What Parents Need To Know: 5 Sus Trends & Gen Z Influencers
Updated: Oct 11, 2021
Why Are My Kids More Prone to Follow Online Influences?
According to a recent study done by YPulse 47% of 13-39-year-olds in North America follow online celebrities and creators on social media. That number goes up to 60% with Gen Z, which was influenced in large part to the pandemic. Online Creators and gamers are favored among Gen Z as their favorite famous people, and there’s no doubt that many of them have a major sway over the actions and purchases Gen Z and Millennials are making.
Half of young consumers say that they have made a purchase based on what an online influencer has spoken about or recommended.
"The top things that young consumers are being influenced to do because of influencers are:
-watching videos/TV shows/movies
-listening to new music
Influencers might be entertaining to the younger generation, but they are also influencing their choices of entertainment off of social media as well.
Gen Z is more likely than Millennials to do things related to entertainment, like watch a video / TV show / movie and listen to a new artist or band after learning about it from an online celebrity. Another area where Gen Z is more likely than Millennials to be influenced by influencers is activism.
According to YPulse: Gen Z is an activated group, looking to make change and using their collective online power to make their voices heard, and we can see that influencers play a role in that space for them. That said, Millennials are more likely to have donated to an organization because of an online celeb, which can be attributed to the fact that Millennials are probably in a spot in their lives where they’re more financially stable. Meanwhile, Millennials are also more likely than Gen Z to be influenced to do more tangible activities like reading a book (which the #BookTok subculture may be playing a hand in), going to a restaurant or trying a service compared to the younger generation.
UPDATED Dangerous TIKTOK Trends
You Should Be Aware Of
So what's up with TIKTOK? With it’s over 1,000,000,000 (that’s a BILLION) users each month, TIK TOK now knows it’s users better than their own parents thanks to it’s ultra curated algorithms. It’s what makes the social media platform so addicting and potentially dangerous as well. It’s good to know which trends, for now, might be potentially harmful in 2021.
UPDATED: Here is an updated list of PLANNED School Challenges
September: Vandalize school bathrooms
October: Smack a staff member
November: Kiss your friend’s girlfriend at school
December: “Deck the halls and show your... (private parts)
January: Jab a breast
February: Mess up school signs
March: Make a mess in the courtyard or cafeteria
April: “Grab some eggz” (another stealing challenge)
May: Ditch day
June: Flip off in the front office
July: Spray a neighbors fence
Here are some of the current challenges:
GORILLA GLUE CHALLENGE
In February 2021, a woman named Tessica Brown revealed that her hair was stuck for weeks because she used Gorilla Glue instead of “setting spray.” A look that traditional allows users to go for longer periods of time with their makeup “locked into place.” Sound frightening? It was for Tessica Brown who had to have a special surgery after using the glue to keep her hair in place. Our advice, skip this one.
BURNING PILE CHALLENGE
Already sounds dangerous, doesn’t it? This is a trend like many others all over the app — you start lip-syncing in casual clothes, then with a dramatic flourish and a few camera tricks, you appear magically dressed up.
The problem with that, though, is that the flourish involves an open flame, so you’re waving a lighter really close to your hair. On more than one occasion, a TikToker’s hair caught on fire. Stick to non-flammable trends, Fam!
MILK CRATE CHALLENGE
The milk crate challenge got so popular
on TikTok so quickly, the app itself actually issued a statement saying that this is way too dangerous.
Basically, the trend was to create a pyramid out of milk crates and try to climb to the top. I am not exaggerating when I say I did not see one single person pull it off. Only life-changing wipeouts out here. We would recommend staying away from any trend whose entire purpose is to get you to go flying through the air and land on a plastic cube. Just Sayin'
BABY SWING CHALLENGE
This ridiculous TikTok trend has users squeezing themselves into baby-sized playground swings. While the stunt might make for a funny clip, the problem comes when they can’t get out. In the UK, emergency calls have doubled over the last year — and first responders say this trend is partially to blame.
“This craze is definitely to blame for the increase [in emergency calls],” one firefighter told The Sun. “We have better things to be doing than cutting teenagers out of swings who think it’s a laugh. While we are dealing with them, a house fire could be killing people.” ((Via Parentology)
DRY SCOOP CHALLENGE
“If taking supplements and pre-workout is
EPIC, why not just eat the scoop and skip the water?” The “dry scoop” trend refers to pre-workout powders, which typically contain amino acids, vitamins, caffeine, creatine, and sweeteners. Participants are tasked with taking a dry gulp of the powder — which is intended to be mixed with water — right before a workout. Don’t believe people are doing this check out this video.
Supposedly, ingesting the powder dry intensifies its “energizing” effects. However, many examples of the trend online don’t end well, with some users experiencing choking and breathing issues. Dr Harkin, a cardiologist says: “Aside from protein, [pre-workout powder] also typically contains a massive amount of caffeine (in some cases up to 500 mg!), as well as artificial dyes, sweeteners, and emulsifiers. Taking such a large amount at once could certainly be detrimental to the body, by increasing the heart rate and blood pressure acutely.”