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In this day and age of society we're seen as either 'somebodies or nobodies'. Obviously, we all want to be seen as 'somebody' so we would do almost anything to get 'famous' - even if it would lead to many deadly risks.

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On Sunday night, the troubling teenage fad #KylieJennerLipChallenge swept across social media. It involved the strange practice of sucking on a shot glass really, really hard to temporarily augment one's lips and emulate Kylie Jenner's pouty look.

Not only is this is a bad idea (because it's stupid) but it can seriously damage the face - even permanently.

Some of the results are pretty rough.

Not only is the trend bizarre and arguably inane, it may also be highly dangerous with potentially long-lasting repercussions.

"The new trend in trying to DIY lip plumping is quite concerning. Not only can significant pain, swelling and bruising result from these suction techniques, but there is potential risk for scarring and permanent disfigurement with repeated attempts," dermatologic surgeon Dendy Engelman Seventeen.

Fetishizing needs to stop. The desire to go to extreme measures to imitate idols and celebrities is not new. People across the country have undergone numerous plastic surgeries to emulate their idols, perhaps one of the most famous being Toby Sheldon, who spent $100,000 and five years having repeated surgeries to look like Justin Bieber.

Cultural obsession with celebrity, glamor and unrealistic standards of beauty easily feed into dissatisfaction with one's own image or existence; and in cases like Sheldon's, also promote dangerous body dysmorphic disorder.

"BDD is a body-image disorder characterized by persistent and intrusive preoccupations with an imagined or slight defect in one's appearance," Anxiety and Depression Association of America. People with BDD "may even undergo unnecessary plastic surgeries to correct perceived imperfections, never finding satisfaction with the results."

Is this a sign the next generation is doomed? No, the #KylieJennerLipChallenge doesn't signal the end of America. But bizarre viral trends such as this don't exactly say anything good about pop culture.

While there has been some bold pushback on unrealistic beauty standards such as fashion company Lane Bryant's plus-size counter-campaign to Victoria's Secret's (very thin) or the #MoreThanPretty campaign to promote well-rounded role models for girls, the movements getting the most attention tend to be as silly and vacuous as the Jenner lip challenge.

It might be a good idea to focus on the campaigns that don't send people to the ER or make them feel bad about themselves. Crazy, though it may sound.

Correction: April 21, 2015
An earlier version of this article featured an image that was later proven to be falsified. The image has been removed.

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The Kylie Jenner Lip Challenge Is Literally Disfiguring Teenagers

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On Sunday night, the troubling teenage fad #KylieJennerLipChallenge swept across social media. It involved the strange practice of sucking on a shot glass really, really hard to temporarily augment one's lips and emulate Kylie Jenner's pouty look. Not only is this is a bad idea (because it's stupid) but it can seriously damage the face - even permanently.

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Viral challenges & their risks to children and youth: Mental Health

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Viral challenges & their risks to children and youth: Mental Health

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Challenges like the Momo or blue whale challenge are causing a negative impact on children's and youth's mental health. When they watch videos of the challenges or doing the challenge it might mess up their mind causing fear and phobia
- They might fear about using social media or just by saying the word " challenge " might just scare them.
- It can also cause death.
-For example In San Antonio, 15-year-old Isaiah Gonzalez completed the game by killing himself. His parents found him hanging in his room, his phone propped up and broadcasting the scene. His is the first confirmed Blue Whale death in the United States.

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You might have heard of the so-called "Momo challenge" where a particularly unsettling female figure has been linked to online child suicides or instances of children harming themselves.

As reported by Yahoo! News UK, the challenge goes something like this:

Children are contacted on social media by the Momo figure,

The figure threatens children into doing acts of harm or self-harm,

These acts can include committing suicide.

The challenge was initially picked by media outlets such as and even by celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, who took to pleading with YouTube for help on Instagram, over the alleged appearance of Momo in advertisements within children's videos.

Challenge is a hoax

Here's the thing though - the Momo challenge is a recurring viral hoax, as reported by The Atlantic.

Previously, the hoax had spread throughout the Latin American region and Spanish-speaking countries in 2018.

Insider reported that this was to due to the suicide of a 12-year-old girl in Argentina having been linked to the figure.

However, this link could not be confirmed by Argentinian authorities.

Additionally, YouTube has since reiterated that there is no evidence of videos on its platform promoting the Momo challenge.

