Deadly, illegal, dangerous TikTok trends parents must know (2025)

TikTok functions as a worldwide leading social media, which directs teenage thought and conduct through the platform. TikTok trends spread quickly, but some are dangerous challenges with millions of views and result in fatal consequences. Users, especially parents, must realize that some risky trends on social media platforms might cause a fatal incident. And keeping up to date with relevant information and the truth is critical to preventing tragedies.

The article explores the deadliest illegal dangerous trend spread in TikTok that users should be aware of. The knowledge combined with attention to your child’s actions might stop them from carrying out outrageous behaviors. Let’s dive in!

What are TikTok trends?

The aspect of TikTok, known as trends, represents viral challenges, activities, and themes that rapidly gain popularity on this social media platform. You can discover a wide variety of content on TikTok, which may include dances and pranks alongside beauty tutorials. Still, dangerous activities have also emerged. Trends on TikTok gained explosive popularity because the algorithm promotes risky stuff that the users might replicate.

What is the mechanism that boosts trends through the TikTok platform?

• Algorithmic magic: Through algorithmic selection on the “For You” page TikTok accelerates the spread of viral challenges to boost their popularity.

• Peer pressure: Modern-day peer pressure among teens manifests through their desire for likes and social comments, which lead to validation. They will join any trend that increases their visibility or relevance.

• Reinvention: Sometimes, innocent traditions are warped into risky activities that go undetected as dangerous or explicit within the TikTok platform.

Who’s most affected?

New trends rapidly spread across TikTok because users between 13 and 24 actively participate along with being more susceptible to risky behaviors. Here’s why:

• Age range: The demographic of TikTok users mainly falls within the age range of 13 to 24 years old.

• Brain factor: The human brain during adolescence operates primarily through impulsive behavior rather than practicing caution. Risk = Fun.

• FOMO: Teens refrain from missing out on events by feeling they will be left behind by others.

What draws children to do TikTok challenges?

What causes children to perform dangerous TikTok challenges with no hesitation? Three main factors combine to create an irresistible force that draws young people toward dangerous TikTok challenges. Here’s an explanation: 

1. Peer pressure hits different online

All teens desire to avoid looking uncool whenever they stay off the latest trends. TikTok challenges seem acceptable to teenagers when they observe many peers and influencers performing them despite potential risks.

2. The sweet, addictive taste of validation

The digital form of recognition, which includes likes and shares as well as comments, functions as a virtual appreciation that appeals strongly to today’s teenagers. Getting through a trivial challenge provides users with an esteemed feeling despite its irrationality.

3. Popular notoriety can be achieved through risk-taking

TikTok seems to provide a pathway to fame because any person can achieve instant celebrity status through a video post. Dangerous risks that circulate online spread faster than regular ones thus providing young people with quick access to popularity.

Deadly TikTok trends

The dangerous TikTok trends result in lethal consequences rather than being mere stupidity. The current worst offenders of dangerous TikTok fads that remain active in 2025 require a detailed investigation.

Choking game

TikTok acted as the catalyst that revived an existing dangerous fad. Teens perform self-choking as well as choke others to obtain brief euphoric effects through impaired oxygen flow. People begin the choking challenge with humor in mind, yet this leads directly to fatal outcomes.

Risks:

• Permanent brain injury happens due to a deprived oxygen supply.
• Passing out during a black-out period puts you at risk for dangerous falls that could result in major traumas.

Skull Breaker challenge

When executed correctly, the challenge has two participants who kick the legs of a jumping person to knock them off balance. This results in their body falling backward towards the ground. The prank quickly became popular online and created substantial harm to participants.

Risks:

• In this dangerous activity head trauma results in nearly all cases.
• Guided falls to the ground may result in long-lasting damage to the spinal area.

Car Surfing

Individuals participate in this activity by sitting on the exterior of moving transport vehicles for the sake of popularity. Driving a car while riding on its exterior panel is simultaneously dangerous, unlawful and without any rational basis.

