It seems like a new trend has emerged online at TikTok, where students are spotted damaging the ports of their Chromebooks by sticking random objects into them.
TikTok Trends Have Resulted in Multiple Chromebooks Exploding After Students Damaged Onboard Batteries
Getting into such trends, which pose a risk to one’s life, is certainly not advised, but according to Axios, students across the US are putting themselves into danger by purposefully damaging “school-issued Chromebooks”. While this might sound cool, reports have suggested that following such trends has evolved into sensitive situations, such as school evacuations and early dismissals. And interestingly, you can be legally charged as well if found doing this act, so make sure not to follow such trends, or else the “legal” payback could prove to be something troublesome.
Diving into what the trend actually is, it is being labeled as the “ChromebookChallenge” across TikTok, where students are found inserting conductive objects that are readily available, such as paper clips, pencils, pushpins, aluminum foil, or metallic gum wrappers into the USB ports of laptops. What this does is that by inserting such objects, it damages the lithium-ion battery onboard, which often leads to explosions and burning cases. Many of the incidents have surfaced at Denver Public Schools, with many other cases being reported all across the country.
As to why this trend came into existence in the first place, it is mainly driven by a desire for attention and peer validation, while others see it as a way to disrupt classes. Since most of the incidents involve school-issued Chromebooks being damaged, these “TikTokers” don’t have anything to lose, or at least this is what they perceive. But, doing such an act could prove to be a huge problem since it could put everyone around you at risk, since explosions could cause mass fires if not contained early on.
As sensible and “humane” individuals, it is our responsibility not to engage in trends that are risking the lives of people, especially students. And with the growing TikTok Challenges, these trends are only going to get weirder from hereon.
