Teens have always pushed boundaries.
So, when did risk-taking get...well...so risky?​​
Noah Hadley

 

It's so cold, freezing even. On the snow somewhere in Russia, Maria thinks of her boyfriend as she dies, not only from the freezing temperatures but the micro trend that made her jump. Sadly, her half-sister dies the same way. All across Russia, people die because of this micro-trend, and globally, people are injured and scared for life because of dangerous micro-trends like this. 

 

We need to educate children about the dangers of technology sooner and give them access to it later. The pandemic caused a daily increase in phone usage by two hours, two more hours that a child potentially stumbles upon a life-threatening micro-trend. Consider the Blue Whale challenge, spreading across Russia in 2016 and reportedly killed 130 people, including Maria and her half-sister who jumped off a building supposedly because a micro-trend told them to.

 

 In 2005, the micro-trend Happy slapping, in which you film yourself attacking others, appeared in Britain. In 2010, the cinnamon challenge, in which you swallow a spoonful of cinnamon without condiments, caused 139 calls to poison control in only two months. Six years later, some reports say 130 died from the blue whale challenge. The trends of today are no less dangerous.

 

In other words, the danger of social media has increased drastically. It's necessary to remember that social media can be deadly. As the perils of social media increase, we must educate them about the risks earlier and keep the dangers away from them longer.​​​