Tiktok Challenge (6,600) 47%

New week, new TikTok challenge, and kids being hurt (or hurting others) by participating in them. Follow these tips to keep kids safe from the next TikTok challenge they come across.

I recently received an email from our High School principal about something that’s been bothering me for a long time now: TikTok Challenges. And it has inspired me to write about it and how to help our kids stay safe on Social Media.

You may have seen (or at least heard about) some of the recent TikTok challenges that have become the sensations of the social media app. Examples include slapping a teacher across the face, stealing a school toilet, or holding your breath until you pass out.

Kids of all ages practically obsess about these challenges and try to re-enact them with their friends or alone. They are alarming and concerning to many, especially parents and educators.

Too many people have been injured, and millions of dollars in damage has occurred to public property.

Some students have been criminally charged for partaking in challenges.

TikTok has attempted to remove videos and hashtags associated with the trend. But it hasn’t been anywhere close to enough.

More than seven in 10 Americans use social media. With that in mind, parents have a harder and harder time keeping their children safe online.

They are faced with the challenging question: How do you keep kids safe in the digital world?

None of the social media sites, including TikTok, are free of dangers. And unfortunately, we continue to learn more and more about awful algorithm settings from Facebook that push negative, harmful content.

At publication, TikTok is currently the biggest app in the world. And over the past few years, it’s developed a reputation for challenges that go viral – especially with kids and teens. 

If you are concerned about a dangerous TikTok challenge that your kids might come across, there are several things you can do to help keep them safe:

1. Talk to your kids: It is essential to communicate with your kids about the potential risks associated with social media challenges. Explain to them that not everything they see on social media is safe, and they should always be cautious.
2. Monitor their social media use: Keep an eye on your children’s social media use and monitor the content they are consuming. You can also enable parental controls on their devices to limit their access to certain apps and websites.
3. Block inappropriate content: You can block inappropriate content by setting up content filters and enabling restricted mode on TikTok. These features can help prevent your children from seeing dangerous challenges.
4. Report dangerous content: If you come across any dangerous content on TikTok, report it to the platform immediately. This will help to remove the content and prevent others from being exposed to it.
5. Be a positive role model: Set a positive example by using social media responsibly and avoiding dangerous challenges yourself. Your kids are more likely to follow your lead, so it’s important to model healthy online behaviors.
6. Seek professional help: If you are concerned that your child is struggling with the impact of social media, seek professional help. A mental health professional can provide support and guidance to help your child navigate social media safely.

As an AI language model, my first advice is that parents or guardians should always be aware of the online activities of their children and monitor their internet use. In addition, here are some specific tips to keep kids safe from a dangerous TikTok challenge:

1. Educate your children: Talk to your kids about the potential risks associated with participating in viral challenges and the importance of not doing anything that could harm them or others. Explain to them the dangers of TikTok challenges and why they should avoid them.
2. Set rules and boundaries: Establish clear rules for social media use and make sure your children understand them. For example, set a limit on the amount of time they can spend on TikTok or other social media platforms, and establish guidelines for what kind of content they can and cannot engage with.
3. Keep track of their online activity: Monitor your child’s social media accounts and check for any concerning activity or participation in dangerous challenges. Be alert to any sudden changes in behavior, such as secrecy or agitation, and ask them about what’s going on.
4. Block or report unsafe content: Use parental controls to block inappropriate content or report dangerous challenges to the platform. This will prevent your children from seeing harmful material and also help keep others safe.
5. Encourage positive behavior: Encourage your children to use social media in a positive way, such as sharing uplifting messages, learning new skills, or connecting with friends and family. This can help them avoid risky behavior and stay safe online.

Remember, the key to keeping kids safe from dangerous TikTok challenges is to stay informed, involved, and engaged with your children’s online activities.

What are TikTok challenges?

They are just what they sound like: videos of people performing some sort of action and encouraging (i.e., challenging) other people to do it too.

There are harmless ones. There are dangerous TikTok challenges. And there are some in between. Here is a list of some TikTok challenges that are currently floating around:

• Skull-breaker challenge – someone kicks someone else’s legs out from under them.
• Milk crate challenge – someone climes unstable towers.
• Sleepy chicken challenge – cooking chicken marinated in NyQuil.
• Tooth Filing challenge – taking nail files and reshaping teeth.
• Cereal challenge – a person pours cereal into the mouth of a person lying on the floor and then tries to eat the cereal from that person’s mouth.

There are harmless ones, like choreographed dances and adding music under videos of pets. There are also more dangerous ones that proliferate on the app, like climbing unstable towers (the milk crate challenge), or kicking the legs out from under someone (the skull-breaker challenge). These can become a big a problem when underage kids bypass restrictions to sign up for the app. 

YouTube video?

A recent Bloomberg investigation uncovered at least 15 deaths of children under the age of 12 related to one dangerous challenge on TikTok: The blackout challenge, in which people choke themselves until they pass out. Some parents are now suing the social media giant for liability in their children’s deaths. You can read the investigation here.

