This Dangerous Viral Social Media Challenge Sent One Kid To The Hospital

Some internet trends are silly and (mostly) harmless, like planking or eating super spicy noodles.

Others are genious, like the Chuck E. Cheese challenge.

And some aren't so harmless, like the eraser challenge, a painful new trend that's been spreading through the internet, much to the chagrin of concerned parents and teachers.

During the eraser challenge, kids are dared to do things like recite the ABC's in full while harshly rubbing an eraser against their skin, which can cause severe burns, abrasions, and lead to infections (remember how dirty your erasers were? *Shudders*).  Then, they compare their scrapes and cuts, and some post them to their social media accounts. 

One school in Statesville, NC saw so many burns and severe abrasions come through the nurse's office that they posted a message on their Facebook account to parents warning them about the harmful trend.

One California teen was even hospitalized after participating in the challenge. According to reports, a 13-year-old from Chico Junior High was in critical condition after contracting Strep A Toxic Shock via his eraser wound.

A search on YouTube yields hundreds of thousands of videos of kids participating in challenge, and Instagram is full of photos of kids sharing their injuries as well. So, unless you want to end up with a gnarly wound, avoid this challenge at all costs.