There are plenty of totally harmless TikTok trends, but a few are also truly dangerous. TikTok’s magnet trend is one of those and has already brought some children to the hospital. Many people want to learn more about the dangers of this trend, which has been making headlines due to its potential dangers.
The TikTok magnet trend is one the most serious.
There have been many reports recently of children being admitted to the hospital after swallowing magnets. Jack Mason, nine years old, was admitted to the Royal Hospital for Children Glasgow for intensive surgery. He had to have both his appendix removed and also parts of his small intestines and primarily removed.
In speaking with the BBC, Jack’s mother, Carolann McGeogh, said she was told her son’s severe problems.
“It was explained to me that the damage these magnets can cause could be so extreme that he might not pull through,” She stated. “Through floods of tears, I then had to sign my permission to the operation, acknowledging that ‘anything could happen,'”
“Jack is lucky to be alive,” she continued. “If his experience can prevent other kids from enduring the same, then I will do everything I can to do that.”
The magnet trend may be accelerating the number of children who have been admitted to hospitals for swallowing magnets in Britain. In the last three years, 65 children were admitted to the hospital.
Swallowing magnets of any size can become life-threatening.
Sky News reports that magnets can become “forced together in the intestines or bowels, squeezing the tissue and cutting off the blood supply.” Britain’s National Health Service has also been warning parents about the dangers of magnetic balls for years.
Speaking with the BBC, TikTok spokeswoman said that company monitors videos that may cause harm to others. “We do not allow content that encourages, promotes, or glorifies behavior that might lead to injury,” According to the spokeswoman, “Our safety team uses a range of measures to keep our community safe, and we have been conducting additional proactive searches to detect the content of this nature.”
Even though children swallowed magnets long before TikTok users put them on their tongues, this doesn’t mean the TikTok trend hasn’t been harmful. The platform should prevent users from encouraging each other to do anything that could be dangerous.