Is TikTok empowering or endangering the health of kids and teens in the U.S.? As an emergency physician, I often ask myself that question.

There are some positives to the platform. Trends that go viral there are reshaping how young people engage with pop culture, health education, and even life-saving skills. Kids have more access than ever to learning how to respond to emergency situations; for instance, when a celebrity overdose sparks TikTok tutorials on how to use Narcan, or experts teach people hands-only CPR using catchy modern songs like Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club”. (It was time for an update: teaching chest compressions to the rhythm of "Stayin' Alive" by the Bee Gees isn’t exactly the most relevant reference for Gen Z.) 

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But the same platform which educates one user may mislead or harm another.  

Dangerous TikTok trends popularize reckless behavior, costing vulnerable youth safety, self-esteem, and sometimes even their survival. Kids as young as eight have died from self-strangulation after doing the Blackout Challenge, for instance, where users intentionally try to choke themselves until they lose consciousness. 

Emergencies have become........

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