Digital world trends can even lead to death

Experts stated that to prevent these tendencies, which stem from a desire to be liked, loved, and to prove one's existence, the emotional needs of young people must be met.

In recent years, the use of social media at younger ages and the widespread adoption of digital applications have brought many dangers along with them. Challenges, which are defined as "challenges" and often steer young people toward competition and displays of power, can create a domino effect on social media platforms, spreading rapidly and affecting large audiences.

Social media trends, which emerge with new faces almost every day, can reach dangerous levels that not only affect the mental health of children and young people but also cause physical harm.

The latest example of these trends was the "bloody money" game played with coins. The person who loses the game is punished by having their hands struck with a coin. While this can cause bleeding, wounds, cracks, and fractures on the hand, experts point out that the resulting open wounds also increase the risk of infection.

CHILDREN CANNOT SAY NO TO CHALLENGES

Prof. Dr. Levent Arslan, President of the Social Media and Digital Security Education Research Center (SODİMER), explained that social media trends consist of challenges, ranging from dumping ice buckets to sitting like an owl.

Pointing out that violence-themed trends have recently emerged intensely among young people, Arslan said that the "salt and ice," "dry coffee," and "blackout" trends could be examples of these.

Arslan emphasized that these trends spread rapidly due to the influence of image-based social media platforms and can create problematic situations. Stating that the core of these trends is the challenge itself, Arslan noted that the child's inability to say "no" to these challenges constitutes a problem.

Expressing that the fundamental feature here is standing out, being validated, and showing oneself, Arslan made the following assessment:

"That is why children perform these behaviors toward each other to show themselves on social media. Because this is the effect of social media on the pleasure center in the human brain, which we call the amygdala. These are seen in the form of showing oneself, being validated, getting retweets, and getting likes. That is why they spread so quickly."

Touching upon the "bloody money" trend, Arslan underlined that parents and teachers should be warned about this issue and that control mechanisms regarding such trends should be developed in schools, drawing attention to the importance of renewing school disciplinary procedures and teacher training.

Stating that he has developed a concept called "digital friend," Arslan said, "Parents must definitely follow their children's digital footprints. Instead of scaring children with tablets, computers, and the internet, they need to learn in a friendly way which environments they are in. I call this 'digital friendship'."

Prof. Dr. Arslan pointed out that the Ministry of Family and Social Services also has a major role in this regard and that in-home digital education is very important, stating that families should also monitor which sites or applications their children visit and which games they play.

Noting that children fill empty boxes with powdered candy to imitate electronic cigarettes known as "puff bars," Arslan stated that they share videos on social media about how to make them.

Arslan said that many children see this from their parents who use them, and that it is impossible to achieve a result without being a good role model.

Drawing attention to the danger of social media trends, Arslan noted the following:<