WARNING: Contains images of graphic burns
We live in an age of internet viral crazes, with most of us blindly following suit no matter how idiotic or dangerous.
We’ve witnessed the Mannequin Challenge – good, bad and ugly – as well as the viral videos that saw kids body-slamming into cars to cause criminal damage and learning how to break their own thumbs.
We’ve also witnessed the more philanthropic viral challenges, such as the ASL Ice Bucket challenge, which helped raise awareness for the illness among millions of people who partook.
But a new, entirely different ice cold viral challenge is seeing kids hospitalised.
The ‘salt and ice challenge’ encourages young, dumb lemmings to put salt and ice on their skin, which causes a chemical reaction that reduces the temperature of the ice to as low as -17C (1.4F).
Displaying what has to be dubbed sub-zero levels of foresight, some participants in the challenge have suffered third degree burns comparable to frostbite.
The NSPCC has now issued a warning to parents and teachers to watch out for the teens in their charge and make sure they know the risks posed by the Salt and Ice Challenge.
An NSPCC spokesman said:
It’s important for schools keep a close eye on all emerging trends and we welcome the police’s warning to head teachers.
The rise of social media has contributed to increasing peer pressure amongst children and this “craze” is another clear example of the risks.
The NSPCC publishes advice and guidance for parents on discussing online safety with their children, as well as Net Aware – the UK’s only parental guide to social media and gaming apps.
Some participants have been permanently scarred by the burns, with one even losing nerve endings in his hands.
According to the Daily Mail, the craze swept across schools in the US several years ago but has experienced a recent resurgence among British children and teenagers.
In short – don’t f-ing do it.
A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.