TikTok challenges refer to viral trends that spread across the platform, encouraging users to create videos of themselves participating in different activities or trying to achieve certain goals. These challenges take advantage of TikTok’s algorithms to quickly gain huge popularity, with top challenges often accumulating billions of views.
Some of the most well-known TikTok challenges include dances like the Renegade or Mia Khalifa, stunts like the Milk Crate Challenge, and participatory challenges like the Don’t Rush Challenge. New challenges constantly emerge and spread like wildfire, demonstrating the power of TikTok to make nearly anything go viral in a short amount of time.
Many challenges provide harmless sources of entertainment or opportunities for self-expression. However, some dangerous challenges have raised concerns, illustrating the need for improved platform safeguards and parental monitoring. Overall, TikTok challenges reveal how a creative, collaborative platform enables simple ideas to gain momentary mass popularity.[1]
Examples of Viral TikTok Challenges
TikTok challenges often go viral quickly, gaining millions or even billions of video views in a short period. Some of the most popular viral challenges on TikTok include:
- The Devious Licks challenge, which encouraged theft and vandalism of school property. The trend led to students stealing items from their schools, resulting in thousands of dollars in damage before TikTok banned the hashtag.
- The provocative Silhouette Challenge, where users appeared in silhouette before a red filter was removed to reveal them in revealing clothing. The sexually suggestive videos raised concerns over minors participating before the trend lost popularity.
- The lighthearted Mugshot Challenge, where users posed for fake dramatic mug shots. The trend was one of the few viral challenges not banned by TikTok as it did not promote illegal or dangerous acts.
Viral challenges on TikTok tend to encourage users to film themselves participating in a specific act and then upload it with a branded hashtag. The exponential growth of many of these challenges within days demonstrates the platform’s power in driving trends. However, many challenges promote dangerous or illegal behavior, leading TikTok to ban associated hashtags.
(Sources: https://www.engagebay.com/blog/tiktok-challenges/, https://shanebarker.com/blog/tiktok-challenges/)
User Engagement
User engagement metrics like views, shares, and recreates are extremely important for measuring the popularity and reach of a TikTok challenge. According to Social Insider, the average number of views for a sponsored TikTok campaign is around 11,000. However, viral challenges can easily surpass millions or even billions of views. The #InMyFeelings challenge in 2018 garnered over 10 billion views as users posted clips of themselves dancing outside of moving cars.
Shares are another essential metric, as challenges rely on users reposting or duetting challenge videos to spread reach. Top challenges may be shared hundreds of thousands of times or more. The #FlipTheSwitch challenge saw over 12 million video shares in March 2020 as users acted out a light switch dance routine.
The recreate rate specifically measures how many users actually film and upload their own take on the challenge. A higher recreate rate shows a challenge truly taking off. According to Hypeauditor, the average TikTok engagement rate per follower is around 5.7%. But viral challenges can drive engagement rates upwards of 25-50% as users eagerly participate. Tracking recreation metrics helps confirm a challenge’s ability to convert passive viewers into active engagers.
Brand Engagement
Companies have increasingly been creating branded hashtag challenges as a form of marketing and engagement on TikTok. These involve a company partnering with influencers or launching an open call to encourage users to create videos using a specific branded hashtag. According to TikTok’s business blog, branded challenges allow brands to “harness the power of participation” (https://www.tiktok.com/business/en-US/blog/branded-hashtag-challenge-harness-the-power-of-participation). When users participate in a branded challenge, they engage deeply with the brand by creating unique content tied to the brand’s hashtag.
Notable examples of successful branded challenges include Chipotle’s #ChipotleLidFlip challenge which received over 130,000 video creations and Colgate’s #MakeMomSmile challenge for Mother’s Day which garnered over 8 billion views (Sprout Social). The interactivity of challenges allows brands to authentically engage Gen Z consumers. According to Later’s blog, the viral nature of branded challenges can help brands rapidly build awareness and trend on the platform (https://later.com/blog/tiktok-challenges/).
Driving Donations
TikTok challenges have proven to be an effective way for nonprofits to raise money for important causes. As reported by Newman M.S. on LinkedIn, nonprofits can utilize TikTok challenges as creative fundraising campaigns. For example, a nonprofit could challenge users to do a dance or activity in exchange for donations. TikTok even has a “donation challenge” page showcasing these types of viral challenges. The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is a famous early example of how social media challenges can drive charitable donations. More recently, TikTok users have participated in challenges supporting organizations like the ASPCA and cancer research foundations. By making it fun and engaging for users to participate, TikTok challenges allow nonprofits to tap into the platform’s creative energy and vast reach for fundraising success.
Driving Activism
TikTok challenges have become an effective way to promote social causes and spark activism among users. One study found that 77% of TikTok users said the platform had been effective in spreading information and getting people to act on their political beliefs (Source). TikTok’s hashtag challenges allow activists to widely share their messages and calls to action in a playful, engaging format.
