Amarillo, This Tik Tok Challenge Isn’t Just Stupid… It’s Illegal. But Is It Real?
Social Media, Like it or not it's here, It's not going anywhere and for some it's just a way of life. the younger you are the more likely this statement is true. What makes things so interesting is when a trend comes along that is just so absurd you start to wonder "Is this really what we're doing now?"
Cue in one of the latest trends on Tik Tok, which is right up there with stupid social media challenges of the past like the Tide Pod Challenge or one from earlier this year "Devious Licks" which inspired students to steal fixtures from schools. The latest involves students slapping teachers and sharing to the social media site. I'm leaving it there without the hashtags or further instructions for obvious reasons. But is this really going on? There's been plenty of media coverage about it but a quick look at Tik Tok reveals that surprisingly not much is going on here and if anything the teachers have already taken back the trend with their own responses.
So what exactly happens if you slap a teacher here in Amarillo, Texas? first lets start at just the threat, if a student threatens or harasses a teacher here, as of 2019 they are now subject to state harassment laws not just district code of conducts. But if a student were to go all the way and slap a teacher, they are assaulting a public servant which in Texas can range from a class A misdemeanor to a 3rd degree felony which comes with the potential of up to 10 years in prison.
By the way... Who slaps a teacher anyway?
The Trend That Doesnt Exist?
So despite all the hype and all the coverage even TikTok is trying to stay out of it by offering this:
Honestly it's the right move because not giving a platform to stupid actions like these helps keep it at bay. A simple search of the topic came up with a nice "nope not here" response.
So far here in the Panhandle it's been all quiet. As this fad comes and goes the big question is what's next? Perhaps a challenge where kids actually are motivated to do something good? One can only hope.