In a bizarre TikTok beauty trend, people are seeking to gain a chiseled face and hollow cheek bones through a process known as bone smashing.
The dangerous trend involves smashing one’s face, sometimes using a sledgehammer to grow the facial muscles and create a desired facial shape.
Medical experts have warned about the deadly trend, stating that it could cause a myriad of problems including brain and nerve damage, disfigurement, and broken bones.
This trend has gained quite some popularity with the “how to bone smash” video gaining over 364 million views until it was taken down.
Dangers of Bone Smashing
Moreover, this trend is rooted in a 19th-century theory by a German surgeon and anatomist Julius Wolff’s Law.
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According to Wolff’s theory, bones are constantly undergoing remodeling. In this case old or damaged bones are continuously resorbed and replaced by new ones.
Consequently, the theory argues that applying mechanical force or physical stress to your bones can increase the rate at which such remodeling occurs resulting in stronger, thicker bones.
It further adds that the lack of such stress or force can lead to thinner or weaker bones.
As such, a section of TikTokers determined to improve their facial beauty misinterpreted the theory leading to the rise in videos involving people smashing their bones.
Bone Smashing is Unsafe
This is despite medical experts advising people against taking on this new trend since it is unsafe and fatal.
In fact, the “Bone Smashing” theory constantly quoted on TikTok is contrary to what Wolff’s law talks about.
A blow from a blunt object can cause harm, including fractures and deformity.
Additionally repeated injury from bone-shattering can cause nerve damage and discomfort, while extreme force can result in fractures and lifelong disfigurement.
According to Forbes, mechanical stress isn’t the only thing that contributes to your bone density and strength.
Other factors such as your nutritional status to your levels of various hormones play out in the determining of bone strength and density.
Tiktok in Kenya
Recently, an alarm has been sounded on the rising cases of unsafe trends in TikTok, with many countries banning the popular social media app.
Countries in Africa that have banned TikTok include Senegal and Somalia.
In addition, the Kenyan government has seen an outcry from parents and concerned stakeholders calling for the banning of TikTok following lewd live postings that were shared on TikTok live.
In September of 2023, a lobby group wrote to the Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) calling for a swift ban of the Live feature on the TikTok platform.
“A lot of shameless pornography occurs every night turning the platform to Sodom and Gomorrah. The stance of CitizenGO is a total ban of TikTok from Kenya as this media platform seems ungovernable,” the letter read.
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However, in a swift move, President William Ruto met TikTok CEO, Shou Zhi Chew to talk on the matter of content moderation.
TikTok will work with Kenya to review and monitor its content. This new development means that inappropriate or offensive content will be removed from the platform”, the TikTok CEO said after the meeting with President Ruto.
A report dubbed the Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2023 unveiled Kenya as the biggest consumer of TikTok content, globally.
According to the report, 54 percent of Kenyan TikTokers use the app to access general content while 29 percent use it to get news content.