We want to clear something up regarding the Momo Challenge: We've seen no recent evidence of videos promoting the Momo Challenge on YouTube. Videos encouraging harmful and dangerous challenges are against our policies.

- YouTube (@YouTube) February 27, 2019

That being said, YouTube elaborated that while images of Momo for the purposes for discussion, news and education are allowed, the images are banned from the YouTube kids app.

YouTube also clarified that it has since put in place safeguards to ensure the images do not appear in content featured on YouTube Kids.

Momo's origins - a Japanese sculpture from an art exhibition

As for the figure of Momo itself, its origins are rather mundane as well.

In a separate article, Insider reported that Momo is really a sculpture that was put on display at an art exhibition in 2016.

Titled "Mother Bird", the sculpture was made by Japanese artist Keisuke Aisawa, for a Japanese special-effects company called Link Factory.

As highlighted by Insider, the full image of the sculpture shows that the head of the figure is attached to the upper body of a woman that stands on bird-like clawed feet.

Here are some Instagram posts of the sculpture:

Insider added that the sculpture went viral after the first Instagram image appeared on a Reddit thread under r/creepy with only the head shown.

And it was sometime after its appearance on the thread, that the image eventually received its name of Momo, although how it did so is unclear.

Meme material

In any case, it would appear that the image has become prime material for memes and parodies, now that it has been debunked as a hoax.

Fixed her..not so scary and intimidating anymore #momo #MomoChallenge pic.twitter.com/YkWg1eHYPM

- 𝒟𝑒𝑒 (@DeniseScott19) February 27, 2019

I'm taking Momo back. pic.twitter.com/8gp7OW6jV1

- amber ruffin (@ambermruffin) February 28, 2019

the only Momo ill be ok with #MomoChallenge pic.twitter.com/uRelkKd43h

- josh.c (@eatsleepsucces5) March 2, 2019

Which is a far better use of the picture than the fear-mongering it has been subjected to across some portions of the media.

Safe for children

That being said, American-based media reported that YouTube still has some ways to go in ensuring the platform is safe for children, due to the presence of issues far more serious than the "Momo challenge".

Bloomberg reported that companies such as Disney and Nestle have pulled their advertisements from the platform after Wired ran a report which revealed that a soft-core paedophilia ring had established itself on YouTube.

The BBC explained that this was done by paedophiles leaving obscene or sexual comments in the comments section of videos featuring minors.

These comments would also signal content of interest to other paedophiles.

YouTube has since put out a separate statement saying that it has disabled all comments on videos featuring children.

What's more, a real video promoting suicide was also found spliced into several videos for the Nintendo game Splatoon, on YouTube and YouTube Kids, the Washington Post reported.

Free Hess, the paediatrician who discovered the video, was quoted by the Washington Post as stating:

"I think our kids are facing a whole new world with social media and Internet access. It's changing the way they're growing, and it's changing the way they're developing. I think videos like this put them at risk."

In response to her discovery, YouTube was quoted by CNN as stating:

"We appreciate people drawing problematic content to our attention, and make it possible for anyone to flag a video. Flagged videos are manually reviewed 24/7 and any videos that don't belong in the app are removed. We've also been investing in new controls for parents including the ability to hand pick videos and channels in the app. We are making constant improvements to our systems and recognise there's more work to do."

Top image collage from j_S_rock Instagram and between.mirrors Instagram

If you like what you read, follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to get the latest updates.

About Matthias Ang

Matthias is that annoying guy whose laughter overshadows the joke.

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Creepy Momo figure is actually a Japanese sculpture & the "Momo challenge" is a recurring hoax

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You might have heard of the so-called "Momo challenge" where a particularly unsettling female figure has been linked to online child suicides or instances of children harming themselves. As reported by Yahoo! News UK, the challenge goes something like this: Children are contacted on social media by the Momo figure, The figure threatens children into doing acts of harm or self-harm, These acts can include committing suicide.

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Viral challenges & their risks to children and youth: Positive

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Viral challenges & their risks to children and youth: Positive

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N egative😈:
*Dangerous
*Harmful

On the brighter side of viral challenges,
Pos itive😇:
-Safe
-Enjoyable

For example in 2014, the "ASL Ice Bucket Challenge"
(ASL: Disease that affects the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.)