Navigating the conversation around social media platforms can be difficult, especially with younger children. Two experts Marc Berkman, chief executive officer at the Organization for Social Media Safety, and Emily Mulder, program director at Family Online Safety Institute weighed in on keeping kids safe online.

As dangerous challenges spread on TikTok, Instagram and other platforms, here’s how to talk to your kids about it. 

• Some students have been criminally charged for partaking in Tik Tok challenges.
• Children’s prefrontal cortex of the brain, responsible for impulse control, doesn’t fully develop until they are in their 20s.
• Teach kids to pause before posting, asking these three questions: Will this hurt someone? Why am I posting this? Will I regret this later?

FAQs

Where do I start when it comes to talking to my kids? 

The first step is for parents to educate themselves on the full scope of dangers on social media, such as sexual harassment and cyber bullying,according to Berkman. “A lot of parents don’t realize how many different social media related dangers are out there, how severe some of them are, or how common some of them are,” he said. 

Talking to your kids about TikTok challenges is important to keep them safe and help them understand the potential risks of participating in these challenges. Here are some tips on how to talk to your kids about TikTok challenges:

1. Start the conversation: Begin by asking your children if they have heard about any TikTok challenges and what they think about them. This can help you understand their level of awareness and their perception of these challenges.
2. Provide information: Explain to your children what TikTok challenges are and the potential dangers associated with them. Use age-appropriate language and be clear about the risks involved, such as physical harm, emotional distress, or exposure to inappropriate content.
3. Listen and ask questions: Listen to your children’s responses and ask open-ended questions to encourage them to share their thoughts and feelings. Avoid judgment or criticism, and instead, focus on understanding their perspective and concerns.
4. Set clear expectations: Establish clear rules and boundaries for social media use and TikTok challenges, such as not participating in challenges that involve dangerous stunts or harmful behavior. Make sure your children understand the consequences of breaking these rules.
5. Encourage responsible behavior: Emphasize the importance of being responsible and respectful when using social media, including TikTok. Encourage your children to use their platform to create and share positive content that uplifts and inspires others.
6. Be available and supportive: Let your children know that you are available to talk to them anytime they have questions or concerns about TikTok challenges or anything else. Show them that you are supportive and understanding, and that you want to help them stay safe and make responsible choices.

By having an open and honest conversation with your children about TikTok challenges, you can help them make informed decisions and stay safe online.

What conversations should I be having ? 

There is no one-size-fits-all approach for families, said Mulder.  Begin asking questions like: What are your intentions in using the app?  Why is it appealing to you? It will help give parents a sense of what they should keep an eye on with their kids, she said. Conversations should be ongoing too, starting when your child first starts using social media.

Talk about the dangers or problemsthat the child is likely to encounter. “If a child does not understand what a danger is, it’s much harder to either avoid that danger or most likely respond to it,” Berkman said. 

Establish a set of values for your child. Explain that things like hate speech and cyberbullying are wrong and against your family and community values. It makes a significant difference in terms of protecting them.

Watch: The Dark Side of TikTok

Once I’ve talked to my child, how do I monitor them?

Berkman said the next thing would be to implement rules within your family for social media and adjust safety settings on your child’s devices. If your child violates your family rules, Berkman recommends a consequence that is proportional to the misbehavior, like temporarily losing access to social media or the device. 

One caveat to restricting access too much is that it can prohibit children from learning how to navigate safely. “You want them to know what a healthy interaction looks like online, the same way you want them to know what that looks like in real life,” said Mulder.

As a parent or guardian, it’s important to monitor your child’s online activity on TikTok to ensure their safety and well-being. Here are some ways to monitor your kids on TikTok:

1. Create your own TikTok account: By creating your own TikTok account, you can see the content your child is viewing and interacting with, as well as the content they are posting.
2. Follow your child’s account: If your child has a TikTok account, follow them to see the content they are posting and who they are interacting with.
3. Enable parental controls: TikTok has a Family Safety Mode that allows you to set limits on screen time, restrict content, and control direct messaging. You can also turn on Restricted Mode to filter out potentially inappropriate content.
4. Check their activity history: TikTok allows you to view your child’s activity history, including the videos they have watched, the comments they have made, and the accounts they have interacted with.
5. Have open conversations: Talk to your child about their TikTok use, ask them about the challenges they are participating in, and be aware of any changes in their behavior or mood that may be related to social media use.
6. Use third-party monitoring apps: There are several third-party apps available that can help you monitor your child’s TikTok activity, including Qustodio, Bark, and Net Nanny. These apps can provide you with insights into your child’s online activity and alert you to any concerning behavior.

Remember, the key to monitoring your child’s TikTok use is to stay involved and engaged with their online activity, while also respecting their privacy and independence. By working together with your child, you can help them use TikTok in a safe and responsible way.

What should I do if my child is not of age but wants to use social media?

The age requirements are there for a reason, said Mulder. She recommends parents look for other age-appropriate platforms that children can use if they’re insistent. She suggests looking for places where their exposure to negative content or comments will be limited. 

