There is no doubt that TikTok is a widely known app that has both positive and negative sides to it. Many teens find the app appealing not only because of the lively music and funny skits but also the trends that constantly circulate. Even though many TikTok trends are mostly harmless, there are some exceptions. One of these exceptions happens to be a trend known as “Devious Licks” that has students perform inappropriate actions at school. Many school administrators have known about this and are speaking out about their experiences. KTLA News states that “school districts were encouraged to educate students and parents to make it clear that the ‘challenge’ is unsafe and will not be tolerated” (ktla.com).

According to KTLA News, Sandburg Middle School “faced destruction last month because of the social media challenge, with soap dispensers ripped off and bathrooms covered in some sort of red liquid” (ktla.com). Additionally, “in Virginia, one school has shut down almost all of its bathrooms in response to the challenge, and punished students who took part” (distractify.com). Our principal, Dr. Richard Dinh (Staff) states that “at Yorba Linda High School, we place high regard in respecting our school property and campus and treat it like our own home. Our students have not engaged in any damaging or costly behavior and have done a great job in preserving the beauty of our facility.” Luckily, the students at YLHS are sensible enough to not participate in last month’s challenge; however, a full list of monthly challenges can be viewed on “distractify.com,” and all of them are disrespectful to the school administration. 

The website states that October’s challenge is “slap a teacher,” and some schools are already setting up rules to try to prevent students from participating in this trend. Other challenges include “mess up school signs” during January and “flip out in the front office” in June. Obviously, this is the perfect example of the type of tiktok trend that teenagers should not partake in as it is harmful to not only the students and staff, but also school property, which can cost a large sum of money to repair. Even though most students are sensible enough to know not to participate, that still begs the question: why are these challenges created in the first place?

One of the reasons must be because of the long lasting quarantine in 2020. Students have spent so long cooped up in their homes that they want to participate in something exciting and devious. Since staying at home has also gotten many more people to download TikTok, the rise of these trends’ popularity continues to increase as well. The best guess is that someone was bored one day and just decided to make a list of “fun” challenges that students can film themselves doing. Even though the concept of following or creating trends is nothing new, it is still a problem as some people do not know when to draw the line. Hopefully, YLHS students continue to be on their best behavior and avoid the next month’s challenges. By working together and keeping in mind the “Mustang Way,” there is no doubt that we can make it through the year without any TikTok related suspensions.