Teenage brains are drawn to popular social media challenges

Viral social media trends started innocently enough.In recent years, social media challenges have grown more popular — and more dangerous, leading to serious injuries and even deaths.As clinical psychology researchers, we study why social media challenges are so appealing to teens despite the dangers they pose, and steps parents can take to protect their kids.Almost all American teens today have access to a smartphone and actively use multiple social media platforms — with YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat being the most popular among this age group.

” Simply put, teens pay closer attention to social media content with a high number of “likes” and views.In our work, we found that celebrities, musicians, athletes and influencers can also increase risky teen behaviors, such as alcohol and drug use, especially because they earn many “likes” and attract huge followings on social media.