While many students love Tiktok, it could actually be harmful for growing brains.

Tiktok swept over the culture back in 2016, we are still seeing it’s popularity in the 2021 year. While the culture has changed from dancing to comedy to anywhere in between, there has been the rise of the DeviousLick trend. This trend follows a monthly challenge basis, lastly seen was September, in which people were ‘tasked’ with stealing from school bathrooms. 

The DeviousLick trend is dangerous, and a crime. The main generations involved with Tiktok are young millenials and a good portion of Generation Z. During these years the human brain is still developing, and can be influenced heavier. Tiktok could be dangerous to our future society by creating the idea that vandalism and, as seen in future challenges, assault is justified. 

Todd Mcclaskey, the Principle of FMHS, hopes that the “students realize it isn’t worth” the moment of idolization. While Tiktok is now taking down videos involving anything DeviousLick, the videos that were up, never showed the consequences of such behavior. People never posted about being suspended or even being criminally charged. 

The trend itself is not only harmful to the people who commit them, but also those around. Our school is expected to fund things like soap and paper towels, which as the most commonly stolen item, the school loses funding as they replace the items. Other students at the school suffer as well. 

Mcclaskey says that the best way to keep the crime down is “communication.” Mcclaskey and faculty have already made a great effort into this, by emailing parents asking for help and continuing to announce to students the consequences of participating. The faculty was glad that out of the incidents that did occur, students quickly reported the vandalism.

As Mr. Mcclaskey said, “I have some worries, but I am also confident.” However, the school is working hard on bringing forth a sense of belonging to all of it’s students, hopefully to decrease the hold that social media has on the school. “I think we just need to continue to offer students an ability to find their passions.”

While the ‘DeviousLick’ hasn’t hit our school as immensely as other schools around the nation. Faculty is worried that Tiktok is praising ideas that will be harmful to future generations and development. Even through such dangers, Mcclaskey thinks that “Tiktok can be a positive outlet” for students, however as a company they need to monitor their program better.