With the “Devious Lick” trend taking over schools and TikTok by storm, I feel as if it is time to sit down and see it for what it is. Parents of our generation will say something along the lines of “we’ve done the same thing” or “it isn’t anything new,” but contrary to what they are saying, it may be more dangerous to the kids of our generation. 

For the state of Nebraska, it becomes a felony if you steal anything over $500. If someone were to get caught stealing something from the school, odds are it will be over that threshold, and that can ruin any chances of most high paying jobs, and could damage their lives forever.

While most trends are dances and jokes, there are some that pass off as challenges that can be out-right dangerous. The first one that comes to mind is the “milk crate challenge.” It is one of the weirdest ones I’ve seen in a while. The participants stack milk crates up and down like a staircase. The problem is the plastic is not sturdy enough to keep you balanced. Some people would stack these as high as seven or eight crates at its peak, meaning that people would be falling as high as 7 ½ to 8 ⅓ feet high, and that’s even if they were able to get that high. While it won’t kill you, many people that fell from the apex suffered serious injuries like traumatic bone breaks, concussions, spinal injuries and damaged ligaments. 

The milk crate challenge is one of the reasons why I feel like my generation may lead the world into catastrophe in the future.

On the more mature side of TikTok, there are the “financial gurus” that are there to help you make as much money as you can. They preach investing in the stock market, writing off weird items as business expenses and investing in housing instead of buying a car. While it may seem like they are just trying to help out the middle and lower classes and show that it is possible to follow your dreams, just a simple look at the comments shows that it is all a scam. 

One video I remember in particular was one that was a hypothetical scenario where you could either have a big amount of money right now or a smaller amount of money for the rest of your life. Many people were so used to taking the smaller option that they would end up believing it. A comment pointed out the entire flaw with the mindset of taking the passive income: with that much money, there is no possible way of spending it all, so it ends up not mattering. The problem with the money people on the app is they paint the picture of themselves of being a messiah to those less fortunate, but in reality are just a Jordan Belfort (the con artist described in one of the greatest movies of all time, “The Wolf of Wall Street”).

There is also a side of TikTok that tries to better your well being, and is commonly referred to as “Gym Tok.” Many bodybuilders tend to grow their brand and show off what made them what they are right now. They also preach motivation and how lifting can help you be happier with yourself. While there is scientific evidence to support it, as the constant repetition of physical activity increases dopamine levels, the problem is to the common eye they rarely bring up the required diet to help build muscle, or the financial requirements needed to better grow yourself.

The final part of TikTok that probably gets the most attention is that of perfection. In short, there are many trends and dances that either over sexualize females, or further show how much harm social media can do causing self image problems in young teens. With many common moves like that of what you would see in a movie when the main character(s) are at some sort of club, it is concerning to see kids at a very young age do said moves, while also having to feel like their body has to live up to a certain standard at the same time.

While I will admit there is a funny side of TikTok that can be down right hilarious at times, there is a point where the app has a very light and corny surface, but the more you dig, the more you find it is anything  but.