YouTube. What was once used as a way to have fun with friends, post videos in hopes of being discovered, or learn how to do a difficult math concept is now used for doing stupid, and many times, dangerous activities.  Teenagers are now involving themselves in trends like the cinnamon challenge, “am I pretty or ugly” videos, “smoking alcohol”, and the salt and ice challenge; these are just a few of these hazardous trends.

The cinnamon challenge is a trend that could cause possibly cause pneumonia in the worst case scenario.  Even though the popularity has faded on this trend, its effects have already been felt.  The challenger has to swallow a spoonful of ground cinnamon in sixty seconds without any water, which causes coughing, vomiting and choking. This trend caused many teens to have collapsed lungs leading them to be hooked up on ventilators. The scary thing is; these videos of teens choking have a total of 200 million views.  

Another trend, “Am I Pretty or Ugly”, is re-surfacing on YouTube.  Nine to fourteen year old girls post videos of themselves asking strangers to rate them.  YouTube features almost 500,000 of them with comments ranging from insulting and  sexually explicit, to just down-right creepy.  In an interview with ABC News, Dr. Jeffrey Gardere, a psychologist, believes the girls are doing this as an “acid test”. In addition, he thinks it’s a self-esteem issue and a form of self-mutilation. On the other hand, some people think these girls are brave because they are opening themselves up to criticism.  However you look at it, it’s dangerous. These girls safety are at risk of sex offenders, and this can of course cause more serious issues.

A third treacherous trend that has been exposed and gone viral on youtube is called “smoking alcohol,” it is when teens inhale alcohol vapors. This is extremely dangerous because doctors do not know the long term effects. Doctors only know that it can be deadly. So whether teens are trying to avoid the DUI charge or not this trend can cause death.

The last trend which seems like a fun, harmless game, can actually cause serious damage. The trend is called the “salt and ice challenge.” The challenger wets his or her skin, usually on the arm, and then they sprinkle table salt on it and apply pressure on the skin with ice. The game lasts until the teen can no longer bear it anymore. The injuries caused from this are similar to frostbite but with much greater intensity.

So, is this YouTube’s fault for not blocking these kinds of videos, or is it modern technology and peer pressure’s fault that teens are engaging in harmful activities?  That is an answer for debate, but it is certainly clear that the exposure to these dangerous games via youtube is not benefiting society.