Topic > The Problem of Viral and Dangerous Social Media Challenges

In today's society, virtually anything attracts the attention of teenagers. Everyone is connected via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and even Snapchat. People enjoy what is posted by other people they may or may not know, including social media challenges. Research has shown that social media challenges among teens are related to increased physical harm or death due to the desire for attention. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Social media challenges began in 2015 with challenges that raised awareness about diseases. For example, the ASL challenge or also known as the ice bucket challenge was launched to raise awareness about the disease called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. This challenge involved pouring a bucket of ice water over your head and then daring someone else to do it and if they didn't do it within a certain period of time they would have to donate money to the foundation. Another example of a challenge was called the Lemon Face Challenge and raised awareness about diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas, which is a form of cancer in the brainstem. The challenge was to eat lemon wedges and post the best sour face they had online and donate to the cause. After these challenges spread like wildfire on the Internet, people became interested in creating their own challenges, but without raising awareness. Instead they were creating ones that caused harm to themselves just to see how much attention they could get. As time went on, more and more malicious challenges were published causing concern. It has affected people's physical and mental well-being. There are a lot of challenges out there; some of them may not be as popular as others or as dangerous as others. The cinnamon spoon challenge involved taking a spoon and filling it with cinnamon and trying to eat it in one minute without drinking anything. People see this challenge as fun and entertaining because young minds don't think ahead about the consequences that come with the wrong choices they make. The challenge is essentially impossible to achieve and very harmful because it causes suffocation, aspiration, lung damage and sometimes hospitalization. “The Cinnamon Challenge is a behavioral phenomenon, a popular challenge fueled by peer pressure that, along with competition, often instigates risky behavior among adolescents. In fact, the large internet presence and peer pressure is what has increased the popularity of the Cinnamon Challenge. ” (Lipshultz). Another dangerous challenge is the Condom Challenge. It involves filling a condom with water, dropping it on someone's head and then wrapping it around their face. It makes people choke if they don't brake in time. Additionally, the Kylie Jenner Lip Challenge is a challenge where you take a bottle, put the cap around your mouth, and suck until your lips get greasy. People called Kylie Jenner's lips big and wanted to imitate her in a terrible way. The teenagers who attempted this challenge had never thought about the consequences that came with it. Swollen lips, bruises, pain, scars and even disfigurement were the consequences of the challenge. The Salt and Ice Challenge is another example of a dangerous challenge. It involves putting water and salt on your skin and then placing a piece of ice on top for as long as possible. People would film a video attempting this challenge and then post it to social media showing their results. All results from this challenge were minor to moderate burns,.