TikTok wanted to investigate the world of challenges that arise within its platform, often made viral by millions of subscribers and considered dangerous.
As per the survey, many challenges turned out to be real hoaxes, without real feedback.
The company has commissioned a global research, on over 10 thousand people (adolescents, parents and educators) including Italians, to understand how young people face the challenges.
According to the results of the independent agency Praesidio Safeguarding, 0.3% of the users interviewed, between the ages of 13 and 19, said they took part in a challenge they considered dangerous. For almost half (48%), the challenges identified on the app were perceived as safe and fun; some risk was associated with 32%, but still low; 14% were described as risky and dangerous.
Only 3% were described as very dangerous, with 0.3% actually taking part in the trials, to be posted live. The research also found that, before participating, adolescents use a number of methods to understand the risks of online challenges: watching videos of other participants, reading comments and talking about them with friends.
About half (46%) said they wanted "more valid information about risks" and "about extreme activities".
Thanks to a group of dozens of security experts, TikTok and Praesidio claim that many of the challenges discussed in the past are hoaxes.
"These include Galindo, Blue Whale and Momo. The hoax challenges propagate false information about an attacker who prompts children to carry out a variety of harmful activities, which end in self-harm or suicide. In reality, they are stories built to spread and perpetuate fear and anxiety, without any genuine element of participation ".
