By: Angela Acosta, Abigail Jimenez, & Anabel Ocampo

You are scrolling through Instagram when you come across a video with a million likes. You watch the video and it’s two people getting set on fire, to see who can last longer. Although it is common sense not to play with fire, many people have felt obligated to take on this challenge simply because they are bored or want to be famous on social media.

Just within these last few years, many challenges have been created, the “Kylie Jenner challenge,” the “cinnamon challenge,” and even the “fainting challenge.” The list goes on, and sadly we are in a era where only the opinion of people on social media matters. People are more interested in watching someone causing harm to themselves and others rather than watching a video about charity, bettering the environment etc.

Although it may seem like people are having fun while participating in these challenges, there are many consequences that happen as a result. For example, there has been several cases for the “fire challenge” that many people have actually burned themselves and ended up in a emergency room fighting for their lives. There are many people who take these consequences into consideration and simply don’t contribute to these challenges, while there are others who take on the challenge to prove to others that these consequences are unlikely. We were curious to know about what students think about these challenges.

11th grader Jorge Lopez said, “I saw on the news that this kid was in a bathtub and he set himself on fire and turned on the water. I have not tried any of these challenges and I would not do it even for money because the money does not last longer than the burn does… I think people do this to impress their friends.” Senior Jairo Echeverria said, “The ‘tide pod challenge’ is the number one challenge I can think of. You are eating literal toxics for a stupid meme. I don’t recommend doing it because you might get food poisoning. Or like the ‘hot sauce challenge’ where you take a shot of the hottest hot sauces in the world which can literally burn your tonsils and leave scarring.”

Continuing, Jairo said, “here are many  physical consequences that come with these challenges. For example, the ‘chubby bunny challenge’ can lead to tearing inside your mouth. I think people do these challenges because they want attention. I would not try any but there are some that are harmless and are for a good cause.”Senior, Sania Vallejo said, “The ‘Ice Bucket challenge’ was dumb even if it was for a good cause. The ‘spicy noodle challenge’ and the ‘don’t get cold challenge.’ I haven’t tried them because they are dumb, so many kids have to go to the hospital or get burned as a consequence. People do this for social media so they can get their 10 minutes of fame or however long it is. I would do this for money but it depends on the money, like the ‘fainting challenge,’ I would do it for $100.”.

Sophomore Mac Manrique said, “A dumb challenge I know is the ‘Tide Pod challenge’. I haven’t tried any challenges because I believe that they are a waste of my time, and you could get injured. I wouldn’t do it for money either. I think people do these challenges to be funny or to show that they are cool.” Freshman Nefer Garcia said, “I know some challenges like the chubby bunny challenge, the 100 layers of clothes challenge. I honestly stopped paying attention because they had different challenges that started to go all over the place. I have not tried any of these challenges but I would do a few for money like the ‘chubby bunny challenge’ because it is a simple challenge of eating. I know some consequences of these challenges are that people get over competitive.In the ‘ice bucket challenge’ you can get really sick. I think people do these challenges for fun or want to get some sort of fame out of it”

Overall, we shouldn’t try any of these challenges because they can lead to many physical consequences. Even though, you may want to try them you should always think twice because you can end up regretting it or get sent to the Emergency Room. Never allow social media to pressure you to do something regrettable.