TikTok, a social network dedicated to creating and sharing short videos, attracts people from all over the world. If it’s a great way to discuss, create links, take part in debates or simply share tips and good plans, it’s also a space where a lot of people challenge each other. On choreas or harmless games, it’s nice. The thing is, sometimes… Challenges get dangerous. Even fatal. It’s not a majority, but still, it exists. It is important to be aware in order to be vigilant. What we do, what we show, and what we see. I’m not here to lecture you, but it’s still important to warn you.
1. Take antidiabetics to lose weight (it’s NO)
This is the latest big news in the section of bullshit TikTok challenges, putting your health and that of others at risk. Australian influencers have praised the type 2 diabetes drug Ozempic for its slimming benefits. Result: pharmacies were robbed and the country-continent now suffers from a shortage. Consequences: the real patients are deprived of their treatment. And that’s not all… Doctors have not yet seen the possible side effects that the stamp could have on the health of non-diabetics. On the other hand, we easily remember the pharmaceutical scandal of Pick! Marketed by Servier laboratories in 1976, this appetite suppressant has caused the death of several hundred people. Don’t be stupid and take care of your health. Please. This story is super dangerous.
Similarly: drink chlorophyll to unify your complexion, massage your chest with fenugreek oil to make it fat or dilute your shampoo with contraceptive pills to accelerate hair growth, as can be found on the networks social, it’s NO, NO, and NO!
2. The trend of filed teeth
Surely you have already heard of this trend: many young people are having their teeth filed to the extreme, to then put crowns. In addition to being useless and difficult to sustain, it is extremely dangerous. This practice is often done at low cost, abroad. Many dentists are sounding the alarm: this operation can have serious and irreversible consequences on the teeth, such as cavities and loss of vitality of the teeth. If you dream of ending up with dentures at 30 and monstrous dental bills for life, go for it. Otherwise, abstain.
3. The “Imagine if” trend
Good, there… I don’t have the words anymore. Human bullshit has no limit. “Imagine If” (“Imagine if”) is, at the base, a rather banal tendency, by which the tiktokeurs imagine scenes of the daily newspaper pushed to the extreme. Until then, okay. But here it is… More than frightening excesses take hold of the concept. Many young men are picking up the trend to share their fantasy of violence against women. So. An ode to feminicide, broadcast and relayed by several hundred thousand people. The videos begin with “imagine,” then describe a date, followed by a horrific act of assault, ending in the death of the victim. The sequences end with a simple “lol”. SCARY.
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4. And Labello Challenge
Surely one of the most serious and dangerous trends on the platform, since it is simply an incitement to suicide. The principle: cut his lip balm into pieces, over his annoyances, while filming himself. When the tube is finished, the person concerned must… Scarify himself or end his life. Although no related deaths have been recorded, the trend is particularly worrying. Last March, public health France indicated that emergency room visits for attempted suicides among 15-24 year olds increased by 27% over the first three months of 2022. , talk it over. To your friends, to your favorite teacher, to your parents, to a health professional… But don’t keep that to yourself. Mental suffering exists and can be treated, just like physical suffering. There is nothing to be ashamed of. My soft and silly heart sends you a lot of love.
5. Le “blackout challenge”
Another particularly dangerous, even deadly trend. This completely absurd challenge is the equivalent of the “headscarf game”, but online. Young people film themselves holding their breath (or suffocating) until they pass out. Several children in his death, last year.
Another similar challenge: the “Pass out challenge” in 2020, which caused participants to swing their heads from side to side repeatedly until they passed out, or “Indian summer”. There too, it was a question of going as far as fainting by hyperventilating before holding your breath as long as possible. Never do that. NEVER. Some never woke up.
6. Le Bright Eye Challenge
Another beautiful bullshit led by appearance. In 2019, several teenagers filmed themselves and posted videos on the platform of them, applying a funny mixture to their eyes to change their color, namely… Bleach, shaving foam or hand sanitizer. In addition to being 100% ineffective, this technique can cause irreversible damage to eyesight.
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7. Le “skull breaker challenge”
On the videos, three people are online. The two on the outside ask the third participant (in the middle) to jump. While he is in the air, the other two double trip him. The trapped person then finds himself completely unbalanced, and crashes to the ground, on the buttocks, the back, or worse… The head. A series of US hospital reports have pointed to the (very) dangerous nature of this tasteless valve (to put it mildly). Among the physical damage identified: damage to the head (concussion, trauma, cerebral hemorrhage, fracture of the cranial box), the neck, the spine, the pelvis or the broken coccyx. TikTok has since deleted all videos posted with the #SkullBreakerChallenge hashtag.
8. Le “Milk Crate Challenge”
This time, it is a “game” as stupid as it is dangerous. The trend that took hold on the platform in 2021 was to film yourself climbing an unstable (and often high enough to injure yourself) pyramid of empty milk crate. If like that, the game seems harmless, it often ends in spectacular falls, large bruises, even concussions and hemorrhages. In an attempt to stem the phenomenon, Tiktok has banned the hashtag #milkcratechallenge from its algorithm. Instead, the message “This phrase may be associated with behavior or content that violates our rules” is displayed. In France, research leads to several videos criticizing the challenge, but none featuring it.
9. Le “throw in the air challenge”
Under the heading of challenges that lead to concussions: the “throw in the air challenge” (which you can translate the challenge of “throw it in the air”). As the name suggests, it’s about throwing something over your head, and waiting for it to fall back on you. So no, a sweater doesn’t hurt. But followers of the concept tend to voluntarily crush their heads with office chairs, crutches or basketball hoops. Stupid, you say?
10. Le « Lug Nut Challenge »
Bullshit has no limit. In this absolutely sickening trend, followers are playing with the lives of others. The “principle”: unbolt the wheels of a car chosen at random. Expect. Filming the moment the driver takes the wheel. Besides the fact that it’s disgusting to destroy other people’s stuff, a half unbolted item wouldn’t go away right away. Consequence: the wheel could come off a little later, once the driver started at high speed. Without drawing a picture, this can lead to the death of one or more people. For a bullshit challenge. It’s serious, it’s murder, and it’s heavily punished. Do not do that. It’s not funny or cool or anything positive. It just makes you an unconscious asshole assassin. It’s sad to say, but check your wheels before leaving, especially if you park in public car parks accessible to all.
11. Le “Tide Pod Challenge”
It was in 2018 that the trend caused a stir and thousands of users filmed themselves with a detergent pod in their mouths (yes, yes). The goal was simply to leave him there as long as possible. You don’t need to have studied medicine to understand that it’s a big shitty idea and that the health consequences can be terrible. The videos for this challenge have (thankfully) been removed by Google.
12. Le “outlet challenge”
This trend came back into the news at the end of 2021, when the Alexa speaker asked a little girl to exercise (luckily the mother was next and the worst was avoided). This challenge, which s aired on the networks in 2020, involved plugging in a phone charger halfway, then dropping a coin on the visible part of the pins. Among the consequences that this action can have: electrocutions, fires and various damages on the body. Whether you’re a baby or an adult, you don’t play with electricity. It can be deadly. It’s anything but funny, actually.