Column: A look into critical thinking and social media

One of my school’s bathrooms was out of commission for most of the first quarter. It wasn’t due to renovation or plumbing issues. Rather, the toilet was ripped entirely out of the ground, apparently as a result of the “devious lick” trend on TikTok — a social media platform which has become quite popular, especially among youth, in recent years. This viral challenge promotes vandalism and theft from schools, encouraging students to steal or destroy items such as toilet paper, soap dispensers, and even sinks and toilets. Yes, the trend presents vandalism as comical and even as an appealing opportunity for virality.

What’s not funny, however, is that “devious licks” are costing schools nationwide thousands of dollars in repairs. On Oct. 5, the Hawaii Department of Education warned that students may face “severe disciplinary consequences” for participating in the challenge, including prosecution.

Why are so many students nationwide participating in this clearly destructive TikTok challenge, which harms participants, schools and communities alike? Is it because the nature of social media allows both the good and the bad to spread like wildfire? Or is it simply “kids being kids”? Both statements may hold some truth and also shed light on why even dangerous trends can become popular.

The prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain responsible for rational decision-making, helping us to both recognize and refrain from choices or impulses that are irrational or harmful. Unfortunately, the prefrontal cortex takes time to develop and doesn’t fully mature until around age 25. This delay in neural maturity may be one of the reasons why adolescents are especially vulnerable to harmful risk-taking behaviors.

According to a study by the University of Wisconsin’s Social Media and Adolescent Health Research Team, more than half of kids ages 11 to 18 reference risky or inappropriate behavior on their social media profiles, many of whom may not have even recognized their behavior as unreasonable. Social tendencies to seek acceptance and affirmation from others may also play a role in trend participation. Social media quantifies approval through features such as the “like” button, comments, and follower counts, which viewers can use to discern desirability of a user or their videos.

The original “devious lick” video gained more than 345,800 views before it was removed, and “devious lick” compilations have since been reposted to other platforms such as YouTube, gaining hundreds of thousands of views each. This is exactly why negative trends spread so quickly, yet cannot be resolved by simply removing posts or hashtags. The power to end this trend, then, may rest on the shoulders of users themselves.

How can we stop these detrimental online influences from proliferating? Although a simple solution appears to be the monitoring and regulation of information and posts online, I firmly believe that this is not the moral or logical path to take. Alternatively, critical-thinking and media literacy must be emphasized more in schools, especially since social media platforms also promote discourse on heavier issues that will affect our future as much as they spread comical trends. By doing so, we can equip students to make more informed decisions by sharpening their ability to analyze unfamiliar ideas, and even identify and combat false information.

Social media is an incredible tool for sharing information and connecting users worldwide, but it can also cause tremendous harm. To my peers, my message is that we as users have the power to recognize these capacities and change how we utilize these platforms in a smart, safe and productive way (which can still be funny and enjoyable, without being harmful and risky). Let’s use that power wisely.

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Arya Tonnes is a Kapolei High School student, Class of 2024.

“Raise Your Hand,” a monthly column featuring Hawaii’s youth and their perspectives, appears in the Insight section on the first Sunday of each month. It is facilitated by the Center for Tomorrow’s Leaders.

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CTLhawaii.org