It’s more than just funny videos. Scary things lie in instant messaging.

David Letterman once made stupid human tricks famous. Tik Tok is apparently where people go to perform those tricks in the days of social media.

The “Outlet Challenge” is just the latest video craze that’s getting warnings from safety officials.

 

Fire departments and utility officials across the country are warning people to stop with the “outlet challenge”, a viral video trend where Tik Tok users are dropping pennies behind wall chargers plugged into an outlet.  Of course, it pops and sparks and sometimes knocks out the power.

   Fire department officials say it can cause a fire behind the wall that you might not notice until it’s too late.

 

The Carlson Lawfirm recently released its list of apps every parent needs to know about, Keeping Kids Safe in 2020  

It isn’t the first careless Tik Tok challenge to go viral. Last summer people were posting videos of themselves jumping out of moving cars to dance alongside of it. It was so popular the NTSB issued a warning. This week’s viral challenge is people eating cereal out of other people’s mouths. Challenges are posted frequently followed by hundreds or even thousands of videos from other users.

 

Anything for views. 

Tik Tok is more than disgusting and dangerous videos. For parents wondering, here’s a quick primer:

Tik Tok videos are short, just a few seconds. The vast majority is of people dancing and lip-syncing to popular songs. But comedy is big too. Users need to be 13 to sign up for a Tik Tok account to post videos, but age is never verified, so anyone can say they’re old enough. While much of what you see on Tik Tok is harmless entertainment, the “F word” is generously used and videos are often sexually suggestive.

Concerns about comments and messaging

One of the more worrisome things for parents of young children on Tik Tok, is in the comment section of the videos. There have been multiple reports of pedophiles contacting users through predatory comments and messages.

   Tik Tok gives the option to restrict comments and encourages users to report any illegal activity.