Viral TikTok Prank Sparks Concern Among Illinois Parents

Beware, a TikTok trend is making the rounds in Illinois that might make you go full Mama Bear/Papa Bear on an innocent kid.. and their unsuspecting mother.

TikTok Problems

Full disclosure, I don't use TikTok very often, primarily because I know I would waste way too much time scrolling through videos and I don't need another distraction like that in my life.

Unfortunately, my TikTok ignorance has me out of the loop on many trends, and that can be a big problem as a parent of two tween-age daughters.

TikTok Prank Goes Wrong

Have you ever heard about the noise-canceling headphone prank?

This prank has been making the rounds on social media for a while now, but I got my first taste of it last week...and it did not go well.

Here’s how it works: one kid puts on noise-canceling headphones (usually blasting music), while another sits across from them mouthing random phrases. The kid with the headphones then calls someone and tries to repeat what they think is being said.

@thequistfamily Dad was tossing out insults there😂 #funny #couplecomedy #relationship #prank #couplegoals #thequistfamily ♬ original sound - Courtney & Alex

Looks funny and harmless, right?  Not exactly.

When the person on the other end of the phone call has no idea it's a prank, sometimes they get upset and tell their mom, who then loses her mind.

TikTok Prank Goes Wrong

My daughter recently received one of these calls from a kid she barely knows. She came to me and said they were asking her if she "wanted dead animal carcasses in her yard" and other weird and inappropriate things before she hung up.

Let’s just say Mama Bear showed up real fast. My mind never went to "prank", it immediately went to, “Oh no you didn’t.”

I stepped in, protective and irritated, and messaged the other kids' mom, ready to shut it down in the nicest way possible.

Thankfully, this other mom took the situation seriously too, and after a little investigation she and I discovered it was a viral TikTok prank.

Did the discovery make me feel like an out-of-touch idiot? A little, but not everyone is scrolling TikTok all day.

Some of us are just trying to get through homework, dinner, sports practices, and keeping everyone alive during tornado season. We don’t automatically assume a confusing phone call is a joke, sometimes we see it as bullying which we have zero tolerance for.

Parents, it might be a good idea to teach our children that if a prank involves someone who didn’t agree to be part of it, it’s probably not the best idea. It might look funny on TikTok, but pissing off a Mama Bear will definitely not be worth it.