrz honey jelly without the honey ##experiment
The Frozen Honey Challenge has people filling an empty water bottle with honey mixed with something else and putting it in the freezer. Once the bottle is completely frozen, people squeeze the mixture inside out of the cap and eat the jelly-like result. Ignoring the fact that choking is a possibility, people are getting really sick after consuming large amounts of honey, some even needing to go to the hospital for treatment.
Benadryl Challenge
Benadryl has become a trend among teenagers thanks to a dangerous and disturbing challenge called the Benadryl Challenge that went viral on TikTok. The challenge has kids dosing themselves with the medication, which has resulted in the death of a 15-year-old in Oklahoma, and several others around the country.
Corn Cob Challenge
The Corn Cob Challenge just feels like it’s obviously asking for trouble but that didn’t stop a lot of people from trying it and injuring themselves — including singer Jason Derulo. The challenge has people put a cooked corn on the cob on a drill and they then attempt to eat the corn kernels while the drill is on. What ends up happening is people chip their teeth, have their teeth ripped out, or are getting their hair caught in the drill, causing serious bodily harm.
Bright Eye Challenge
Social media can be a wonderful place to get hacks to make life easier, but there are a lot of dangers in just blindly trusting what we see on these platforms. There was a Bright Eye Challenge that was going viral on the platform earlier in the year where people appeared to show people attempting to change their eye color using bags of bleach or hand sanitizer. The videos were fake, but that didn’t get disclosed until after others tried it, risking their eyesight.
Nutmeg Challenge
We’ve heard of challenges similar to this in the past where someone takes a full scoop of a dried substance and tries to eat it. We’ve heard of it being done with cinnamon, and a similar one using nutmeg made its way around TikTok as well. Any version of this is dangerous because people are nearly dying by choking on the powder while people around laugh about it.
Cereal Challenge
@user171772282 make this go viral he yakked in the bathroom after this #cerealchallenge #TalkToAnimals #fyp #foryou
There are two versions of the Cereal Challenge, and both are gross and have the potential to be dangerous. The first version of the challenge is only milk where a person lies on their back, fills their mouth with milk, and holds it in their mouth while a pet licks it out.
A second version has the person laying in the same position, with the milk in their mouth, too, but adding cereal and another person eats out of their mouth with a spoon as if the person laying down were a bowl. It's not only gross and unsanitary, but there's a risk of choking and inhalation into the lungs.
Skull-Breaker Challenge
Dangerous, dangerous, dangerous is how we'd describe this challenge. The Skull-Breaker Challenge involves two people who kick the legs out from under a third person who's either aware or unaware this is going to happen. The kicks send the person crashing to the ground, usually slamming their head and causing serious injury. TikTok vowed to remove the content from its site and kids have been charged with aggravated assault over the prank.
Verbal Abuse Challenge
@alexis_cuban Does someone w an athletic child want to trade?
We know that it's important to have a sense of humor as a parent. And there are times where it's OK to gently poke fun at the kids. But a Verbal Abuse Challenge went viral on TikTok and it crossed the line on this one. The challenge had parents record videos of their kids while adding an insult on the caption. While this won't cause physical harm, there are some that will inevitably take things too far. And everything always stays on the internet.
Tooth Filing Challenge
There are some things we see on TikTok that might look real, but they’re designed to trick the viewer. We’re guessing that’s where this challenge started because if we were to ask a dentist, they’d set us straight. The Tooth Filing Challenge on TikTok had people attempt to give themselves vampire fangs by filing down their teeth with a nail file, causing all kinds of damage to the teeth.
Penny Challenge
The Penny Challenge is a literal disaster waiting to happen and it’s gone viral on both TikTok and YouTube. The challenge has people slide a penny behind a partially unplugged phone charger. What ends up happening is that the penny and outlet “sparks, electrical system damage, and in some cases, fire,” Massachusetts Fire Marshall Peter J. Ostroskey warned in 2020.
The Dry Scoop Challenge
The Dry Scoop Challenge is similar to the nutmeg challenge in that people attempt to swallow a dry scoop of whey protein powder. What ends up happening is their mouth gets really dry, because the powder soaks all the moisture up. It's supposed to be funny when people cough, choking on the powder, sending clouds of it into the air. But it has the potential to be really serious by causing people to choke or inhaling the powder into the lungs.
