pre-emptively talking about how to determine if a challenge is safe or not is preferable to focusing on specific challenges, agree experts, which tends to have the unintended consequence of sparking an interest — increasing the risk that kids may check them out online and be enticed to give them a try.
“we saw this, with [previous] challenges,” says abby goldstein, canada research chair in the psychology of emerging adulthood. “schools were sending out letters [about a specific challenge]. oftentimes, that level of alarm generates more attention to that specific issue.”
(goldstein is not involved in tiktok’s report or development of the safety centre.)
tiktok’s safety centre recommends that parents acknowledge there are many fun, safe challenges as well as dangerous ones, putting the emphasis on critically evaluating what can be found online. simply telling teens to avoid challenges altogether is not likely to be successful, as most on tiktok are lighthearted or seen as “risky” but safe. it can also be difficult to determine if a fairly benign challenge will become harmful in the long term.
tiktok’s recent report recommends encouraging children and teenagers to seek help if they find content distressing, or if they are unsure if a challenge is safe to try. getty
the planking challenge seemed safe, at first
one famous challenge, which pre-dates tiktok, had players lying down, face to the ground, body rigid in a straight line. planking, also called the “lying down game,” quickly became an internet sensation, with kids to adults engaging in the rather obscure practice. the challenge seemed safe and family-friendly at first, until some players — eager to outdo each other — began planking in increasingly dangerous areas, like balcony railings and
on top of moving vehicles
. since then, multiple serious injuries and at least
one death
has been attributed to the planking challenge.