A dangerous trend has emerged on social media platforms, including TikTok, called the “Chromebook challenge,” in which students intentionally try to set their laptops on fire.
Why It Matters
TikTok trends typically involve dances and filters, but sometimes, dangerous challenges emerge on the platform, as people can gamble with pranks and stunts in the name of going viral.
Previous years have seen users swerving their cars as they follow instructions from the “Cha Cha Slide” and the so-called Benadryl challenge, which encouraged TikTok users to take excessive amounts of the medication to try to experience a high that could cause hallucinations, leading to the Food and Drug Administration asking TikTok to remove the videos.
What To Know
The “Chromebook Challenge” involves school students inserting items like paper clips or pencils into the USB port of their Chromebook laptop. This causes the Chromebooks to short-circuit, leaving them sparking, smoking or catching on fire.
Sticking a foreign object into a Chromebook can burn a lithium battery, causing the computer to catch on fire and release toxic smoke into the air.
The challenge is associated with the phrase and audio “The F Students are the inventors.” Students often use it to create a reason for the class to have to evacuate, meaning they miss school, or to get attention online.
One TikTok video, viewed 2.6 million times as of reporting, shows a charred Chromebook with a hole in it, with the text overlay “TS ain’t even a Chromebook anymore,” and the caption “Get me out of this school.”
The trend has impacted school districts all over the country, with reports of incidents in Colorado, New York, Connecticut, California, Texas, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Maryland, Virginia and Florida.
Some school districts have had multiple reports of incidents related to the challenge, with the Prince George‘s County Public Schools district in Maryland confirming it has up to 10 reported incidents, per NBC Washington.
A spokesperson for TikTok told Newsweek that they are removing videos, limiting search ability and redirecting searches. As of this reporting, the term “Chromebook Challenge” redirects to a safety warning on TikTok.
Other school districts are issuing preliminary warnings about potential participation in the challenge despite no reported incidents.
What People Are Saying
A safety warning on TikTok that’s generated when you search for Chromebook Challenge: “This phrase may be associated with behavior or content that violates our guidelines. Promoting a safe and positive experience is TikTok’s top priority.”
Maryland’s Office of the State Fire Marshal, in a statement shared on Facebook on Friday: “The Office of the State Fire Marshal is alerting the public to a concerning new trend circulating on social media. Students insert electrically conductive objects into the charging ports of school-issued and personal electronic devices. This reckless behavior has been linked to several incidents resulting in fires, smoke, and property damage.”
The Jefferson-Morgan School District, in a statement shared on Facebook on May 8: “A dangerous and disturbing social media trend that has been reported in school districts across the country. While we have not had any incidents here at Jefferson-Morgan, we believe it is important to make families aware so we can work together to prevent it.
What Happens Next
Students participating in the challenge could face serious disciplinary action.
A teenager from Belleville High School in New Jersey was charged with third-degree arson for participating in the trend, and there are reports that a student in Plainville, Connecticut, is facing charges, according to news station KWTX.
The post Dangerous ‘Chromebook Challenge’ Across US Schools Sparks Warning appeared first on Newsweek.
