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Every generation of teens comes up with something designed to exhibit how cool they are. Playing chicken with tractors, like Kevin Bacon’s character in Footloose, was an obviously dangerous activity. Yesterday’s dangerous teen trends show that today’s teen trends are just as inane, if not worse. None of us want to think our teens are ignorant enough to try these, but it’s worth talking to your teen about them.
Why teens are drawn to trends and challenges
It’s hard to stop teens from engaging in dangerous activities, says Dr. Nina S. Mounts. “Despite educational efforts to provide teens with information about risky behavior, many adolescents continue to engage in risky behavior,” Dr. Mounts wrote in Psychology Today.
Social media makes all of this scarier than ever before. “One thing that concerns me is the anonymity of social media. Even as adults you never know who is on the other end,” Robyn Reynolds, mom of a teen daughter, told Mom.com. “Children are very trusting and they believe what is told to them.”
This leaves many teens believing these are innocent trends without significant consequences. Make sure you monitor your teens online activity and know their friends. Being proactive is your best ally in preventing accidents.
Here are 7 dangerous teen trends and challenges — ranging from just plain stupid to downright dangerous — that you need to know about.
The stupid and disgusting
1) Condom snorting
This challenge is pretty self-explanatory and downright disgusting. In this challenge, teens will take a condom and snort it through their nostril to then pull it out of their mouth. The risks? Teens can get a sinus infection or damage their sinus tissues. In worst-case scenarios, teens can suffocate with the condom stuck in their air passage. Seriously, save these for what they were intended for. Everyone will be safer for it.
2) Rainbow parties
Don’t be fooled by this benign party theme title. Whether you have a boy or a girl, you should be concerned if you hear about a rainbow party. Allegedly, during a rainbow party, girls put on a variety of colored lipsticks to then perform oral sex on one or more boys, leaving them with a rainbow of colors as proof.
3) Cinnamon challenge
It may seem like an innocuous challenge — swallowing a spoonful of cinnamon. However, this challenge has some serious risks associated with it. Since the cinnamon dries and coats the mouth and throat, the person may start to cough, gag, and throw up. The fine cinnamon powder can also aspirate, increasing the chance of infection, pneumonia, or a collapsed lung. Yes, from cinnamon.
The downright dangerous
4) Vodka eyeballing
I get it, a vodka shot can be quite a bit much to take, with the burning sensation of the liquor radiating down your throat. But I can’t imagine having someone dump a shot of vodka in my open eye. Vodka eyeballing helps people get a buzz faster, as the alcohol enters the bloodstream via the veins behind the eyeball. Not only does this increase the chance of eye infections, but you can also have serious damage to the eye leading to blindness — all for a buzz.
5) Hot pepper challenge
This one sounds like it would just be funny to see someone racing for the milk to cool their mouth, with tears streaming down their face. But the hot pepper challenge isn’t without risks. Teens test their limits by using the hottest peppers they can find, like ghost peppers. It’s possible to develop sores and holes in the digestive tract from these peppers.
6) Salt and ice challenge
Teens and tweens are doing a challenge that often leads to permanent skin damage. They challenge themselves to press a mixture of salt and ice against their skin and then time themselves to see how long they can stand the burning sensation. The problem is that sensation is the result of a frostbite-like burn that needs medical attention. This is about as bad of an idea as lying naked in the snow overnight.
7) Charger and penny challenge
Maybe your teen knows not to stick a fork in the wall socket but for some ridiculous reason, they think the charger and penny challenge is fun. In this challenge, teens take a phone charger and plug it into the wall, leaving just enough space to show the exposed prongs. Then they slide a penny down between the wall and the charger, causing a short with sparks. Two problems: 1) you can die from electrocution, and 2) the entire building can go down in flames.
8) Fire challenge
This dangerous teen challenge goes back to 2014, when teens thought it was a great idea to pour rubbing alcohol on parts of their body and light it on fire. Of course, they intend to put the fire out quickly with water while filming the entire ordeal but we don’t have to tell you how many of these “challenges” have gone awry, with someone ending up in the hospital with serious burns.
