The newest social media craze among teenagers is the "Fire Spray Challenge." To participate, teens need to have flammable aerosol on hand and a source of flame. They need to record themselves spraying open flames similar to flamethrowers. They will then post the video on social media with the hashtag #firespraychallenge. Aside from the obvious health risks, experts say that there is more to be alarmed about this latest craze.
Daily Mail reports that the new trend is not the first of its kind. The first one called the "Fire Challenge" involved trying to singe off the hair from the skin by pouring liquid flammables on the participants' bodies and setting themselves on fire. Afterwards, they are supposed to jump into a pool or a bathtub. It could lead to actual burns and other related injuries.
The newer version, "Fire Spray Challenge," may not be as dangerous to teens but it could potentially set their houses on fire if they're not careful.
According to New York Daily News, there have been over 4,000 posts on Instagram that has been hashtagged with #firespraychallenge since Tuesday. Teenagers are using hair sprays, cologne, cans of air fresheners and lighters, matches, gas-powered stove tops to do the challenge.
The challenge has become viral and many authorities in the US were alarmed over the "Fire Spray Challenge." The trend is spreading in the UK and the London Fire Brigade urged teens to stop the dangerous new craze because it is unsafe and could lead to fires.
"A number of young people in the States think that it's clever and funny to set fire to aerosol cans and post videos of the experiment on social media, but I can assure you it's not, it's really stupid and extremely dangerous," Mark Hazelton said, as reported by the Evening Standard. "It concerns me that these crazes sometimes spread across the Atlantic so I'd encourage parents over here to talk to their children."