TikTok has become an increasingly popular social media platform, especially among younger users. At the same time, many TikTok trends and challenges are harmless and entertaining.
As a parent, you should be aware of these trends. There can be some dangerous ones with severe consequences. Take appropriate steps to ensure your children’s online safety when you need to be.
What can parents do about dangerous TikTok trends?
You understand TikTok challenges and monitor your child’s activity. Awareness of possible dangerous trends is crucial to safeguard your child’s well-being.
TikTok Challenges: What are they?
TikTok challenges are user-generated trends. Participants create and share short videos. Aimed at performing specific tasks or actions, generally to music or a catchy sound clip. These challenges can range from dance routines to daring stunts. Typically, with varying levels of risk involved.
Examples of TikTok Trends
- The Renegade Dance Challenge
- The Bottle Cap Challenge
- The Plank Challenge
- The Savage Dance Challenge
Dangerous Trending Challenges to Know About
Parents should be aware of the following potentially hazardous TikTok Trends:
Benadryl challenge
This challenge involves taking excessive amounts of the allergy medication Benadryl. It can lead to dangerous side effects like seizures, heart problems, and (even) death.
Black-out challenge
Participants in the black-out challenge intentionally choke themselves. Leaving themselves induced a brief loss of consciousness. This can result in brain damage, injury, or death.
Silhouette Challenge
The Silhouette Challenge involves participants posing provocatively in a darkened room. Using a red filter, sometimes revealing more than intended. This can lead to privacy concerns and online harassment.
Penny Challenge
The Penny Challenge involves sliding a penny between a partly plugged-in phone charger and a wall outlet, causing electrical fires, injury, or electrocution.
The Orbeez Challenge
This challenge involves filling a bathtub with water-absorbing Orbeez beads and submerging oneself. The beads can create a choking hazard or lead to plumbing issues.
The Door Kick Challenge
Participants kick open a door in this challenge while someone else is filming. This can result in injury, property damage, or legal consequences.
Morning-after-pill TikTok challenge
This controversial challenge encourages participants to share videos of themselves taking emergency contraception, leading to misinformation about proper medication use.
Tranq Challenge
The Tranq Challenge involves participants pretending to be tranquilized. They fall to the ground, resulting in injury from the impact or other accidents.
Dragon Breath
This challenge involves inhaling the vapor from a liquid nitrogen-infused snack. The participant then exhales through the nose and mouth, resembling a dragon’s breath. Ingesting liquid nitrogen can cause severe cold burns and damage internal organs.
The Game
This challenge encourages participants to pretend they are dead or seriously injured. The aim is to scare their friends and family. This can lead to emotional distress and potential accidents.
How To Search for TikTok Videos
Parents can search for specific TikTok videos. Enter keywords, hashtags, or user names in the app’s search bar. You can track your child’s TikTok activity. Being aware of prevalent TikTok trends and challenges can help you stay informed.
What’s TikTok Doing to Protect Kids?
TikTok has implemented several safety features, including age restrictions, private account settings, and content moderation. TikTok will continue working to improve its safety measures with the protection of young users from harmful content in mind.
What Can Parents Do?
Both harmless and dangerous, to understand the content your child may encounter. Here are some steps for your child’s safety on TikTok:
- Stay informed: Keep up-to-date with prevalent TikTok trends and challenges.
- Set privacy settings: Encourage your child to make their account private. You are allowing them to approve or deny follower requests. To ensure that only authorized followers can view their content.
- Track activity: Keep an eye on your child’s online activity. Discuss any concerning TikTok trends or challenges with them.
- Establish guidelines: Set clear boundaries and expectations for your child’s social media usage, including what is and isn’t appropriate to share.
- Encourage open communication: Foster a trusting relationship with your child. So they feel comfortable discussing their online experiences with you.
- Teach digital citizenship: Educate your child about responsible online behavior, respecting others’ opinions, avoiding sharing personal information, and reporting inappropriate content.
- Use TikTok’s parental controls: Familiarize yourself with TikTok’s Family Pairing feature. It allows parents to link their TikTok account to their child’s account. You can set various safety controls, such as restricting content, disabling direct messages, and managing screen time.
Stay informed and engaged in your child’s TikTok experience; you can help protect them from dangerous TikTok trends. Educate them about potential risks. And foster a safer online environment.
