Viral Online Challenges & Dares
Understanding the risks of viral online challenges and dares, recognising when a challenge may be dangerous, and knowing how to respond if your child is involved.
Online Challenges is viral tasks or dares spread on social media that encourage children to film themselves doing something, some of which can be dangerous, harmful, or humiliating.
What is this?
Viral challenges spread rapidly across social media platforms, particularly TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram. Many are harmless fun, but some involve physical risk, self-harm, or activities that are illegal or dangerous. Children and young people are particularly susceptible because of peer pressure, the desire for likes and views, and the excitement of participation. The speed at which challenges spread means that by the time parents or schools are aware, a challenge may already be widely known among young people.
How it works
Challenges typically begin with a video that goes viral, encouraging viewers to replicate the activity and post their own version. Hashtags make challenges easy to find and share. Some challenges are deliberately designed to escalate in danger as participants try to outdo each other. Children may feel they are missing out if they do not take part, and peer pressure — both online and offline — can be significant. Dangerous challenges have included the Blackout Challenge, the Fire Challenge, and various challenges involving consumption of harmful substances.
Warning signs
In your child's behaviour
- • Watching the same video clip repeatedly
- • Secretive about online challenges or what they are viewing
- • Physical marks or injuries after online activity
On their device
- • Challenge-related search history or hashtag searches
- • Videos of dangerous activities saved or bookmarked
Prevention steps
Talk openly about challenges
Regularly discuss viral trends with your child in a non-judgemental way. Ask what challenges they have seen online and whether any of their friends have taken part. Making this a normal topic of conversation means they are more likely to come to you if something concerns them.
Help them recognise social pressure
Explain how challenge culture works — the pressure to participate, to get views, and to be seen as brave or funny. Help your child develop the confidence to say no to a dare, even if friends are doing it, by practising how they might respond.
Use platform safety and reporting tools
Show your child how to report dangerous challenge content on platforms they use. Many platforms remove harmful challenge content when reported, and reporting it is a positive action that may protect other children.
What to do if it happens
- 1If your child has been injured or is in immediate danger, call 999. For non-emergency medical concerns, contact your GP or call 111.
- 2Stay calm and listen. Avoid responding with anger — your child needs to feel safe telling you what happened. Focus on their wellbeing first, then address the behaviour separately.
- 3Report the original challenge content to the platform and, if serious harm has occurred, to the police. Contact CEOP if the challenge involved sexual content or grooming.
Related topics
If you need to report this
In immediate danger: call 999. For non-emergency police matters, call 101.
Concerned about a child but it's not an emergency? NSPCC helpline 0808 800 5000. Childline for young people 0800 1111.
This is practical educational content to support families. For case-specific concerns about a child's safety, contact the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000 or your local safeguarding team.
Myths & facts
Myth: If millions of people have done a challenge, it must be safe.
Fact: Feeds show the survivable takes, not the injuries, and clips are edited to look effortless. Popularity measures how well a challenge spreads, not how safe it is.
Myth: I should warn my child about each dangerous challenge by name.
Fact: Naming a specific viral challenge can spark curiosity and searches in children who had never heard of it. Teaching general judgement — how to size up any dare — protects them against the next trend too.
Myth: Only reckless kids take part in dangerous dares.
Fact: Peer pressure, group chats, and the pull of views and likes work on sensible children as well. In the moment, with friends watching, saying no is genuinely hard — which is why it needs practising in advance.
Age by age
- 8-10
Children this age copy what they see. Use restricted modes, watch together where you can, and set one memorable rule: check with a grown-up before copying anything from a video — even something that looks silly and fun.
- 11-13
Group-chat dares and the wish to fit in peak now. Rehearse easy exit lines for saying no, talk about how views and likes reward risky behaviour, and keep asking casually what trends are going round school.
- 14-16
Talk about escalation — challenges designed to outdo the last one — and the consequences of filming and posting, from injury to trouble that follows them. Encourage them to be the one in the group who calls something stupid.
- 17-plus
The riskiest dares now involve cars, alcohol, and public spaces. Talk about bystander responsibility — not filming, not egging on, stepping in or calling for help — and reporting dangerous content rather than sharing it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Resources
Sources
Was this page helpful?
Explore more
Stay informed on this topic
Get practical child safety updates in your inbox. No spam.