To Principal Terri Daniels, the latest TikTok trend sweeping schools came as a shock. Literally and figuratively.
The trend, known as the “Chromebook Challenge,” prompts students to intentionally damage school-issued Chromebooks by inserting school supplies like paper clips or pencils into the USB port of the laptop, sometimes setting them on fire. Students in Daniels’ school, Folsom Middle School in Folsom, Calif., began jamming objects into classroom electrical outlets, burning them out. Later, when a student attempted to charge their computer using one of those outlets, it shorted out the system, and they got shocked.
That same day, there were other incidents of students damaging their Chromebooks. Daniels quickly sent letters that evening to parents notifying them of the trend and the consequences students would face if they participated—including suspension and shelling out the $350 charge to replace the Chromebook. The following morning, she made a schoolwide announcement about the dangers of the challenge.
In disciplining students about the trend, Daniel says students’ main response has been, “I thought it would be funny.” She also talked to them about the potential danger of electrocution.
“There have been some [students] that have been listening and then there’s others that I don’t even know if they really comprehend,” said Daniels.
The Chromebook Challenge has been happening across the country, including reports of 14 incidents at Massachusetts schools in less than a week, 10 reports in Prince George’s County district in Maryland, and 15 incidents in the Exeter Region Cooperative district in New Hampshire. Consequences can include paying the price of the computer or suspension, but in some cases, students have been charged with arson, like in New Jersey and California.
Students have participated in many social-media-fueled stunts over the last decade, but this one in particular feels more serious, says Elisa Trucco, an associate professor in Psychology at Florida International University.
“I think the Chromebook Challenge is really putting themselves at risk for potential injury. There is a higher chance of there being explosions and smoke and fires, and this is really putting other people in harm’s way,” Trucco said. “This is, I would say, more problematic.”
Educators and experts recall the Chromebook trend to be like one that happened in 2021, which challenged students to trash school bathrooms.
“These TikTok challenges, no matter which ones come out, they tend to come into the school,” said Daniels.
The draw of online challenges—and how to counter them
Christine Elgersma, a senior editor of content focused on learning and educators at Common Sense Media, a nonprofit which examines the impact of media and technology on children, says these kinds of challenges have layers.
“If you’re on social media and you decide you want to be a part of a trend, there’s a feeling of belonging to that, and the risk-taking involved,” that makes these challenges especially attractive to kids, said Elgersma.
Schools can tackle this issue by being proactive about these trends, not just responding after an incident, says Elgersma.
For example, educators can facilitate classroom discussions about why certain trends go viral, and who they’re impacting.
“Teaching about digital citizenship and media literacy around trends like this can be preventative, and then it becomes a conversation that’s easily picked up and not [a] one-off every time something like this happens,” said Elgersma. “It’s part of the school culture and less of putting a band-aid on emerging trends that are destructive.”
Assistant principal Rahsheem Hollis said his school, Paul M. Hodgson Vocational Technical High School in Newark, Del., hasn’t had any incidents related to the Chromebook Challenge, which he attributes to its preparation.
“I think it’s all about how you set up your discipline team and dealing with the actual technology, and the use of technology within the school,” said Hollis.
The discipline team at the high school goes through protocols with the students twice a year, discussing the appropriate and inappropriate uses of technology, especially the school’s laptops.
“Setting up that standard from the beginning and continuing to utilize that throughout the year, not just when something pops up” is important, said Hollis.
Throughout the year, the discipline team meets to discuss trends happening in social media that students might emulate and tries to get ahead of them. When school bathrooms were being vandalized, the discipline team put staff near bathrooms to prevent it, said Hollis.
“I think the key to keeping from having these problems with the TikTok challenges is also building a rapport with the kids and then making sure they understand the standard and staying on top of it,” said Hollis.
