From blackout to milk crates: Viral social media challenges that caused real-world harm
From choking stunts and drug misuse to reckless physical dares, several viral social media trends have resulted in documented injuries, hospitalisations and deaths, particularly among teenagers.
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Viral social media trends, often framed as “challenges,” have repeatedly resulted in serious injuries, poisonings and deaths over the past decade. Many of these trends spread rapidly among teenagers before platforms intervene or warnings reach a wider audience:
1. Blackout / Choking Challenge
Participants intentionally restrict oxygen to the brain to experience a brief euphoric sensation. Impact: More than 100 recorded deaths worldwide as of 2025, largely among children aged 10–14. Survivors have reported seizures, loss of consciousness and permanent brain damage.
2. Benadryl Challenge
Users consume extremely high doses of the antihistamine diphenhydramine to induce hallucinations on camera. Impact: Multiple teen deaths and ICU admissions due to seizures, cardiac arrhythmias and coma.
3. Tide Pod Challenge
Participants bite into or ingest laundry detergent pods. Impact: Over 10,000 poisoning cases were reported globally between 2017 and 2019. Injuries included chemical burns, respiratory failure and gastrointestinal damage.
4. NyQuil / “Sleepy Chicken” Challenge
Raw chicken is boiled in cold medication, creating concentrated fumes and drug residues. Impact: Health authorities warned of lung damage from inhaled vapours and toxic medication levels entering the bloodstream.
5. Milk Crate Challenge
Participants climb stacked plastic milk crates arranged in a pyramid. Impact: More than 8,000 hospitalisations between 2020 and 2021, with injuries ranging from spinal cord damage to complex fractures and paralysis.
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6. Skull Breaker Challenge
Two people kick a third person’s legs while they jump, causing them to fall backward. Impact: Documented cases of skull fractures, concussions and traumatic brain injuries, often involving unsuspecting victims.
7. Fire Challenge
Participants set themselves on fire using flammable liquids such as hand sanitiser. Impact: Severe burn injuries, sometimes covering up to 50% of the body, with a spike in burn unit admissions reported in 2023.
8. Bird Box Challenge
Inspired by the Netflix film, participants perform daily tasks while blindfolded, including walking or driving. Impact: Vehicle collisions, pedestrian injuries and law enforcement interventions.
9. Cinnamon Challenge
Participants attempt to swallow a spoonful of dry cinnamon powder. Impact: Powder inhalation into the lungs, leading to chemical pneumonia, respiratory distress and long-term lung damage.
10. Body image “measurement” trends
Trends such as the A4 Challenge, which compares waist width to a sheet of paper, promote extreme thinness. Impact: Linked by clinicians to increased body dysmorphia and worsening eating disorders among adolescents.
11. Laptop / Chromebook Fire Challenge
A 2025 trend involving tampering with school-issued laptops to trigger overheating or fires. Impact: Risks of battery thermal runaway, fires and explosions in school settings.
12. Swatting
False emergency calls made to provoke armed police responses at a target’s address. Impact: Multiple cases globally where innocent people were injured or killed during police raids.
13. Orbeez Challenge
Participants shoot strangers with gel ball guns, often filming reactions. Impact: Eye injuries and police warnings that toy weapons may be mistaken for real firearms, escalating the risk of violence.
Why these trends have real-world consequences
The consequences of viral challenges are increasingly visible in emergency rooms and court records. According to a November 2025 US-based analysis by legal advocacy firm Bader Scott, hospitals are treating a rising number of injuries linked to social media stunts, ranging from poisonings and burns to traumatic brain and spinal injuries, some resulting in long-term disability or death.
Law enforcement agencies in several countries have also flagged legal repercussions tied to certain trends, particularly those involving public endangerment, hoax emergency calls, weapon-like objects or damage to property. In such cases, participants and perpetrators have faced criminal charges, civil liability or school-level disciplinary action.
While social media platforms say they remove content promoting dangerous behaviour, regulators and child-safety organisations note that trends often reappear under new names or formats, limiting the effectiveness of takedowns alone.
