Current Event II

“Shell On Challenge” latest dumb food stunt health officials warn teens against

April 19, 2019

Social media influences the behavior of teenagers in numerous ways. One example is viral social media challenges which represent a constant trend in the current generation of the youth.

Social media challenges may include benign challenges like “ice bucket challenge”, which raised millions of dollars for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, however, also very dangerous challenges like “tide pod challenge”, which involves eating detergent capsules.

The most recent social media challenge is called “Shell on Challenge” and includes eating food with its packaging. Teenagers record themselves eating sandwich in a zip-closed bag, baby carrots still in the plastic bag or even lemon with rind and subsequently they post it on Snapchat. This challenge is highly risky and unsafe. Pieces of plastics could get stuck in the digestive system as well as it is not very wise to eat the skin of the food or rind without washing it. Performing “Shell on Challenge” may almost certainly lead to permanent harm (Bernot, 2019).

But why do teenagers even participate in these dangerous challenges? And why are they willing to take more risks than any other age group?

One explanation may be the influence and pressure of their friends. During the years of adolescence, children are self-conscious and seek acceptance and approval. This usually results in the desire to impress their peers. It increases their willingness to perform dangerous and reckless behavior which draws attention of others. In addition, children’s brains are still developing. Therefore, teenagers are used to act impulsively before thinking about the consequences of their actions twice (Hess, 2019).

"Internet challenges are one of the quickest ways to become famous, or to end up permanently disfigured or even dead"

It is crucial for teenagers to understand the severity of their actions and be able to avoid impulsive behavior based on their desire of social reward or to just “fit in”.

For more information on Shell on Challenge, please watch a short video below.

References

Bernot, K. (2019, April 19). “Shell On Challenge” latest dumb food stunt health officials warn teens against. Retrieved from https://thetakeout.com

Hess, N. (2019, January 5). Social media challenges. Why do our kids participate in such risky behaviors? Retrieved from https://pedimom.com

WXYZ-TV Detroit. (2019, April 17). Doctors warning about dangers of shell on challenge

[Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com