Risks:

• Riders risk falling from their vehicles when the driver makes unexpected turns during a bump.
• Road rash combined with fractured bones or any worse medical condition qualifies as a common injury here.

Benadryl challenge

Young people choose large amounts of Benadryl to experience hallucinations. Having someone force you into this suicidal challenge leads to fatal consequences.

Risks:

• Excessive intake of the drug will cause prolonged seizures that cannot be controlled by the body.
• Death has already taken people during this risk.

Tide Pods challenge

Yes, it’s still a thing. The dangerous trend of consuming laundry pods as a video stunt continues to persist among certain individuals as it has not gone away entirely.

Risks:

• The ingestion of toxic chemicals leads to damaging the organs and this action is classified as poisoning.
• The harsh chemicals that someone consumes produce damaging burns throughout the throat as they pass through the stomach.

Illegal TikTok trends

The dangerous activities found in some TikTok challenges qualify as illegal conduct. These illegal challenges expose young individuals to legal penalties due to destruction and theft activities. TikTok users in 2025 have been spreading the most extreme challenges which we will review next.

Vandalism challenges

Trends on TikTok push children to engage in destructive acts of public and private property damage to get attention through likes. The “Devious Licks” school item theft fad began the series of dangerous trends. Several years ago the trends progressed from minor destruction to become actual vandalism.

Risks:

• The crackdown at schools against offenders results in immediate student expulsion.
• Damaging property = paying hefty fines.

The Firetruck challenge

Participation in the false fire alarm simulation leads responders to unnecessary emergency trips. It’s disruptive, dangerous, and illegal.

Risks:

• Illegal penalties and monetary fines will meet those who trigger false alarms.
• Ambulance services take longer to respond to genuine emergencies because of this kind of tampering.

Tranq challenge

People currently use prescription tranquilizers for recreational purposes to achieve a zombie-like mental condition. The behavior exposes the same amount of danger as its description suggests.

Risks:

• Substantial quantities of these drugs can easily lead to death because of overdose.
• Continuous use of the drug will eventually lead to permanent cognitive problems in the brain.

Orbeez Shooting challenge

Strangers face endangerment when participants shoot Orbeez gel pellets with toy guns although the practice seems harmless at first glance.

Risks:

• Assault charges: Shooting people = criminal assault.
• Orbeez gel pellets can cause both injury through bruising the body and physical damage because they are not soft pellets.

The Kia challenge

A widespread internet movement shows teens how to carry out Kia and Hyundai vehicle thefts by using a standard USB cord. The practice holds the same dangerous level of illegality as it does stupidity.

Risks:

• The stolen auto act referred to as Grand Theft Auto represents a criminal offense of the first degree.
• A prison sentence follows when court convictions are unfavorable.

Dangerous TikTok trends

The TikTok challenges include hazards that produce fatal consequences. Teens seeking viral fame dismiss important hazards while they pursue their fame objectives. Here are a couple of examples.

Fire challenge

The dangerous fad requires someone to set their body on fire as they record it for the platform. Teens use flammable materials on their skin before making them a target for flames to gain views from others. Viewers should know that this challenge results in harmful consequences for participants.

Risks:

• The injuries sustained from second-degree and third-degree burn infections are prevalent in this activity.
• Permanently disfigured skin marks the worst kind of physical damage. 
• The rapid spread of fire results in numerous deaths among people who attempt this method.

Borg challenge

This dangerous activity requires mixing alcohol with electrolytes in a gallon jug followed by fast alcohol consumption under the “Blackout Rage Gallon” challenge name. It’s a recipe for disaster.

Risks:

• Consuming too much alcohol in a short period will deliberately impede your body functions.
• Blackouts cause unconsciousness which makes both control and danger more severe.
• The consumption of toxic alcohol amounts will prove lethal when medical assistance is unavailable.

Speed-Eating competitions

The race among teens focuses on completing the fastest eating task of oversized food items. The game presents severe risks which ensure lethal issues at any moment.

Risks:

• Membrane obstruction during eating can block air circulation until it leads to death by suffocation.
• The consumption of excessive food leads to critical damage of internal body systems.
• The blocking of airways during choking will result in death within minutes.

