TikTok has taken over the world and occupies the minds of many teenagers. Something that comes with this is trends, good and bad, that can influence people to do things they would not normally do. One of the newest trends people have found on TikTok is the “zipper challenge,” where you take zippers off people’s backpacks at school, making it harder for them to open their bags. 

  “I heard about the trend on social media like TikTok and Instagram. I have participated in the trend with my friends,” sophomore Tate Frost said.

  The TikToks show viewers how to take zippers off North Face and Nike Elite backpacks. Sophomore Tucker Bonter and a few of his friends have taken advantage of this, making it something they do to people regularly in the hallways.

  “It’s a competition on who can collect the most zippers with me and my friends,” Bonter said.

  There have been many other trends similar to this one that started on TikTok. One of those trends is the “devious lick” challenge, which is when people would post themselves stealing things from school property, such as soap dispensers in the bathroom.

   “I have participated in the devious lick trend. The last time I did it was 3 weeks ago,” Sophomore Donte Reeves said.

  Although most of these trends don’t cause any harm to anyone, they create inconveniences in people’s lives. 

  “You loop the zipper and then pull it to take the zipper off. The zipper is still there but it is hard to get it open,” Donte Reeves, a sophomore, who first saw the trend on TikTok a few weeks ago, said.

  Additionally, these “harmless” trends on social media can lead to people participating in more dangerous and damaging acts.

  “If I continue doing it, law enforcement, suspension, and sport suspension could get involved, and I could get expelled,” Reeves said.