TikTok challenges are nothing new, although the latest is proving not only viral, but also dangerous. This is only the most recent issue affecting a platform that’s already had many questions raised over its content, as well as criticisms of how the service is moderated.
TikTok is one of the social media services that’s very much in its ascendance. Over the last couple of years, the popularity of the micro-video platform has soared. In particular, it has proven immensely popular with younger viewers making it a platform that has great potential for advertising, but also one that’s prone to coming under greater scrutiny. Especially when the content on the platform proves to be a negative influence, dangerous, or as it appears to be the case here, both.
The ‘Skull Breaker Challenge’ is the latest craze doing the rounds on TikTok and has already resulted in some ending up in hospital. Essentially, the challenge involves two friends convincing a third to jump in unison with them. Although, when the third friend jumps, the other two don’t and instead trip the legs of the unsuspecting jumper. The Skull Breaker name directly draws on the fact that when many of the unsuspecting victims land, they do so on their back and head. The challenge has been heavily reported on by NBC, and other outlets in the last few days, due to how many are starting to require hospital treatment, and in some cases, with serious injuries.
Just The Latest TikTok Issue To Surface
The TikTok platform’s growth and reach has proven especially attractive to advertisers looking to target a specific section of users. However, that is unlikely to continue if the service is unable to keep on top of issues like this. TikTok has already come under increasing pressure for the type of content that’s routinely being shared on the platform. For example, there’s already been suggestions that TikTok has a major drug promotion issue. Furthermore, the way the company handles situations when they do arise has also raised eyebrows, following a recent report detailing TikTok’s alleged response to a live-streamed suicide.
With the latest challenge now resulting in multiple injuries, it is likely the questions and concerns surrounding content and moderation are only going to escalate. This is especially likely considering this is not the first dangerous TikTok challenge to surface and go viral with the frequency appearing to be increasing. However, while this isn't the first dangerous challenge, it is a little different to the previous ones for a few reasons. Most notably, that in contrast to the others where the focus of the challenge was on the person doing the dangerous dare and personally dealing with the outcome, the Skull Breaker Challenge is all about unsuspecting people having to deal with the consequences. In most cases, those unknowing and unwilling participants are children - TikTok’s most important and vulnerable user base.
Source: NBC Boston