– In your class, do they talk about being skinny?
– Yes, but I’m not participating.
– My classmates also play a lot, but if they don’t participate, they will be called “hometown”!
…
This is the conversation that I “eavesdropped” on two elementary-age children waiting for their mother in a cafe. I surf TikTok every day, but I really don’t know what “will be thin” so I’m a bit curious.
But contrary to the initial excited curiosity, the results were so sensitive that an adult would blush, let alone a baby like me. And not stopping there, along with “will be thin” there is also an ecosystem of 18+ slang words rampant on TikTok – a platform that a large number of children and teenagers are using.
“Will be skinny” and the ecosystem of slang words 18+ on TikTok
In addition to “will be thin”, I also found many phrases that seem normal but very unusual such as “suction snakes”, “oil and wind”…
Without the quotation marks, no one would think deeply about the meaning of these words. Because they are completely common words, have no special meaning and can be found anywhere. But when entering the search box on TikTok these slang words + “what”, the results returned are a series of 18+ videos, videos with depraved content… even trending videos.
Video results when searching “will be thin”, “suck snakes” on TikTok (Screenshot)
The reason comes from the figurative meaning that these slang words represent.
Specifically, “will be thin” means gay sex – gay sex, “suck snake” is oral sex and “oil wind” is not the legendary blue oil bottle but a type of oil. an aphrodisiac, often sold as a snuff or perfume.
In the hashtag results of “will be thin”, this slang word also collects a large number of views, possibly up to millions of views. In addition, to emphasize the 18+ literal meaning, there are hashtags like #movie_will_thin on TikTok.
Results of hashtag “will be skinny” on TikTok (Screenshot)
With “snake sucker”, you can find countless accounts with this phrase, such as Snake Suction Specialist, Hired Snake Suction Specialist, Poison Surgeon… And when trying to click on an account Among them, the account holder appeared to be a boy about 10 years old. Another account also took the name “suck snake” publicly from the name, born in 2011 (ie 12 years old this year) and the province where he lives.
“Snake poison” becomes a trending name on TikTok (Screenshot)
Slang words online but dangerous in real life
“Last summer, I went back to my hometown for a while. Around 11pm, I happened to see the green light of my phone peeking out from the bedroom of my 10-year-old grandson. When I quietly entered the room, the frightened grandchild turned off and pretended to be asleep, but I could still see him surfing TikTok. Check the platform usage history showing 11 hours/day. There are only 24 hours in a day, and it has used 11 hours for TikTok, what about the rest of the activities? The next day, I also knew that his classmates were all fond of TikTok.”
My friend complained about his grandson, and after listening to it, I didn’t think about it, until I overheard a conversation between two elementary school boys and learned about “will be thin” and a series of online slang. realize TikTok is too dangerous!
According to statistics from online data company Qustodio in 2022, TikTok users between the ages of 4 and 18 spend an average of 107 minutes a day (nearly 2 hours a day) surfing videos. In Vietnam, the number of TikTok users in Vietnam is ranked 6th in the world, of which up to 4 million people under the age of 18 use this social network.
(Ảnh: The Wall Street Jornal)
Not only numbers, but everywhere one can see a child holding a phone surfing TikTok, manipulating more professionally than holding chopsticks.
That comes from the fact that, whenever parents are busy chatting or need space to do their own work, 9 out of 10 people will choose the solution: Give your child a phone so that he can “look after him” for him. And when children use TikTok like that, no one can control how much of it is harmful, 18+ or inappropriate content.
With the curious characteristics of age, it can be said that young children are the most curious users about slang words 18+. Even the more forbidden, the more confusing the slang word, the more curious and curious to learn even if you are not old enough. Besides, the use of slang words also makes 18+ content easily spread widely, making it easier than ever for children to face the risk of sexual exploitation.
In 2021, a Florida mother discovered her 8-year-old daughter was chatting with a 22-year-old man on TikTok with sensitive content. After the mother informed the police, the young man was arrested and sentenced to 19 years in prison.
In early 2022, a 42-year-old man in Alabama (USA) happened to know a 14-year-old girl in Texas (USA) when the girl left a comment below his TikTok video. After that, the two openly flirted with each other with content such as “marry me, you will be with me for life” and “I will marry you, baby”. Not long after, the man went to Texas to see the girl and was arrested by police for child molestation just days later.
Is it okay to just ban it?
It must be emphasized again that the slang term 18+ is only for people over the age of 18. If used properly like doctors or sex education experts on TikTok to share information, from a certain perspective, slang words also have a certain politeness or understatement value. But in fact, this approach is rarely applied, but only rampant with vulgar and vulgar meanings.
In this regard, the first responsibility should come from the foundation side. More than anyone else, they need to closely monitor the content that appears on the platform and the age of the user.
At the same time, there should be close monitoring from parents with children in the family. Having a lot of experience working on TikTok, Mr. Tran Manh Duy (Duy Muoi) – DC Group said: “The reality is that each era has different slang words, differing only in form and the same in content. In the age of social media, the immediate action is still for parents to actively block channels with bad content. But regardless of the platform, blocking one word, another word appears, blocking this content, another content appears, there is a way to get around.
Therefore, when children reach the age of curiosity, it is important for parents to always accompany and be friends with their children to know what their children see on social networks, what relationship they have on social networks, not control. The more banned, the more curious the child, the more he wants to prove his parents wrong and the child has grown up..
Ms. T. – a parent whose son is in elementary school, is also worried about the spread of 18+ slang words on TikTok: “I don’t let my kids watch TikTok partly because I can’t control what they see. On TV or some other platforms that have channels specifically for children or if I can control the content, I can watch it without hesitation.”
About the fact that children can watch TikTok outside of the family such as school or relatives, Ms. T. has concerns: “There are many things that can be learned in class, but I can only advise them not to follow or repeat because it is a bad word. I don’t know how it is in class or outside, but at home, I absolutely never see my child using bad words. Even when I hear someone say bad things a lot, I still complain to my mother, understanding that I don’t repeat those words.
Although I have banned her from watching TikTok, the most frustrating thing is that she can see ads about TikTok on other platforms, so sometimes it catches her eye. At that time, I often told him to change the channel.”
In case the more forbidden, the more I want to see, Ms. T. confirmed that maybe I also have a certain curiosity. However, she also thinks that her children are at the age where they can orient what is good and what is not, so try to explain as much as possible.