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Ice Bucket Challenge that went viral two years ago, raising hundreds of millions of dollars, has helped identify a new gene behind the neurodegenerative disease ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease, researchers say.

The challenge involved people pouring ice-cold water over their heads, posting video on social media, and donating funds for research on the condition, whose sufferers include British physicist Stephen Hawking.

Celebrities including Taylor Swift, Kim Kardashian, Ellen DeGeneres, Benedict Cumberbatch and former US President George W. Bush were among millions of people who took part in 2014, attracting more than 400 million views on social media.

The challenge raised US$220 million (S$300 million) worldwide, according to the Washington-based ALS Association. News of the gene discovery again sent Ice Bucket Challenge viral, proving one of the top trending topics on Twitter on Wednesday (July 27).

The money funded the largest ever study of inherited ALS and identified a new gene, NEK1, that ranks among the most common genes that contribute to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the ALS Association said in a statement on Monday.

"Global collaboration among scientists, which was really made possible by ALS Ice Bucket Challenge donations, led to this important discovery," said John Landers of the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

Landers and Jan Veldink of University Medical Center Utrecht led the study involving researchers in 11 countries.

"It is a prime example of the success that can come from the combined efforts of so many people, all dedicated to finding the causes of ALS," Landers said in a statement.

The research was published in the scientific journal Nature Genetics this week and scientists hope it will provide another potential target for therapy development.

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Viral ice bucket challenge credited with funding ALS breakthrough

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Ice Bucket Challenge that went viral two years ago, raising hundreds of millions of dollars, has helped identify a new gene behind the neurodegenerative disease ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease, researchers say.. Read more at straitstimes.com.

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Viral challenges & their risks to children and youth: Physical Health

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Viral challenges & their risks to children and youth: Physical Health

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Challenges like The Tide Pod challenge , causes major health risks that have led to stomachs being pumped to remove toxic chemicals in the body. Studies have shown that some can suffer from breathing problems to the extent of burning through a person's respiratory system.

eg. This person by the name 'JR' wanted to get internet famous by doing this challenge but ended up in a near death experience with burns on his windpipe, oesophagus, stomach and lungs.
•  Another challenge would be the Kylie Jenner Lip challenge which requires you to put your lips into a shot glass and sucking the air out to create a vacuum this turned bad in a lot of cases leaving people with bruised, bleeding, and even torn lips

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A new trend is sweeping social media - and it has the potential to be deadly.

Called the "Tide Pod Challenge," the new viral trend sees teens filming themselves while they attempt to eat Tide laundry detergent pods, before challenging others to do the same - and the videos are horrifying and dangerous.

According to reports, the challenge was originally featured as a joke in The Onion, a satirical news organisation.

But the challenge soon became real after circulating on social media - with multiple videos uploaded to YouTube of people participating in the challenge. The most recent, uploaded today, has already been viewed close to 12,000 times.

One video, uploaded by the YouTube account GayGod, has been viewed 153,000 times.

Opening the video by discussing the challenge, he says, "I didn't think you could eat them but they look so tasty," before popping the detergent pod into his mouth.

Biting down, the pod oozes detergent, and the YouTuber immediately attempts to spit it out.

The video, just one of hundreds, is both foolish and disgusting - in addition to dangerous - and doctors are urging people to refrain from attempting the challenge.

Tide laundry detergent pods contain ethanol, polymers, and hydrogen peroxide - all of which are extremely toxic if consumed, according to CBS News.

Dr Alfred Aleguas Jr. of the Florida Poison Information Center said consuming any amount of detergent from the pods can lead to vomiting and diarrhoea. In extreme cases, consumption can be "life-threatening."

Regarding the challenge, Procter and Gamble issued the statement: "Our laundry pacs are a highly concentrated detergent meant to clean clothes and they're used safely in millions of households every day.

"They should be only used to clean clothes and kept up, closed and away from children.

"They should not be played with, whatever the circumstance is, even if it is meant as a joke."

In conclusion, do not attempt to eat Tide detergent pods, despite what you may see on the internet.

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Teenagers are risking death to film themselves eating Tide pods

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A new trend is sweeping social media - and it has the potential to be deadly. Called the "Tide Pod Challenge," the new viral trend sees teens filming themselves while they attempt to eat Tide laundry detergent pods, before challenging others to do the same - and the videos are horrifying and dangerous.

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The different celebrities that helped raise funds for the ASL association