However, if you are comfortable with your children using social media earlier, Beckman recommends additional precautions like using a third-party software. Apps like Bark, can monitor your child’s account and send parents alerts when the account comes across harmful content.  

What should I do if I don’t want my child on social media just yet?

Berkman recommends a community-based approach where majority of parents, in a particular classroom or school grade, agree to keep their children off social media until they are ready. This will prevent your child from feeling excluded online and alleviate the peer pressure.

However, social media and the problems that accompany it aren’t going anywhere. Keep in mind that social media has provided many benefits for children. It helped them have opportunities for social engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic. It includes news information, opportunities to be part of a group, to exercise, dance, and just have fun.

But with the good comes the bad, which includes overuse, cyberbullying, and copying criminal behaviors, to name a few. To keep our kids emotionally and physically safe ground, there have to be rules and boundaries for social, just like on playground media. So how do we talk to our kids about something like partaking in a Tik Tok Challenge?

An initial reaction may be to take social media away from your child, punish or reprimand a child before finding out the motivation for action. However tempting it may be to become a social media police, a different approach may be more successful.

Listen – Listen before you discipline.

Ask your child what they think of these challenges. Be sure not to interrupt or be judgmental. You can determine the motivating factors for these behaviors, whether to fit in, humor, or insecurity.

Discuss Consequences – Give examples of cases on the news and let it be known that there are consequences to such actions, even if it’s a joke. It’s not the intent but the impact on others that matters.

Suggest to Pause Before You Post – Ask these three questions:

1. Will this hurt someone?
2. Why am I posting this?
3. Will I regret this later?

Our children’s prefrontal cortex of the brain doesn’t fully develop until they are in their 20s. The prefrontal cortex is responsible for reasoning. Therefore, a child’s ability to control impulses is much lower than adults. It’s important to remember that when speaking with your child.

Raising our kids’ emotional intelligence is a way to make them more empathetic and kinder, humans. Emphasizing that these behaviors can hurt another person or asking how they would feel if this happened is a way to personalize the behavior.

It’s easy to get caught up in likes or shares and the game of popularity, but we must remind ourselves that social media isn’t necessarily the enemy. Still, instead, it’s how we interact with it. Modeling responsible social media etiquette is also key.

Although this may be just a trend, we can all learn from the Tik Tok challenges and start to pause before we post asking the three key questions above. We may realize, some things are just not worth posting.

What age can kids use TikTok?

According to TikTok’s terms of service, the minimum age to use the app is 13 years old. This is consistent with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) in the United States, which requires parental consent for children under 13 to use online services.

However, it’s important to note that while TikTok’s terms of service specify a minimum age of 13, it’s ultimately up to parents and guardians to decide when their children are ready to use the platform. It’s also important to monitor your child’s use of TikTok and have conversations with them about responsible social media use.

If you do allow your child to use TikTok, it’s a good idea to enable parental controls, such as the Family Safety Mode, and to regularly check in on their activity to ensure their safety and well-being.

What is the blackout challenge?

The TikTok Blackout Challenge, also known as the “Passout Challenge” or the “Choking Game,” is a dangerous trend in which users intentionally cut off their own or someone else’s oxygen supply to induce a temporary high or fainting sensation.

Participants typically wrap a cord, rope, or other object around their neck, apply pressure to the carotid artery, or engage in other suffocation techniques to limit the supply of oxygen to the brain. This can result in serious injury, brain damage, or even death due to asphyxiation.

The Blackout Challenge is extremely dangerous and has led to numerous injuries and deaths among young people who have attempted it. TikTok has banned content related to this dangerous trend and encourages users to report any videos that promote the challenge or other harmful behaviors.

Parents and guardians should talk to their children about the dangers of the Blackout Challenge and monitor their use of social media to ensure their safety and well-being.

List of fun TikTok Challenges

TikTok challenges are popular and often go viral on the platform. Some challenges are harmless, while others can be dangerous or inappropriate. As an AI language model, I don’t have access to the most up-to-date information, but here are some of the popular challenges that have been circulating on TikTok:

1. Buss It Challenge
2. Silhouette Challenge
3. Renegade Challenge
4. Say So Dance Challenge
5. Savage Dance Challenge
6. Blinding Lights Challenge
7. Something New Challenge
8. Flip the Switch Challenge
9. Level Up Challenge
10. Small Waist Big Bank Challenge
11. Wipe It Down Challenge
12. The Git Up Challenge
13. Oh Na Na Na Dance Challenge
14. The Woah Challenge
15. The Box Challenge
16. The Walk Challenge
17. The Chair Challenge
18. The Fruit Snack Challenge
19. The Time Warp Scan Challenge
20. The JuJu on That Beat Challenge

It’s important to note that not all TikTok challenges are safe, and some may involve dangerous stunts or inappropriate content. As a parent or guardian, it’s important to stay informed and monitor your child’s use of the platform to ensure their safety and well-being.

The post How To Keep Kids Safe From A Dangerous TikTok Challenge appeared first on Made In A Pinch.