A new TikTok trend has emerged called “devious licks.”
To gain clout, creators on the social media platform now are claiming to have stolen school supplies such as soap and paper towel dispensers just days or weeks into the school year.
Here is what you need to know about this new challenge that is all over TikTok, why it’s dangerous and what schools are doing to prevent it.
How did the ‘devious lick’ trend start?
The trend began when TikTok user jugg4elias posted a video to the social media platform on Sept. 1, showing off a box of disposable masks the user claimed to have stolen from a school.
“A month into school...absolutely devious lick,” the user captioned the video, adding “Should’ve brought a mask from home. Now look at you walkin round campus maskless you dirty dog.”
The video gained more than 345,800 views before TikTok removed it Monday.
What is a ‘devious lick’? What does a ‘devious lick’ mean?
Videos of a similar nature to the one jugg4elias posted have flooded TikTok in recent days as teenagers attempted to claim the most “devious” or “dastardly” licks.
According to Urban Dictionary, “licks” are successful thefts that turn out to be “an acceptable, impressive and rewarding payday.”
In the case of this trend, the rewarding payday is simply the social media engagement and clout on TikTok.
What are schools doing to stop the ‘devious lick’ trend from happening?
Schools are cracking down on the viral trend, warning students they could face arrest for stealing school property.
TikTok user drexerss posted a recorded school announcement from an administrator begging teens to stop stealing soap dispensers and warning them that they could face disciplinary measures.
“For those that are participating, please know that when we do catch you we will discipline you to the fullest extent and you will be arrested and you will be responsible for any of the monetary damages that have been done,” the school administrator said in the video. “Because of the antics of a few, we don’t have soap in any of the boys’ restrooms...nor do we have any more soap dispensers so you will not be able to thoroughly wash your hands.”
The administrator added that the school suffered property damages because of this trend, resulting in one of the bathrooms having to be shut down.
Sunlake High School in Land O’Lakes, Florida, posted about the challenge on Facebook on Sunday, saying that although it might seem like a “harmless prank,” the challenge involves “criminal activity.”
“Soap dispensers, exit signs, safety signage for fire rescue, and classroom telephones are just a few of the items that were removed and stolen this week,” the school posted. “We love our Seahawks and we do not want to see any of them arrested so PLEASE talk to your kids. If they are participating in this activity you will be hearing from an administrator and our School Resource Officer. Let’s work together to put a stop to this now.”
Is TikTok doing anything to stop the ‘devious lick’ challenge?
TikTok said it would remove all videos and related hashtags, such as #devious, associated with the viral challenge.
“We expect our community to stay safe and create responsibly, and we do not allow content that promotes or enables criminal activities. We are removing this content and redirecting hashtags and search results to our Community Guidelines to discourage such behavior,” a TikTok spokesperson told Insider.
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