Technology
The ‘dangerous’ social media trends every parent needs to know about

Parents are being warned about a number of potentially “dangerous” trends that have become cropping up on social media.
Experts at SellCell say youngsters could be putting themselves at risk by attempting to recreate some of the most popular trends at home. They are now urging parents to keep tabs on what their children access.
It comes after research found almost 42% of children spend more than four hours a day on their phone.
This makes them particularly susceptible to inappropriate content.
In the past few years, there has been a rise in these kinds of challenges which mean young users may be encouraged to take part in dangerous tasks. Experts now believe trends such as the blackout, chroming and Cha Cha Slide challenge put lives at risk.
Experts have now compiled a list of the most dangerous social media challenges that parents need to know about:
Borg challenge
The Borg or blackout rage gallon challenge involves filling a gallon jug with equal parts water and vodka, along with caffeinated flavor enhancers and electrolyte powders, in an attempt to create a hangover-proof drink. People assume the presence of water and electrolytes in the borg cocktail makes them less dangerous but it’s not true. The large servings make it difficult to moderate drinking, leading people to consume an excessive amount of alcohol.
Mouth taping during sleep
This trend involves using a piece of tape to keep the mouth shut to only breathe out of the nose while sleeping, claiming to improve sleep quality and prevent snoring. Participating in this trend has several risks, such as obstructed breathing, irritation from the tape, disrupted sleep and choking hazards. It’s especially dangerous for people who have sleep apnea and other sleep disorders.
Blackout challenge
The blackout challenge is one of the most dangerous trends to hit social media, allegedly resulting in several deaths. The participants of the challenge are encouraged to hold their breath or choke themselves with household items until they pass out. Users post videos of the adrenaline rush they get when regaining consciousness, encouraging children too young to grasp the risk to try the challenge.
Chroming
The chroming trend revolves around users challenging each other to inhale fumes from toxic sources, such as aerosol cans, spray deodorants, paint containers or nail polish removers. The aim of the challenge is to create a temporary high, however the participants are not aware of the dangerous side effects chroming includes. Participating in this trend can lead to serious health risks such as heart attack, seizures, suffocation, coma, choking, or fatal injury, and may even cause permanent organ damage.
Fake piercings with magnets
The trend, people are using small magnetic balls, commonly sold as creative toys, as fake facial and tongue piercings. It can be extremely dangerous if these magnets are accidentally swallowed, as ingesting more than one means that they’ll be forced together, squeezing the intestines and bowels and threatening blood flow.
Benadryl challenge
This challenge involves taking large doses of Benadryl, an over-the-counter antiallergic drug, to trigger hallucinations. The participants take nearly double the recommended daily dosage of the medication in a short period of time and film their side effects. Consuming an excessive amount of allergy medication could lead to heart problems, seizures, coma, or even death.
Cha Cha Slide
The Cha Cha Slide challenge sounds like it’s a fun and safe trend, but in reality it’s one of the most dangerous trends making the rounds. The trend encourages teens to drive recklessly to the beat of the famous Cha Cha Slide song by DJ Casper. Drivers are swerving their cars left and right before sharply turning in both directions at the “criss cross” part of the lyrics. This can lead to careless drivers veering into oncoming traffic and causing life-threatening accidents.
The deodorant challenge
This trend sees youngsters spraying deodorant closely onto their bare skin for as long as possible to make it feel ice-cold. Following this trend can leave kids with severe and nasty burns, as the pressurised gas in aerosol cans creates a sharp cooling effect on skin, causing the skin to freeze. Some kids who have taken part in the challenge have been left with injuries that require years to heal and plastic surgery.
Sarah McConomy, from SellCell said: “The pressure to fit in and be popular on social media can cloud young people’s judgement, making them ignore the possible consequences of harmful trends on social media. With kids spending more time on their phones than ever, their exposure to inappropriate content naturally increases.
Technology
Argos dishes out very cheap Sky TV rival but you’ll need this simple code

Waiting to buy a new TV in the sales is always a wise decision. If you’ve been scouring the web for the perfect price drop then we may have found the deals for you, but you’ll have to hurry as the offers end soon.
UK retailer Argos is currently running an eye-catching offer on the latest screens from Hisense, a brand renowned for its quality TVs. Right now, you can save 10 or 20 percent on several models, with prices dipping as low as £250.20 for a 43-inch TV.
All the offers end at 11:59pm on Tuesday May 20, 2025, so you have a few days to take advantage.
To check out the deals, simply head to this special offer page. Depending on the TV, you can then use the code FREELY10 or FREELY20 at checkout to knock 10 or 20 percent off the RRP.
You can’t pick and choose which code applies to which TV, but the different offers are clearly labelled.
Best of all, all these TVs have Freely built-in. Freely is a digital free-to-air TV service from the people behind Freeview. Anyone with a valid TV license in the UK can plug one of these TVs in, connect it to their Wi-Fi, and immediately enjoy scores of free channels including those from BBC, ITV, Channel 4, STV, Dave, True Crime and many more besides.
Freely has emerged as a competitor to Sky TV, offering money-conscious Brits a way to access free-to-air channels if the prices for paid TV services are, understandably, a bill too far.
With these new Argos deals it means you can grab the Hisense 43-inch 43E78NQTUK Smart 4K HDR UHD QLED TV for £252.50 with the code FREELY10. That’s a superb price for a 43-inch telly that you can also use to log in to all your favourite streaming services.
Rather than needing an Amazon Fire TV Stick or similar device, these smart TVs have apps built in, so you can access Netflix, Disney Plus, Prime Video, Now TV, Apple TV+ and YouTube.
The included remote control for most of these Hisense TVs also have Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant built in so you can quickly find what you need to watch simply by talking.
The pricier Hisense TVs come with larger and improved screens with technology such as QLED or Mini LED for even more impressive picture quality. Argos is also offering free delivery on all the offered products, and don’t forget if you link your Nectar card to your Argos account you can claim one Nectar point per pound spent.
Technology
Sony is back with new WH-1000XM6 heaphones that sound impressive