Dragon Breath challenge

Taking in frozen cereal vapor that contains liquid nitrogen results in the desired cool smoke effect but it comes at a dangerous price.

Risks:

• The consumption of nitrogen leads to severe damage throughout the mouth and throat along with the stomach.
• Affected persons risk severe lung harm when they inhale cold vapor into their lungs.
• The combination of internal injuries has the potential to break body tissues or lead to suffocation which results in death.

Gallon challenge

Drinking an entire gallon of milk through single continuous sips is the main requirement of this challenge. Though it seems funny many individuals experience serious stomach issues from this activity.

Risks:

• Excessive fluid intake causes the stomach to malfunction through vomiting.
• Drinking excessive amounts of fluid will result in an imbalance of important salts present in the body.
• Such incidents may cause fatal lung infections as a result of excessive vomit.

How TikTok is responding to dangerous trends

TikTok recognizes dangerous trend problems as serious threats which motivates them beyond passive observation. As part of its efforts, TikTok executed several measures to fight dangerous content while safeguarding young users. The company follows multiple steps to handle this problem.

1. Content moderation & AI detection

• Advanced AI technology within TikTok detects dangerous or illegal behaviors which subsequently leads to video removal from the platform.
• The system employs AI capabilities to scan harmful keywords together with hashtags as well as dangerous trends.

2. Restricted search & hashtags

• Users cannot access dangerous TikTok trends because the platform maintains restricted search terms.
• Search terms for dangerous challenges remain blocked from reaching the trending section.

3. Community guidelines enforcement

• The Community Guidelines from TikTok enforce the absolute prohibition against content that promotes dangerous conduct.
• All users engaging in dangerous challenge activities will receive account suspension or a permanent ban.

4. Parental controls & digital wellbeing

• Parental controls through Family Pairing in TikTok enable monitoring and management of what their kids see on the platform.
• There are a ton of parental control tools on the market like FlashGet Kids that offer real-time tracking and restrictive features to safeguard children. 

5. Educational campaigns

• TikTok works with safety organizations to deliver online risk awareness programs.
• Alerts inside the application display warnings to users who interact with dangerous subjects.

What can parents do to protect kids from TikTok dangers?

TikTok stays strong along with dangerous patterns and it shows no signs of disappearing any time soon. But parents aren’t powerless. Efforts to protect children’s safety online can be combined with parental supervision for their digital world entertainment. Here’s how:

1. Stay informed

People cannot protect what they remain unaware of. Having awareness about dangerous TikTok trends gives you the advantage of being informed about threats. Track dangerous TikTok trends by creating Alerts for keywords, including “TikTok challenges” in your notifications.

2. Use parental control tools

The advantages of technology allow you to monitor activities without assuming a domineering position. Rely on robust parental control solutions like FlashGet Kids that offer notification tracking, keyword detection, and screen mirroring to keep kids safe on TikTok. 

3. Talk openly and regularly

You should establish an environment without criticism so your children feel comfortable sharing what they discover on the internet. You need to ask your child if they observed any unusual online behavior patterns. (Curiosity beats lectures).

4. Set boundaries

Digital freedom? Sure, but with limits. You should use screen time applications to establish time constraints for your device usage each day. Moreover, let them know dangerous and irresponsible online behavior is expressly prohibited.

5. Model smart behavior

Kids mimic what they see. Your online mindfulness creates an environment where your children will follow your example. Your child cannot live in a protective bubble; nevertheless, you can develop their abilities to protect themselves from concerns and possibly stop them from getting involved in online hazards.

Conclusion

Trends on TikTok that pose dangers result in various risks including accidental injuries together with legal consequences and fatal outcomes. The influence of TikTok on teenage culture requires parental involvement at an unprecedented level. Being aware of dangerous trends alongside parental restrictions, plus discussions between parents and children, produces substantial positive changes. So, stay proactive and with the help of parental control tools like FlashGet Kids to safeguard your child!