For those who follow social media trends blindly, the headline of this article may come as a warning. The incident was recorded in the United States, and the victim was a nine-year-old boy who was making ‘candy grapes’.
Candied grapes are viral on social media, especially on TikTok, in the US, and every other person, be it a child or an adult has been trying it out. It’s about coating grapes with sugar syrup, hardening them, and trying them as a snack or dessert.
Social Media Recipe Goes Wrong, Boy Ends Up With Severe Burns
Things went wrong for a small boy who was making candied grapes with molten (hot melted) Jolly Ranchers. The hot molten candy, straight out of the microwave, spilled onto the child’s hand and began to harden. The mother urged the boy to just pull it off but in doing so, he tore off his skin!
ERs around the US have seen a surge in such cases. Dr Ariel Aballay, director of West Penn Hospital’s burn unit, says he has seen patients – young and old – with severe burns on their feet and hands. He said parents don’t understand the burn risk of molten candy. Aballay explained that molten candy is 350 degrees Fahrenheit, more than boiling water which is 212.
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Social Media Trends Misgivings, Unrealistic
People end up blindly following social media trends and hacks to just feel included. And this is a human nature thing. Angela Schoettle, a psychologist, highlighted that people look at their value through their likes on social media, and it has addictive consequences. She said children and young adults place more value on popularity and belonging than their safety.
Schoettle called out social media influencers for encouraging extreme diets, and exercise routines, and setting unrealistic body standards that lead to destructive behaviors – physical injury, body dysmorphia, malnutrition, eating disorders, and mental health issues.
Experts warn that young people are getting fixated on the food they should eat because everyone is doing so on social media, what they wear, how they look, and what they should be doing. It’s like a flock of sheep blindly following the shepherd to nowhere.
