Oconto Unified School District has joined school districts throughout the country warning students against attempting a dangerous TikTok trend that could cause serious injury and damage to school property.
Known as the “Chromebook Challenge” or the “Chromebook Durability Test,” the trend involves children and teens inserting paper clips or other metal items into the USB port of their school-issued laptops. The act is meant to create sparks and smoke from the Chromebook and may even cause the device to set on fire.
Emily Miller, superintendent for OUSD, said in a letter to parents that it is “actively monitoring for this behavior and will respond firmly to any incidents involving this dangerous activity.”
Here’s what to know.
What is happening with the Chromebook Challenge on TikTok?
The trend involves frying school-issued laptops. So students are not always destroying their personal computers; they are destroying school property.
The trend urges students to stick a paperclip or other metal object into the USB-port of their school-issued computer. The goal is for the object to create sparks.
Other metal objects that might be used could include keys, aluminum foil, pushpins or even a folded up metallic gum wrapper.
However, there’s a risk of it causing more than sparks.
Because the computers have lithium batteries, piercing the computers with paper clips can also pierce the batteries, which are flammable.
According to media reports, at least two schools in Connecticut had to be evacuated in May due to laptop fires. On May 8, a middle school student was sent to the hospital following a Chromebook fire and will face criminal charges in juvenile court.
Intentionally damaging a school-issued device, however, is against most school policies and will result in a fine to replace the device. One Indiana School district, for example, told parents they’d be charged $380 to replace devices.
Miller said Oconto students and parents have to sign a technology agreement for their computers that would allow the district to reclaim any damage expenses.
The latest TikTok challenge is causing fires in Connecticut.
What has TikTok done about the Chromebook Challenge trend?
Responding to the concern, TikTok has banned the term Chromebook Challenge from its site.
When the term is searched, users get a response saying, “Some online challenges can be dangerous, disturbing, or even fabricated. Learn how to recognize harmful challenges so you can protect your health and well-being.”
It then brings people to a resource page.
Damage to Oconto computers unknown if linked to TikTok trend
Miller said May 8 some computers have been damaged locally recently, but officials weren’t sure the damage was directly related to the TikTok trend.
“We’ve had technology issues with our Chromebooks in the last couple of weeks and so … the thought of ‘Could this have been something?,’ we we can’t say for sure. But it raises the question,” she said.
In the Oconto district, the high school has 300 Chromebooks that students are allowed to take home, but students in all grades have access to Chromebooks.
“Part of the thought too (in sending out the message) was we don’t know what technology students have at home,” Miller said. “So we wanted parents to be aware that this could be something that’s not just happening at school, it could be something that’s at home as well.
“And for (parents) to talk to their students or children so that they’re not trying something that’s going to be a safety concern in their own home.”
Seth Jacobson and Kyle Morel contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: TikTok Chromebook Trend prompts warnings in Oconto, across U.S.