Influencer slams ‘dangerous’ headphone video challenge which encourages teens to have a tiny waist

AN INFLUENCER has blasted a viral social media challenge that is encouraging teens to wrap their headphones around their waist.

Danae Mercer took to Instagram where she shared a video of a young woman wrapping her ear phones around her waist twice before tying them in a knot.

The aim of the challenge is for people to prove that they are thin enough to complete it, which journalist Danae has dubbed “concerning.”

The trend is believed to have emerged on the Chinese social media site Weibo where women attempted to get the cord of their headphones twice around the circumference of their waist.

The site was flooded with photos and videos of miniscule waists with the headphones dangling around them.

The challenge has since moved over to TikTok where it has prompted concerns that it may encourage eating disorders.

Captioning her post Danae wrote: “Above all else, I want to keep this platform a really happy place. A safe spot in a world that’s pretty heavy.

“But when I see eight year olds talking about their diets, And 13 year olds sharing their BMIs,

When I see 16 year old males talking about choking and spitting, And little children wrapping iPhone cords around their waists to check their size, I have to talk. (sic).”

She added: “I am tired of sitting back and hoping something will change. And as an eating disorder survivor, I’m so greatly concerned.”

Commenting on Danae’s post highlighting the issue, one wrote: “Omg this is so scary!!!!”

“What the f***k is this garbage!!” agreed another, while a third added, “This is so upsetting.”

Meanwhile, we previously told you how the A4 waist challenge was dubbed "sick" as it encouraged girls to flaunt tums thinner than paper.

And last year a shocking social media trend saw women balancing lipstick on their collarbones to prove how thin they are.

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