Tide Pod Challenge: How Can We Effectively Protect Teens?

[Ilishisky]

What seriously astounds me - just as much as this "Tide Pod Challenge" - is the guy that stuck his head is a microwave and poured concrete over it. It's not even a matter of parents or the Internet when it gets this bad. A person of any level of intelligence should realize that THAT is a really, really, REALLY bad idea. Tide Pods may be toxic, but they're small and - to quote the first post - "dessert"(?)-like. Of course, it's still utter stupidity to eat one. But when we bring up the microwave incident, I cannot comprehend that anyone would ever expect an outcome besides death from cementing yourself in a microwave.

[The Serbian Empire]

Literacy and using it as to understand Tide Pods are dangerous are two different things. Common sense ain't so common anymore.

No, because if they are literate, then they can read the warning labels on the package. Furthermore, they're not doing this on their own, as OP stated, they're doing it to get views on Youtube which shows full well they know how dumb what they are doing is.

I am saying that something is overriding their literacy. A so called invincibility complex common amongst teens.

[Chadlai]

as much as i love dank memes and shit,






for gods sake tide, just make the damn things nontoxic

[Hayo]

Make sure to always wash your hands after using them, too. Even if your hands are very slightly moist, the outer layer will start to break down.

One time I put one in the wash, then forgot about it after 10 minutes and touched my mouth. Instant chemical taste, washed out my mouth, and I was fine.

[Valrifell]

as much as i love dank memes and shit,






for gods sake tide, just make the damn things nontoxic

You can either have effective detergents that smell nice or you can have people eat cleaning products and not die.

Only one.

[Ifreann]

Given we have a literacy rate of 99% and basic logic dictates not eating things that are non-food, that's a bit of stretch. If we're assuming teenagers are this dumb, nevermind adults, than we've got a whole lot bigger issues to deal with.

Literacy and using it as to understand Tide Pods are dangerous are two different things. Common sense ain't so common anymore.

Yeah, remember when everyone was really sensible in...em...

[Emericia]

as much as i love dank memes and shit,






for gods sake tide, just make the damn things nontoxic

You do get the toxic chemicals in them are the active ingredient for cleaning. You shouldn't have to make your products non-toxic if they are not for eating and are not intended for small children.

[The Serbian Empire]

Literacy and using it as to understand Tide Pods are dangerous are two different things. Common sense ain't so common anymore.

Yeah, remember when everyone was really sensible in...em...

It never was that common amongst teens and there's always teenagers. But there was a time when Tide Pods didn't exist so they didn't have Tide Pods challenges.

[Reploid Productions]

Also, it's pretty fucking amazing that a trend of eating of goddamn Tide Pods is the first thing to ever establish a general unity among the various political factions of NS General.

Nah, not the first. NSG really comes together from all across the political spectrum pretty much any time we get either a Scientologist (haven't had one of those in years, not since the aftermath of Chanology,) a Young Earth Creationist, a Flat Earther, or a Geocentrist trying to argue in NSG. Unfortunately, folks who hold those particular beliefs tend to be quite a bit more likely to end up breaking the rules and thus seldom last for very long.

plenty if idiot teens have given themselves alcohol poisoning for the sake of social approval and acceptance among their peers. =/

Wrong.

So I guess the estimated 4,300 under-21 alcohol-related deaths per year in the US are a collective hallucination then?

As for the actual topic of the Tide Pods.... there's really no solid cure for stupid. Teenagers are especially prone to feeling utterly invincible despite all evidence and common sense to the contrary. "Oh, that bad effect won't happen to me." mentality. Couple that with a "for the lulz" or "oh man, this is totally nuts I bet it'll go viral and be awesome!", you get a recipe for people doing incredibly dumb, unsafe stuff. This isn't some new thing either, teens (and adults, for that matter) have been doing idiotic stuff since the concept of teenagers first became a thing, just look up crap like goldfish swallowing or pole sitting, neither of which had the internet to blame for becoming a thing. The internet just makes it vastly easier for idiotic fads to spread like wildfire and achieve a broader reach in a shorter time than in the pre-internet era.

[Ethel mermania]

if there are people doing video's encouraging folks to eat tide, have them arrested, stupid people die from it, charge them with murder

[Edwerlantin]

Well... We can't protect Teens. They are inherently stupid at this point. Their prefrontal cortex hasn't fully developed yet, so judgement is limited. I just say try to hide the damned things somewhere where they won't expect it.

[Minoa]

Who came up the idea that laudury pods were edible in the first place?

It just does not make any sense.

[Petrasylvania]

Natural selection at work. The only possible problem are morons like these impressing young children into copying them.

[Senkaku]

I've never heard of something so retarded. Well done Internet. Ffs

[Sovaal]

Can’t protect from stupidity.

[The Corparation]

I refuse to believe this is anything other than a moral panic over a joke and a few isolated instances of idiots taking the joke too far. People are dumb but not that dumb. Plus Tide Pods have been out for years. Those of us who learn what is and isn't toxic by sticking objects from containers clearly labeled "do not eat toxic" in our mouth all figured out they were inedible ages ago.

[Major-Tom]

I refuse to believe this is anything other than a moral panic over a joke and a few isolated instances of idiots taking the joke too far. People are dumb but not that dumb. Plus Tide Pods have been out for years. Those of us who learn what is and isn't toxic by sticking objects from containers clearly labeled "do not eat toxic" in our mouth all figured out they were inedible ages ago.

This too. What, ten teens died? We should effectively prevent teens from using opiates instead, the real public health crisis (well that and obesity).

[The Black Forrest]

How does one protect people from being stupid?

[Liriena]

Why is this a thing? Why the heck do American teenagers do weird challenges like these? Is this just overblown media hysteria as usual?

At least when my generation had scandals, it was about actual toys that were super toxic and even strangled kids.

[Liriena]

How does one protect people from being stupid?

I mean, past a certain point, you can't really foolproof stuff any further, can you?

[Claorica]

Have them play violent sports that can give them a broken limb. In my experience a broken limb cab bring down your invincibility complex pretty quick.

If I ever have a child and see him about to do something so stupid I will do anything to stop them including cold-cocking them or a hard slap to their hands if the risk is immediate and no other method keeps them from doing it. Hell if probably do it if I saw anyone about to try it.

[Mandicoria]

People are going to be stupid no matter what you do.

[Claorica]

Why is this a thing? Why the heck do American teenagers do weird challenges like these? Is this just overblown media hysteria as usual?

At least when my generation had scandals, it was about actual toys that were super toxic and even strangled kids.

I mean in my area all the hospitalizations and deaths in high schools are from stuff like flipping four wheelers or racing vehicles. My generation and area are safer with GUNS than these people are with DETERGENT

[Pratse]

The fact that eating a tide pod is an inherently careless and dumb action has already been addressed extensively in the thread. The question, then, comes down to how we as a society can prevent such things from happening. Maybe we can avoid giving away our internet time and attention to silly ideas that would otherwise not occur to our teens, thereby popularizing such dangerous notions (as amusing as the memes may be).

[The Derpy Democratic Republic Of Herp]

I have no idea.

Other than mass higher people to tell idiots like them "What the fuck are you doing?"