A retrospective look at the most hazardous social media challenges from the 2010s and early 2020s that resulted in serious injury or death. This list highlights why certain trends were banned and reminds users of the physical risks associated with internet fame.
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A disturbing trend where users attempted to eat laundry detergent pods, mimicking the popular Tide branding. This trend led to numerous hospitalizations for poisoning and prompted widespread condemnation from health officials and the company itself.
An urban legend involving an alleged chatbot via WhatsApp and images of a grotesque sculpture named Momo. Despite being debunked as a hoax, it caused widespread panic among parents regarding potential suicide instructions given to children.
Users tried to replicate Ben Tennyson's alien transformations by slapping their faces hard enough to cause blackouts or brain damage. This trend gained traction on Instagram and resulted in at least one fatal incident among teenagers.
Students organized to vandalize their high schools by destroying locks and fixtures during a specific month. While less physically dangerous, the resulting property damage led to criminal charges, school lockdowns, and permanent academic consequences for participants.
Participants attempted to swallow a full tablespoon of dry cinnamon within sixty seconds without water. This often triggered severe coughing fits, lung irritation, and aspiration pneumonia, frequently requiring emergency medical attention.
Also known as the Change or Sleeping Dragon, this involved cutting off oxygen to the brain to induce hallucinations. It resulted in permanent brain damage, coma, and several deaths among adolescents seeking the thrill of near-death experiences.
Inspired by the HBO series, this challenge involved applying blue dye to lips while lying face down to simulate hypoxia. It posed similar risks to the blackout challenge, including unconsciousness and potential respiratory failure due to suffocation.
Early viral trend where individuals posed lying flat on their stomachs in dangerous locations, such as on train tracks or rooftops. Several participants suffered severe injuries or death after falling from significant heights during their stunts.
Participants would set their own hair or eyebrows on fire to create dramatic visual effects for short-form video platforms. This often led to third-degree burns, eye damage, and disfigurement due to improper handling of open flames.
Users ate an entire bag of Skittles candies instantly to cause a color-changing reaction in their mouths and vomit. This led to severe gastric distress, choking hazards, and long-term digestive issues for many young participants.
Inspired by The Kraken rum brand, this involved mixing multiple alcoholic beverages and energy drinks to consume quickly. It promoted binge drinking behaviors and resulted in alcohol poisoning and acute liver damage among inexperienced drinkers.
Teens would lock themselves inside sleeping bags to see how long they could survive without waking up or to simulate suffocation. Many participants lost consciousness due to carbon dioxide buildup, leading to hospitalization and respiratory issues.
Consumers attempted to eat extremely spicy hot chips or drinks from Taco Bell within a set time limit. This trend caused severe gastrointestinal distress, burns to the mouth and throat, and in rare cases, hospital visits for dehydration.
Participants would jump into cold ocean waves or underwater while holding their breath to mimic diving scenes. This led to drowning incidents, shallow water blackout, and severe hypothermia due to lack of safety gear and supervision.
Users raced down multiple flights of stairs in office buildings or malls, often leading to collisions and falls. Several participants suffered broken bones, concussions, and spinal injuries from losing balance or crashing into others.
Participants would hold a knife to their palm and slash it across, claiming not to feel pain due to adrenaline. This trend resulted in deep lacerations, permanent nerve damage, and significant blood loss among impressionable youths.
Individuals attempted to walk across hot coals or heated metal surfaces without protection to demonstrate pain tolerance. This often resulted in severe second and third-degree burns, blistering, and long-term scarring on the feet.
Similar to the cinnamon challenge, this involved eating extremely hot peppers like Carolina Reapers without water. Participants faced intense pain, digestive tract irritation, and in extreme cases, anaphylactic shock requiring immediate medical care.
Users would stand on the doors of moving elevators to slide down shafts or attempt to open them while in motion. This led to falls down elevator shafts, entrapment, and electrocution hazards in numerous reported incidents.
Participants would eat ice cream or freeze pops rapidly to induce severe headaches, sometimes adding other dangerous elements. While usually minor, combining this with other stressors led to fainting and subsequent head injuries from falls.
Users would stand in doorways and attempt to slam doors on their partners or friends for comedic effect. This trend caused concussions, facial fractures, and spinal injuries when doors were closed with excessive force or speed.