For example, in 2020 the #ChallengeAccepted trend aimed to raise awareness of women supporting other women and girls. Challenges have also raised funds for organizations like the NAACP Legal Defense Fund through #ShareTheMic and promoted voter registration drives like #MakeThemSeeYou. TikTok enables users to participate in viral challenges that align with their values and beliefs.
This performative activism through challenges allows political and social causes to spread rapidly on TikTok. Researchers point to the culture of remixing challenge templates as a form of “playful activism” that is accessible for users to engage in (Source). However, some critics argue that while feel-good challenges raise awareness, they may not lead to concrete policy changes or sustained activism off the app.
Negative Consequences
While some TikTok challenges provide entertainment or raise awareness for good causes, many challenges have dangerous real-world consequences. Some of the most criticized challenges encourage risky stunts that can lead to injury or even death.
For example, the outlet challenge involved partially inserting phone chargers into outlets and then removing them or touching the exposed prongs, posing an electrocution hazard (“Tik Tok Dangerous Challenges-Parents be watchful”, 2022). The blackout challenge encouraged people to choke themselves until passing out, resulting in the deaths of several teenagers (Amnesty International, 2022). Other challenges promote vandalism like stealing from schools, damaging property, or slapping teachers.
In addition to physical harm, challenges sometimes promote inappropriate or unethical behavior. The “devious licks” trend encouraged students to steal items from their schools and post the stolen goods on TikTok. The “fake disorder” trend had users pretending to have serious mental illnesses like Tourette Syndrome or Dissociative Identity Disorder (Smith, 2021). These challenges spread misinformation and make light of disabilities.
While TikTok has taken steps to ban hashtags and redirect searches for harmful challenges, new risky trends continue to emerge (Bell, 2022). Parents, educators, lawmakers, and TikTok itself need to address the underlying factors that drive engagement with dangerous challenges.
Mental Health Impact
TikTok challenges can have negative effects on mental health, especially for younger users. The pressure to participate in viral challenges can cause anxiety. According to research from the University of Birmingham, the repetitive, auto-playing TikTok videos can become addictive and make pre-existing mental health issues worse (The Guardian). Teens may feel compelled to make increasingly risky or harmful content just to get views and likes.
Body image issues are another major concern. Challenges focused on appearance, like outfit changes or posing in bathing suits, can normalize objectification. Users, especially young girls, may develop insecurities trying to mimic the trends. Eating disorder organizations have warned that TikTok’s algorithm often recommends “what I eat in a day” videos and other potentially triggering content to users with just a few searches (DBSA). While TikTok challenges can seem fun and harmless initially, the underlying social pressures and competitiveness for engagement present mental health risks.
Addictiveness
TikTok’s algorithm is designed to keep users engaged and scrolling endlessly through videos. This can lead to addictive behaviors as users experience FOMO (fear of missing out) and feel compelled to continuously check the app for new videos and trends. Social media addiction and internet addiction in general is a growing concern, especially among teenagers and young adults who spend multiple hours per day on apps like TikTok.
Some users can become obsessed with recreating viral challenges and trends in hopes of gaining more views, likes and followers. The constant feedback loop of social approval is psychologically reinforcing and can drive compulsive video creation. One concerning example is the “Benadryl Challenge” which encouraged unsafe overdoses of the allergy medication for its hallucinogenic effects. Public health experts have warned of the dangers of such viral challenges that glorify dangerous behaviors.
According to SAMHSA’s National Helpline, TikTok addiction is a real concern for some users who find it difficult to moderate their time spent scrolling. Moderation and self-control is advised when engaging with social media apps like TikTok that employ addictive design tactics to capture user attention.
Conclusion
Overall, the effectiveness of TikTok challenges is complex and nuanced. On one hand, viral challenges have proven enormously successful at driving user engagement on the platform itself. Challenges like the In My Feelings challenge, Mugshot challenge, and others have been viewed billions of times, showing TikTok’s power as a launchpad for memes. This high engagement also makes TikTok challenges effective marketing opportunities for brands. Sponsoring or piggybacking on trending challenges can put brands in front of millions of eyes.
TikTok challenges have also proven effective at driving real-world impact, from charitable donations to activism and awareness campaigns. The power of TikTok’s audience has been harnessed for good through challenges aimed at raising money or consciousness around issues.
However, many challenges have also demonstrated negative consequences and risks. Dangerous stunts have led to injuries and legal issues. Critics have accused challenges like the Devious Licks challenge of glorifying criminal behavior. Health experts have warned about the risks challenges can pose to mental health and body image, especially among TikTok’s young user base. And the addictive nature of the platform means impressionable viewers can get caught in an endless loop of chasing engagement through challenges.
In conclusion, while TikTok challenges reveal the platform’s impressive reach and influence, many also expose its potential for abuse. Their effectiveness depends greatly on the intentions and ethics behind each challenge. When used responsibly, they can entertain and even enact positive change. But performative stunts and bandwagon-jumping can also lead to harm.
