A SCHOOLBOY was left screaming in agony with his skin melting away after a viral stunt went horribly wrong.
Caden Ballard, 12, tried to recreate a fire experiment he saw on TikTok, but instead of a harmless trick, his shirt ignited in a nearly deadly blaze.
gofundmeCaden Ballard, 12, in the hospital after attempting a dangerous TikTok trend[/caption]
gofundmeCaden’s older brother, left, rescued him from the flames that left him with severe burns[/caption]
The preteen and his older brother attempted to light a glass bottle filled with rubbing alcohol, as seen in a popular social media stunt, at their home in Coleman, Texas, on August 16.
But the liquid burned with an invisible flame, and when Caden went to toss the bottle, it set his clothes on fire.
He quickly suffered second and third-degree burns across his chest, arms, and torso.
Caden’s older brother acted fast, ripping off the flaming shirt and saving Caden’s life before he was rushed to the hospital.
When Caden’s mom walked up to the porch, she saw her son’s face, chest, arms, and stomach covered in burns.
“It looked like his skin had been melted away,” Caden’s mom, Christina, told CBS affiliate KTAB.
“They like to listen to the story times on TikTok, you know, the Reddit stories. So I never expected things to go the way they went.”
The young boy is now recovering but faces a long road of surgeries and skin grafts ahead, his family said.
Caden’s mom warned parents, “Just tell your kids because you never know when something they see online could end up putting them in the hospital or worse.
“We got very lucky. Unfortunately, it’s bad, but Caden and I are very lucky that it wasn’t a lot worse.”
Their family also now has a GoFundMe for Caden’s recovery.
DANGEROUS SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS
Caden’s attempt at this trend was influenced by a viral social media trend commonly shared on TikTok, which has inspired videos garnering over a million views.
This is just one of many viral stunts that have gone terribly wrong for users of the popular video platform.
In the UK, a seven-year-old girl was left in a coma after a “NeeDoh” viral squishy doll left her in a coma after it exploded in her face when she microwaved it following a TikTok video.
TikTok’s warning about viral trends
TikTok’s Safety Center shares the following warning for users about viral challenges:
Online challenges or dares typically involve people recording themselves doing something difficult, which they share online to encourage others to repeat. The majority are fun and safe, but some promote harmful behaviors including the risk of serious injury. Our Community Guidelines prohibit dangerous challenges.
When we receive reports about a dangerous or harmful challenge circulating online, we investigate. Sometimes, we don’t find evidence of a trend – even when warnings are being widely shared and reported on other platforms or in the media.
Some challenges are hoaxes. A hoax is a lie intentionally planted to trick people into believing something that isn’t true. The purpose of a malicious hoax is to spread fear and panic. Hoaxes relating to sexual assault or suicide and self-harm challenges are particularly harmful. If you are worried that someone may be at risk of self-harm or suicide, take a look at the resources on suicide and self-harm listed here. If you have been affected by sexual assault, you can find expert sources of support on our dedicated page.
STOP: Pause a moment.
THINK: Is it safe? Is it harmful? Is it real? If you’re unsure, check with an adult or friends, or look for more information from authoritative sources online.
DECIDE: If it’s risky or harmful, or you’re not sure if it is, don’t do it. It’s not worth putting yourself or others at risk.
ACT: Report harmful challenges or hoaxes in-app. Don’t share them.
Source: TikTok
The girl will now need skin grafts to recover from her horrific burns.
There was also a sun tattoo craze, where people applied sunscreen in patterns before tanning, leaving large areas of skin exposed to harmful UV rays.
Experts said this fad was a direct route to sunburn, premature aging, and skin cancer.
Children have also been caught in a deadly chroming trend, where they were inhaling aerosol fumes for a buzz.
In one story, a 12-year-old girl vomited for 12 days before dying of this viral chroming trend.
A 12-year-old boy named Corey Roper became immersed in flames after he attempted a fireball challenge and ignited rubbing alcohol.
The incident led to extensive burns, nine surgeries, including skin grafts, and an induced coma. Corey is recovering but deeply scarred.
TikTok’s Community Guidelines have been effective since 2024 and explicitly state that content involving serious physical harm, such as burns, choking, or invisible fires, is not allowed.
Such videos are either removed or hidden from recommendations like the “For You” feed on TikTok.
TikTok employs around 40,000 safety professionals to review and remove content that breaches guidelines.
Caden in a picture taken before he was burnedGoFundMe Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