Sony has a very long tradition of making excellent wireless headphones. The Japanese firm’s WH-1000XM4s (launched in 2020) are still much-loved by those who own them. The award-winning WH-1000XM5s (which arrived in 2022) then refined the experience further, adding better sound and a new look. Now, there are some new cans to choose from, and they appear even more impressive than anything Sony has launched before.
Unsurprisingly, they are called the Sony WH-1000XM6, and they look set to improve on what were already some of the best headphones money could buy.
Firstly, Sony says its Active Noise Cancelling (ANC) is now its most “advanced” yet, meaning owners should only hear the music and not annoying background sound.
This has been achieved thanks to an advanced processor and 12 clever microphones that are dotted all over the headphones. Hopefully, this update means you can still enjoy a podcast when sitting in a noisy cafe or having a screaming baby near you on a plane.
When you don’t want ANC, you can tap a button on the side to let audio in or simply place your hand over the ear cup to hear what’s going on around you. That’s perfect for those times when you walk into a coffee shop to order a latte and don’t want to take them off.
Next, there’s improved audio with Sony saying the upgraded sound has been developed in collaboration with world-renowned mastering engineers. The collaborative team of Grammy-winning and Grammy-nominated engineers includes Randy Merrill (Sterling Sound), who has worked with the likes of Ed Sheeran; Chris Gehringer (Sterling Sound), known for his work with Lady Gaga and Mike Piacentini (Battery Studios), who has mastered tracks for Bob Dylan.
To help boost things further, the new WH-1000XM6 also supports the best formats, including High-Resolution Audio and High-Resolution Audio Wireless. Plus, there’s DSEE Extreme, which upscales compressed digital music files in real time to restore high-range sound lost in compression.
If you don’t like what you are hearing, all the settings can be adjusted in the Sony Connect app with the WH-1000XM6 even featuring a 10-band EQ for the ultimate precision.
Of course, many of us now use headphones for videos as well as music. To help make a boxset binge feel more immersive, 360 Reality Audio Upmix for Cinema has been added, which brings a spatial sound experience just like you are in a movie theatre.
Along with sounding great, another vital feature of headphones is the way they look and feel.
Sony has refined things again this year with the WH-1000XM6, which features a soft-fit wider headband infused with vegan leather and earpads designed for all-day usage. They also fold up neatly like origami and can be popped into their carry case.
At launch, you’ll find three colours including Black, Platinum Silver and Midnight Blue.
Other extras worth a mention include long battery life, fast charging, improved voice calls and Scene-based Listening.
This new intuitive feature uses sensing technology to automatically play music according to your activity and adjust noise cancellation level based on your environment
They sound pretty mighty, but so does the price. They cost £400, which is pretty expensive, especially as you can currently get the older WH-1000xm5s for just £279.
“Sony today announced the WH-1000XM6 wireless noise cancelling headphones – latest edition of its award winning 1000X series that set a new standard for premium audio and personal listening experiences,” Sony explained in an email sent to Express.co.uk.
“Building on the legacy of the 1000X series, this latest model combines premium sound with the best noise cancelling1 in a seamless design to create an unparalleled audio solution for music lovers, fashionistas, travellers and professionals alike.”
Technology
Freeview users must follow vital TV advice this week – ‘please don’t’ ignore it

Millions of Freeview users across the UK are facing a week of disruption that could leave some facing a blank screen or pixelated images when trying to watch their favourite shows. The annoying issues are being caused due to important engineering work taking place with areas across the whole of Britain currently affected.
“Sometimes engineering work is required on transmitters so that they can keep reliably broadcasting your favourite free-to-air programmes,” Freeview explained in an update on its website.
The update started on May 12, with possible side effects on TV reception expected to last throughout the week.
If you are suddenly finding that your picture isn’t as clear as usual, then one thing you must not do is start tinkering with the settings with Freeview, simply saying, “please don’t”.
In an alert, the team behind the free-to-view platform said, “If you are affected by engineering work, please don’t try and retune your TV – reception will be restored as soon as the engineering work is completed.”
Over 100 areas could see signal issues including Keswick, Jedburgh, Kendal, Sutton Coldfield, Blackburn, Guildford, Crystal Palace, Dover, Salisbury and Sheffield.
You can see the full list here.
These are two of the main issue currently affecting TVs.
• Pixelation or flickering on some or all channels
• Screen may go black on some or all channels
If the problems are giving you nightmares then you can try tuning into contnet via Freeview Play instead.
This service uses the internet instead of an aerial and isn’t affected by the current transmitter upgrades.
Now might also be a good time to look at Freely.
This new platform, which is actually owned by Freeview also offers full access to live and on-demand content using broadband.
It is built into numerous new TVs and offers features such as recommendations, a full TV guide, and the option to pause and rewind live TV.
It’s also just had an upgrade with users now able to access content already aired via a Backwards TV Guide function and My List. For the first time on Freely, users can now save up to 50 favourite shows from the UK’s biggest free-to-air broadcasters – all in one place
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