Maria Trujillo | Contributing Writer

“Let’s try it” is the reaction many teens have after viewing a YouTube video introducing a new trend, such as the cinnamon challenge. What is it that drives teens to want to participate in such events that can hurt their bodies and possibly cause death?

I, myself, am guilty of taking part in the cinnamon challenge. I must say it was the worst idea my friends and I ever had. As soon as you put a spoon full of cinnamon in your mouth, your mouth immediately becomes dry. It is impossible to swallow, and you begin to feel a sense of panic because the cinnamon is spread all over the inside of your mouth. You then start coughing as you enter a stage of desperation where you try to drink a large amount of water in effort to dissolve all the cinnamon. After that event, I said “never again.”

But why is it that we are motivated to participate? Well, speaking for myself, I must say that I had a lot of spare time. Sadly these YouTube trends that have involved a challenge with food or objects have taken another root. It seems as though the motivation for these new trends is to see who can do the most disgusting challenge and get the most views, even if the reaction of the viewers is only negative. Our generation in general has become so obsessed with technology and using the social media to interact with other people. Many teens’ concern seems to be who has the most views on their videos, the most friends, or the most followers, and they never think of the harm their actions can bring to their bodies.

One of the newest YouTube trends includes the condom challenge. The challenge is basically to place the tip of the condom into one nostril, then cover your other nostril and start inhaling, moving the condom up your nose. Eventually what happens is that the condom starts coming out your mouth, making you cough, then you must pull the condom out of your mouth immediately before you start choking.

Although there are many reasons as to why people take part in these challenges, there’s no doubt about how harmful these challenges can be to our own bodies.

Graphic by Keyla Sosa