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Extreme TikTok experiments
Creators film themselves trying out viral TikTok stunts and hacks for laughs on YouTube, and the evidence so far is a single humour video, so the main thing to watch is kids copying a stunt without the safety a production team provides.
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Roblox account locking and player backlash
Creators say Roblox is locking some accounts and players are angry, and videos about a 'gift' for players could be bait for scams, though the details are not yet confirmed.
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Grooming on Snapchat and Instagram
UK child-protection experts report that online grooming is getting quicker and easier on apps like Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok, which makes it worth knowing the pattern and keeping the conversation open at home.
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Teen mental distress
Tel-jeunes reports about 20% more contacts from Québec teens in a year, and a Léger survey it commissioned found a third of 12 to 17 year-olds feel anxious every week, so this is a real, widespread pattern that parents can help with, not a passing online fad.
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Criminal recruitment of minors online
Quebec police report that criminal groups are approaching teens through social media and online games to get them involved in violent crime, which puts those teens at risk of harm and of arrest.
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Nicotine pouches
Nicotine pouches are legally restricted to adults in Canada, but advocates and studies say illicit online and in-store sales are getting them to teens, who can become hooked on nicotine.
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Looksmaxxing
Looksmaxxing is online slang for working to improve your physical appearance, now so common that Merriam-Webster has added it to its dictionary, and while much of it is ordinary grooming talk, some of it feeds appearance pressure on teens.
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Blackout challenge
A parent in the US reports middle schoolers filming themselves in a choking game meant to make them pass out, a long-running trend that police and health agencies link to deaths, though this is a single local report.
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Door kick challenge
Teens film themselves pounding or kicking strangers' doors late at night for social media; it is a prank to them, but it frightens families, can damage homes and could lead to mischief charges, though the reports so far are warnings rather than arrests.
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Violent extremism among teens
A Québec teen with extremist views was arrested after posting online threats against a school, a rare but serious case that shows why hateful talk and threats should never be brushed off as jokes.
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Squishy microwave burns
Doctors report some serious burns in kids who heated squishy stress toys in the microwave to make them softer, because the toys can burst and the liquid inside gets much hotter than the surface feels.
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Deepfake nudes
AI-made fake nude images of real people, often classmates, are reported as common among young people, and a recent report found only about 30% of teens say a teacher has ever discussed safe AI use.
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Tanmaxxing
Tanmaxxing is a trend where teens deliberately tan as intensely as possible, often without sunscreen, and post the results online; dermatologists warn it raises skin cancer risk, but it is a risk of appearance pressure rather than something designed to hurt.
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Teen takeover
Teen takeovers are large meet-ups of teens organized through social media; in one recent US case a gathering turned into fights and arrests, so the risk is a crowd getting out of control, not the idea of meeting up.
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AI sexual deepfakes (nudify)
A US survey reported by CNN found nearly 1 in 5 teens made, or know someone who made, AI-generated sexual images, often of people they know, and most teens fear being targeted.
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AI companions
Chatbots built to act as a friend or romantic partner are widely tried by teens, and the emotional dependence they can create is prompting regulators, such as China's new rules, to step in.
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Nicotine pouches
Small smokeless nicotine pouches, which are flavoured, easy to hide and addictive, are drawing growing attention as youth use rises, and a recent US regulatory decision allowing a lower-risk claim for adult smokers has critics worried about teens.
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AI nudify deepfakes of teens
AI tools can turn ordinary photos of teens into fake nude images that get passed around among classmates or used to threaten and extort, which is a real harm to the teens pictured even though the images are fake.
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Com networks
UK police warn that online groups known as Com networks reach kids through gaming or music communities, move them to private channels, then pressure them into harm; this is an early warning from one relayed source, not yet a confirmed local pattern.
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Nicotine pouches
A Canadian study of 17 to 27 year-olds found about a third have tried nicotine pouches, up from under one in ten in 2022, which makes nicotine dependence a real but manageable concern for parents.
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Body image and social media
A Québec survey reported in the press found that 58% of 12-17 year-olds would like a different body shape (up from 48% ten years ago), and researchers link the way teens use social media, especially appearance-focused scrolling, to lower self-esteem.
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Anonymous TikTok bullying accounts
Anonymous TikTok accounts invite students to send in nasty messages about classmates, which the account owner reposts, so a school's teens can be publicly humiliated in front of hundreds of viewers.
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Nicotine pouches
Small flavoured pouches that deliver nicotine through the mouth, with no smoke or vapour, are being marketed hard to young people, and the WHO warns they can cause strong dependence early.
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Vaping
Vaping is common among teens, and a Université Laval study of nearly 7,000 Québec students found that dependence is the barrier teens who want to quit mention most often.
New cards, every Monday.
The Mistlift brief sums up what kids are into online this week, rated from harmless to serious, with what to say.