by Michaela Wang ’21, Staff Writer

As you casually scroll through your Instagram feed, you come across what looks like someone putting a Tide Pod into his mouth and “eating it.” You might cry in disgust, face-palm at what society has become, or admire this courageous person’s achievements.  Don’t fret, because this is just one of many infamous internet challenges. Internet challenges have dominated the face of social media with millions of views. These challenges can inspire kindness or create laughter, but all offer an actual challenge for their audience. Viewers are encouraged to perform one of these challenges, post it on their social media, and the cycle repeats by inspiring others to do the same. In many cases, these challenges involve “clickbait” — content whose main purpose is to attract attention and encourage visitors to click on that particular video.  Here are a few of the most popular challenges:

The Running Man Challenge

The Running Man Challenge was made popular by New Jersey high school students Kevin Vincent and Jeremiah Hall.  The challenge didn’t go viral until two University or Maryland basketball players, Jared Nickens and Jaylen Brantley, made videos following the same format as Vincent’s and Hall’s, quickly receiving millions of views.  The instructions were simple: film a variation of the running man to “My Boo” by Ghost Town DJ’s.   In fact, our school did a running man challenge directed by Mrs. Powell-Caldwell. You can find it on Newark Academy’s Youtube channel, and watch many of our own teachers and students attempt or excel at the challenge.

The Kylie Jenner Lip Challenge

Many teenagers were obsessed with how plump Kylie Jenner’s lips looked, and wanted to achieve the same look.  Lip injections were too expensive, so many people decided to utilize a home remedy instead: placing your lips into a shot glass and sucking to create a vacuum.  According to CBS New York, Dr. Francesca Fusco of Wexler Dermatology in Kips Bay said young women are doing the challenge because plump lips are viewed as attractive, but come with risks.  “The idea is they’re sucking and creating a vacuum, and that vacuum would result in swelling because it’s a trauma to the lips, breaking of blood vessels, lacerations, cutting of the skin that requires stitches in some cases. And that can leave marks that include pigmentation; scarring,”^[1] Fusco said. The Kylie Jenner Lip Challenge may have made lips more plump, but came with many health risks.

The Mannequin Challenge

The Mannequin Challenge is a video of a scene frozen in time with Rae Sremmurd’s “Black Beatles” playing in the background. Though the birthplace of the challenge has not been determined, the challenge inspired videos by other groups, especially professional athletes, artists, and presidential candidates, who have posted more complex and elaborate videos.  There have been videos from proposals, as well as activism like the Black Lives Matter movement.  

The Cinnamon Challenge

The Cinnamon Challenge was a food challenge that prompted people to shove a spoon of cinnamon into their mouths. This challenge was popularized because it caused severe choking and desperation for water, something people might find funny. However, a report published in the Journal Pediatrics found that the stunt had led to an increasing amount of calls to poison control centers and visits to emergency rooms.  “People are being poisoned and sickened because of this,” said Dr. Steven E. Lipshultz, an author of the new report and a professor of pediatrics at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. “We have seen a rise in calls to poison control centers around the United States that mirrored the rise in YouTube videos and their viewing. And that’s just for the acute issues.”^[2]

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is considered to be one of the most famous internet challenges.  This challenge emerged in response to the disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neurological disorder that causes dysfunction in the nerves that control muscle movement.  Because ALS causes muscle weakness, the body has a hard time contracting to produce heat, causing people with ALS to always feel cold. The ALS ice bucket challenge involved people pouring a bucket of ice water onto their bodies, and nominating at least two other people to do the challenge. If nominated, you must complete the challenge and post it on social media or donate to the ALS fund. This internet challenge got many celebrities, from actors to our previous president Barack Obama, to participate and donate.  According to the national chapter of the ALS Association, the challenge brought in a staggering $115 million to research on gene discovery, disease model development, identification of biomarkers, clinical trials, and drug development.

The “Bean Boozled” Challenge

When Jelly Belly created the fun, nerve-wracking, and potentially vomit-inducing game called Bean Boozled, it immediately attracted adults and children of all ages.  People filmed themselves playing it, posted the video on Youtube, and Bean Boozled evolved from a game to a popular challenge. A player would spin a wheel and be assigned  a jelly bean, but the flavor of the jelly bean was unknown. Whoever  gets the better jelly bean sighs in relief, while the other player gets a much more unfortunate flavor.  Who knew how much people love strange and disgusting flavored jelly beans?

The “Chubby Bunny” Challenge

This challenge is very simple: try to stuff as many marshmallows as you can in your mouth and say  “chubby bunny.”  But just like any challenge that may seem innocent at first, health risks can occur.  According to the Chicago Tribune, on June 4, 1999, 12-year-old named Catherine Fish died after choking on four marshmallows while playing Chubby Bunny. The contest took place at  the annual Care Fair held at Hoffman Elementary School in Chicago’s North Shore area. Fish collapsed, and was taken to Glenbrook Hospital, where she died a few hours later.

The “Eat it or Wear it” Challenge

The Eat it or Wear it Challenge is a straightforward game: you either eat a food or “wear” it (get the food thrown at you).  It involves two people, and each person must purchase around nine of their least favorite foods and put them in paper bags. A person picks out of the hat, and whichever number they chose is the food they must eat or wear.  Amusing and harm-free, the Eat it or Wear it Challenge is safe and appropriately thrilling.

The “Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover” Challenge

The idiom “don’t judge a book by its cover” is a metaphor which means “you shouldn’t prejudge the worth or value of something by its outward appearance alone.”^[3] Teens made videos showing themselves about to do something dangerous, risky, or weird in the thumbnail, only to stop and say “Did you really think I was going to do [weird thing]? Don’t judge a book by its cover.” This is an example of clickbait, because what is often seen in the videos are fake for the sole purpose of attracting viewers. Popular examples of the challenge include drinking bleach or shaving eyebrows.

The Tide Pod Challenge

The Tide Pod Challenge has caused a lot of uproar, surrounding the foolishness of the challenge.  Tide pods are small packs of detergent that you throw into your washing machine. They can also be mistaken for snacks, looking somewhat similar to fruit gummies.  You might have heard the phrase “drink bleach” or “drink detergent”, which corresponds to “eating a tide pod” and satirically “dying.”  Obviously, eating a tide pod is extremely hazardous.  Children who have eaten the capsules have been hospitalized with vomiting, breathing difficulties and loss of consciousness.  And the consequences may be much worse.  Since 2012, eight fatalities have been reported among children 5 and younger, according to the American Association of Poison Control Centers.  

^[1] http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2015/04/21/kylie-jenner-lip-challenge-dangers/

^[2] https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/22/consequences-of-the-cinnamon-challenge/

^[3] https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/you-can-t-judge-a-book-by-its-cover