Destructive Online Trends

This year, online trends such as the widely popular ‘Devious Lick’challenge, a trend involving the stealing of standard school items like door handles, sinks and toilets, have run rampant throughout schools. Whether students take items from teachers’ classrooms or they vandalize school bathrooms, nationwide and here at Pinnacle, the aftermath of the trends still affects many students and staff. Dr. Chad Smith, Principal of Pinnacle High School, believes that trends like these result from social media, although Smith thinks these pranks would still happen without social media.

“Pranks will always happen in high school. I think social media tends to exacerbate them,” Smith said. 

These trends stem from the widely popular social media platform known as TikTok, known for hosting short, entertaining videos. Other trends from TikTok also threatened to take place throughout the course of the year, such as the “smack a teacher” trend. The trend’s name indicated the nature of that particular challenge. TikTok executives issued a public statement, condemning these acts. Even though TikTok worked to actively suppress these trends, the immaturity of students, ease of use factor of the social media platform and the ability for videos to go viral all contributed to the mephistophelian activities.  Although he distributed punishment among the culprits accordingly, Smith does not believe the consequences amounted to enough to stop the trends. 

“Stronger disciplinary actions will be needed if these trends continue to pop up,” said Smith last semester. 

When asked about whether it affected staff, he indicated that it concerned the staff. Other pertinent trends deal with the physical assault of teachers, an understandable cause for worry. Ultimately, no criminal investigation occured in result of the devious lick trend at Pinnacle.

“The appropriate disciplinary measures have been applied,” said Smith. 

Trends such as these may continue to happen; such is the nature of high school. Nowadays, administration here at Pinnacle and nationwide must adapt to these rapidly spreading trends if they wish to slay the hydra known as dangerous TikTok trends.