JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Social media challenges (i.e., people recording videos of certain behaviors while encouraging others to do the same) have become increasingly popular. Risky variants of these challenges portray high-risk behaviors that can lead to serious negative consequences and even death.

Objective:

The current study aimed to gain insight into young people’s exposure to risky social media challenges, their participation and engagement in these challenges, and their evaluations regarding these challenges.

Methods:

A survey was conducted in which adolescents and young adults (N = 386; age range 16-25 years old) answered questions about their exposure, engagement, and evaluations regarding an array of risky social media challenges (e.g., the Cinnamon challenge and the Benadryl challenge).

Results:

Findings revealed that many young people are often exposed to risky social media challenges, most often via Instagram and TikTok and by people not directly known to them. Furthermore, more than one-third of adolescents and young adults said to have participated in a challenge. Interestingly, most indicated not to post participation in a challenge on social media or convince others to join them. Last, evaluations of risky social media challenges (attitudes, social norms, and intentions [of others]) were relatively negative.

Conclusions:

Combined, these findings suggest a discrepancy between young people’s evaluations regarding participation and their actual behaviour (e.g., quite high with one-third participation rates). This, together with the high exposure rates to these risky challenges, emphasizes the need for more research on this rising phenomenon and regulation or prevention efforts.