Along with the Coronavirus pandemic, social media has brought many challenges that put young people in vulnerable positions. Teenagers have begun participating in Coronavirus challenges, and this trend should come to a close. They are in great danger and do not realize the lives they are risking for followers, likes and views. 

A California Tik Tok influencer known as Larz claims he was hospitalized with the Coronavirus, just days after posting a video of himself licking a toilet bowl for an online challenge.  

Luckily, he has recovered. But, what if he also infected some of his family members or friends whose immune system could react differently than his did? They could become very sick, and infection could be fatal to some. When influencers like Larz do this challenge to gain popularity, they don’t realize that they are risking their health as well as the health of those around them.  

For example, my family friends living in New York City, an 85-year-old man and his 70-year-old wife, were affected by this virus. Unfortunately, her husband got infected with the Coronavirus, went to the hospital, and just days after, he had passed away. The last time his wife got to see her husband was when she dropped him off at the hospital, forcing her to take care of herself at home.

The doctors suggested an exam for his wife because there was a chance she could have contracted the virus, too. As it turns out, she was infected, but her only symptoms were a fever that lasted two days. Her husband died of this disease, and she got infected as well, but she barely showed symptoms. How does this happen, and why is this dangerous?

Studies have found that Coronavirus is more deadly to people who are older. But, this virus is also very dangerous to people with chronic lung disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, weakened immune systems and other underlying diseases. Everyone’s immune system is different, so every body will react different to this disease. Because some people don’t show symptoms, they may spread it without knowing.

My neighbor is 17 and lives with her parents and her grandmother. She enjoys doing many challenges and posting them on YouTube or Tik Tok for fun, so she decided she was going to do this Coronavirus challenge involving licking public objects or elements. Fortunately, she didn’t get sick. But, if she had, she would’ve risked her family’s health as well as her own.  

The Coronavirus is serious, and teenagers participating in dangerous trends is risky. They should take care of themselves as well as the people around them, because with COVID-19, you never know what you could be giving up.