Teenagers Are Setting Themselves On Fire For Likes In New Social Media Challenge

Social media challenges are certainly an easy way to boost your popularity, but at what cost? Teenagers are currently setting themselves on fire as part of a dangerous new trend. Unfortunately, most of these children are ending up in the hospital with severe burns and life-threatening injuries.

The Fire Challenge is the new social media craze that is gaining popularity. It was inspired by YouTuber 1BlazinEagle1, who recorded a 2012 video of being doused in alcohol and setting his chest hair on fire. The video has already earned thousands of likes, inspiring aspiring social media stars to copy the act.

The latest social media challenge is ridiculously dangerous yet teenagers keep trying it.

Unfortunately, most teenagers are unable to pull off the dangerous stunt. For instance, a 12-year-old girl in Detroit, Michigan tried to do the Fire Challenge and ended up burning 49 percent of her body.

Timiyah Landers was at home with two of her friends when she decided to try the deadly game. After her mother Brandi Owens made them pancakes, Timiyah attempted the challenge but ended up doing it wrong. According to Brandi, there was a loud explosion as the girl was engulfed in flames.

Although Timiyah survived, she is currently on a ventilator and remains in intensive care. Needless to say, medical experts are warning teenagers not to join the Fire Challenge.

It is still unclear if Timiyah will be able to live a normal life after the accident.

There are other children who are being brought to the hospital, particularly at Swansea’s Morriston hospital. The teenagers have reportedly been trying the challenge and doctors are concerned that there could be more patients soon. Jeremy Yarrow, a plastic surgeon at the hospital, warns of the dangers of playing with fire.

“I can understand there is pressure on young people to gain acceptance or boost their online profiles by doing such risky things as these challenges. But from the patients I see, the results can be very different, with some requiring life support treatment and many left with lifelong scars. In some severe and sometimes life-threatening cases, they are admitted to the hospital for long periods of time for complex surgery resulting in long-term mental and physical issues.”

The Fire Challenge is currently a popular stunt in the US and in the UK.

Learn more about Timiyah’s case below: