TikTok started as an app to show off your new dance and make lip-syncing videos, but now viewers may have noticed people participating in dangerous and cringe trends on their For You Page. 

CW:  This trend involves suicide and may be triggering for some people 

The first trend that should be talked about is the Black Out challenge. This challenge involves people holding their breath until they pass out. This trend was popular around 2021-2022 and has since claimed the lives of multiple people. Archie Battersbee was one of the victims whose life was taken by this awful trend. “There is absolutely nothing dignified about watching a family member or a child suffocate. No family should ever have to go through what we’ve been through. It’s barbaric,” said Ella Carter, a family member of Battersbee according to Women’s Health. People need to understand that the videos they post will influence young people, and teens need to be cautious with what they post.

Next on the list to talk about is one of the cringiest and most popular trends: the Neon Dance Filter. The trend involves the user dancing in front of the camera while taking their clothes off with a neon filter on. This trend was most popular in 2022, it had little point and raises the question of why it was even popular in the first place. Although this trend involved using a filter, which would mask the nudity of the person doing the trend, it was rumored that the filter could get removed. This just proves that TikTok has changed to a platform where trends can escalate from innocent to dangerous

The last trend to talk about is the“Prolly Not trend.” This trend was at its peak in 2022 and started when TikTok user seth.shyrock was talking to a “doctor” (really to himself) and he asked the doctor if his “girlfriend” was going to live, and the doctor responded with “Prolly Not.” He captioned the video “Pov: your girlfriend is in a coma…” After this video was published, the public was quick to make videos copying the original video. Users would make fun of the trend because besides the video being overall cringy, the chances of a doctor saying “Prolly Not” just makes it 10 times more funny. It spread quickly throughout the app with users creating their own version of the video and making it a point to say “Prolly Not.” It is safe to say that no one can escape the cringe TikToks.

CW: This trend involves suicide and may be triggering for some people. 

The chapstick challenge is one of the darkest challenges on the app. This trend involves buying a new stick of chapstick and once the chapstick is used up, the participant claims that this will be the day they take their own life. This trend was popular in late 2021 but made a short resurgence during the summer of 2022. Users participating in this trend usually made weekly or daily updates on how much chapstick they had left. In one specific case, a Tik Toker with the username userhogdxlmqdt participated in the trend, and in her video, she captioned it saying “Day one. Life hurts, I’m losing people I care about, my grades are slipping, I get bullied daily, I give up.” She then provided daily updates on how much chapstick was left. Although the user was doing daily updates, she stopped posting early this year and people in her comments started speculating. One user commented “Please tell us you’re okay. It’s been a while since you posted.” As of now, there have been no new posts, so we can only hope userhogdxlmqdt is safe and this trend comes to a close. 

This trend is arguably one of the most cringe trends on Tik Tok. In this trend, the user pretends to get arrested. In doing this, the user slams themselves into a wall with their hands behind their back as if being handcuffed. They also have red and blue lights flashing in the background to emulate cop cars. Once against the wall, the Tik Toker will make eye contact with the camera and pretend to look at their significant other.

The culprit responsible for putting this trend in motion was a Tik Toker named ricklimatv. In his video, he is slammed against a wall, shirtless and essentially growling at the camera. He captioned his video “POV: Fui preso par salvar a sua vida,” which in English translates to “ POV: I got arrested to save your life.” This clip sent users into a frenzy. Some people made videos of their own, doing something similar, while others made a mockery of the original.