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Social media has been home to some bizarre and downright dangerous viral "challenges" recently. Users have been dared to film themselves slapping a teacher, licking public toilet seats, making themselves black out, and of course, eating Tide pods. Now, a new trend has started on TikTok and it is so alarming that police have issued a warning about it.
It's called the "door kick challenge" and sees people going around neighborhoods and recording themselves kicking the doors of innocent homeowners. Footage of the door kicking is then uploaded to TikTok and shown while Kesha's song "Die Young" plays over it. After the lyrics, "I hear your heart beat to the beat of the drums," TikTokers kick the door twice, and sometimes actually kicki it in.
The challenge seems to be spreading, and police in Washington registered seven reports of it happening in one neighborhood within an hour. They posted a statement on their Facebook page that says, "While in theory, this challenge seems harmless, its segue into our community has caused some real safety concerns."
Meanwhile, Canadian police tweeted a video showing exactly why it's a problem. They captioned it, "Really! Social media challenge causes damage and scares residents after three youths kick in a front door in Port Dover. Do you recognize the clothing or the voices?"
One resident, Matthew Trimble, told news station KPTV that he received a call from a neighbor that it was occurring in their neighborhood. Matthew wasn't home so, worried, he called his wife and "told her to brace the door with the chair and I'd be home as soon as I can."
Clearly the challenge, which seems to have started late last year in college dorms, is upsetting to victims of it, but a TikTok spokesperson told KPTV, "While we have not seen this trending on our platform, we expect our community to create responsibly and will remove content that encourages vandalism and other criminal activities."
If the trend continues, there is a fear that it will be attempted on a homeowner who uses lethal force to fend off what they perceive as burglars. Police are encouraging parents to speak with their kids about the challenge and how dangerous it can be.