Unfortunately, it seems this trend of destructive TikTok challenges is continuing, with several similar challenges this month and in the next few months. “The result was costly for the district and ultimately for taxpayers like you. In Superintendent Timothy Gadson’s October newsletter he directly addresses the carnage and fallout from the September thefts. Districts across the country are having to rely on taxpayer dollars to pick up the slack where “Devious Licks” has left destruction.įollowing TikTok’s ban of all “Devious Licks” content, it appears the trend has been stifled, however, Salt Lake schools are not yet in the clear. Cyclical cleaning measures are being taken such as aggressive and ongoing cleaning of common touchpoints, and the continuous usage of airflow mitigation techniques and cleaning agents that are effective but highly expensive. The district has been transparent about being stretched thin as a result of their ongoing Covid-19 mitigation plan. The occurrence of such a trend would be inconvenient in the best of circumstances, however, many school districts are still trying to recover from the fiscal impact of Covid-19, including Salt Lake City School District. For many teenagers, the adrenaline rush of going viral is clouding the real repercussions awaiting them. Despite attempts to quell thefts, the trend continues to prosper, forcing many districts to take further action and press criminal charges against students. In schools that have been hit particularly hard, bathrooms have had to shut down completely due to a lack of plumbing and infrastructure. The responses to “Devious Licks” range from prohibiting bathroom usage entirely, to having staff monitor bathroom entrances during peak traffic times. Various institutions have started pursuing criminal charges against perpetrators.ĭisgruntled administrators have been forced to play their hand. But the reality is that we have not found related content on our platform, and most people appear to be learning about the offline dare from sources other than TikTok.” Nevertheless, the application has done its part in removing suspicious content according to its users.ĭespite TikTok’s ambiguous attitude toward “Devious Licks” it hasn’t stopped the trend from impacting school’s across the nation, including several in Salt Lake City. TikTok stated, “This alleged ‘challenge’ would violate our policies and we would aggressively remove all content. However, the initial statement left many contemplating TikTok’s culpability as the application was quick to denounce central involvement in the trend. The trend gained peak popularity during mid-September, prompting a TikTok spokesperson to release a statement in response to the backlash. Subsequently, the ante was upped as more children hopped on the trend, resulting in more egregious circumstances of theft and vandalism. The origins of the trend are unknown, but like most viral trends on TikTok, it didn’t take long for millions of views to accompany the most popular videos. “Devious Licks” is the name given to a series of challenges that actively encourage students to vandalize their school bathrooms by removing items including sinks, soap dispensers, trash cans and even toilets. Ergo, children and teenagers are likely to see content from their peers, and in the case of ‘Devious Licks,” these trends are directly targeting a school-aged demographic. Once you download the application, it quickly learns your tastes based on the videos you interact with and like. Videos are anywhere between one to three minutes, and can be posted by anyone, anywhere, at any time. Many argue that part of what makes the application so addicting is its superior algorithm. Currently, the app is home to an audience of 800-million active users and counting. However, following Covid-19’s various quarantines and lockdowns, people of varying ages and demographics found their way to the application looking for entertainment. Originally, the application was marketed toward children and teenagers. However, it wasn’t until 2020 that the application exploded in popularity due to the Covid-19 pandemic. If you’re unfamiliar with the Chinese-based video sharing platform, TikTok has been around in some capacity since 2016. Dangerous trends are plaguing schools across the nation as a result of viral videos circulating on social media application TikTok.
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