A dangerous trend has emerged on TikTok that involves mixing chemicals to create homemade bombs. Recently, a Swedish youth who participated in this trend ended up damaging his eyesight.
The youth was a student of the Dalsjöskolan school in the city of Borås. He suffered serious injuries to his face and there are chances that his vision could be permanently impaired. The name and age of the youth have not been disclosed.
“It’s serious, even though we don’t really know the consequences yet,” Dalsjöskolan principal Maria Persson said, according to SVT. Persson believes that parents need to be informed about how their kids are using social media so as to prevent such incidents.
This is not the first time that youth in Sweden has been injured while trying to participate in this viral trend. Samuel Tinglöf Bjelkmark, a 13-year-old from the municipality of Salem in Stockholm County, also experimented with the trend two weeks ago. The bottle in his hand exploded, resulting in injuries that put him in a hospital.
The “homemade bomb” isn’t the only dangerous trend that is being promoted on TikTok. There are numerous other challenges and pranks that have led to severe injuries and even death.
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The “skull breaker challenge,” which originated in Venezuela, is one such challenge. It involves three individuals “jumping next to each other as the bookending buds kick the middle guy’s feet out from under him. The action sends the person crashing to the ground, landing on their back and hitting their head in the process,” according to the New York Post. This has led to serious injuries across the U.S. Two high school teens have been charged with misdemeanor battery in Florida due to this trend.
Then there is the “Benadryl challenge” that involves consuming a substantial amount of cough syrup until one hallucinates. It eventually led to the death of a 15-year-old girl in Oklahoma last year.
A couple in New York recently blamed the “Lug Nut Challenge” for the wheel of their jeep coming off while they were driving. The challenge involves TikTok users filming themselves while removing the nuts of cars. The couple believes some individuals must have removed the lug nuts from their vehicle.
In another incident, a teenager in Louisiana punched her 64-year-old disabled teacher in what police officers claim is linked to the “slap a teacher” challenge. The teenager could face up to 10 years in prison.
School students across the U.S. have also participated in the “devious licks” challenge that encourages them to record a video of themselves stealing stuff or vandalizing property at schools. This has led to thousands of dollars worth of damage.
Some are worried that TikTok has become a platform that encourages youngsters to indulge in dangerous and illicit acts. While teens may not give a thought to how dangerous the consequences of their acts can be, many are demanding that TikTok take the responsibility of ensuring that any content that promotes violence or reckless acts is banned on the platform.
