7 Shocking and Dangerous TikTok Challenges & Trends

Michelle Wilson - October 26, 2021

TikTok has taken the world by storm and is particularly popular among young people and teenagers. In fact, common parlance these days is talk of the latest TikTok Trend. Whether it’s a dance that everyone’s doing, a joke, an audio track, or a filter, these trends are popular and relatively harmless. Unfortunately, however, some trends take things a step too far, and kids are getting hurt. Read on to learn about some of the most dangerous TikTok challenges and trends.

Penny Challenge

Literally “shocking,” the penny challenge requires that you slide a penny behind a phone charger that’s partially plugged in. Although this may seem innocuous, we’re dealing with live electrical outlets, which means that if you’re not careful and the coin strikes the metal prongs, it will cause sparks. These sparks may lead to electrical system damage or cause a fire. And, it has. In one incident, a student at Plymouth North High School was reported to have started a fire while performing this challenge. Fortunately, no one was injured. However, the student will face charges. Students will also face charges for creating a fire at Westford Academy in Massachusetts while allegedly performing this trend.

Silhouette Challenge

In this challenge, women took to TikTok to show off their bodies behind a red filter. This filter kept their private parts hidden, so the videos were, at best, PG-13. Unfortunately, geeky perverts found a way to remove the filter so they could see everything. To make it worse, they then posted the uncovered videos on the internet.

Fortunately, PSAs went out to warn women of this hack, and the trend quickly disappeared. Nonetheless, it’s still a good idea to make people aware of this challenge and its perils, so it doesn’t resurface.

Blackout Challenge

When your brain doesn’t receive enough oxygen, you pass out. For some reason, young people find this fact fascinating, and even before, TikTok would play games where the goal was to fall unconscious from lack of oxygen.

Sometimes called “the choke game,” Time magazine reported that 82 children in the US died from this challenge between 1995 and 2007. More recently, 10-year-old Antonella and 12-year old Joshua Haileyesus both passed away while doing this trend on TikTok. As a result, data protection watchdogs called for TikTok to ban underage users from using the platform. They have since complied.

Benadryl Challenge

Benadryl is known for helping relieve people suffering from allergic reactions. However, young people have discovered another use for this medication. They have found that taking a great deal of Benadryl results in hallucinations. Apparently, a person hallucinating is great fodder for TikTok, which is why young users will take enormous amounts of this drug and then film themselves as they hallucinate.

Unfortunately, hallucinations aren’t the only side-effect of taking large doses of this antihistamine. Death is also a side-effect. A 15-year-old girl from Oklahoma died from an overdose of Benadryl just last year.

Corn Cob Challenge

What is so dangerous about corn on the cob? Nothing. Until you place the cob on a power drill and set it to spinning, then try to eat it. That’s right; the corn cob challenge saw hundreds of people try to eat corn off the cob while it was affixed to a spinning drill bit. Apparently, this allows people to eat corn faster because that has always been such a huge problem. And while it does let you consume corn off the cob quicker, it can also cause you to lose your teeth, as famously exemplified by singer Jason Derulo.

Skull Breaker Challenge

The name of this trend should make it obvious why it’s dangerous, but that hasn’t stopped teenagers from doing it. This challenge involves three people jumping in the air together, all in a row. However, the unsuspecting person in the middle gets tripped by the two people on the ends. This results in them falling onto their backs and hitting their heads on the ground. Hilarious, right?

This trend has resulted in a number of injuries across the US, including Miami, Arizona, and New Jersey. Two teens in Daytona Beach, Florida, were charged by police with misdemeanor battery and cyberbullying for performing this stunt on a third teen.

Coronavirus Toilet Challenge

Ava Louise, a TikTok influencer, filmed herself licking a toilet seat in an airplane bathroom and called it the “coronavirus challenge.” Apparently, it’s monkey-see, monkey-do because other TikTokers followed suit and started licking everything from car-door handles to subway handlebars, and of course, toilets. One TikTok user filmed himself licking a public toilet, and then it was reported by a California newspaper that he had tested positive for Coronavirus. Whether his toilet licking caused his positive result isn’t clear, but it should be clear to all readers that it’s not a good idea to lick a toilet seat or any public surfaces, ever.

Keeping a Watch on Your Kids That Use TikTok

Social media exerts a great deal of influence on young people these days. In schools and on the playground, it dominates conversations. And as younger and younger children get smartphones, it’s easier than ever for kids to be exposed to social media and imitate what they see.

Unfortunately, kids don’t exactly have a great track record when it comes to their judgment, which is why it’s so important that parents keep an eye on what their kids are watching and doing on social media, especially TikTok.

You should hold open conversations with your kids about the things they see on social media. Discuss trends and explain why even if their friends are doing it, they shouldn’t. Allow them to ask questions and take the time to explain to them how things on the internet last forever. Additionally, you should always be around to oversee what your children are doing online. Of course, you can’t look over their shoulder 24/7, but for those times, you can use technology to protect your kids. In these ways, you can ensure that your kids don’t do anything that might harm them now or in the future.