PewDiePie Slams 'Dangerous' TikTok Trend

Earlier this year, news outlets took aim at TikTok for another dangerous new challenge making the rounds on the social media platform called dry-scooping. The activity, which involves ingesting concentrated pre-workout mix without any helpful aids such as liquid, is generally seen as ill-advised, and famous steamer PewDiePie has also come out against the practice.

Dry-scooping joins the ranks of famously bad ideas such as the "Tide Pod Challenge," per The Washington Post, that have gained traction on TikTok and have inspired people to eat things that common sense says they should not. At the very least, dry-scooping involves the consumption of pre-workout powder, which is at least intended to be potable — after it is diluted with water.

The issue became national news in June 2021 when, as reported by Newsweek, a young woman was admitted to the hospital after suffering a heart attack apparently brought on by dry-scooping. Newsweek explained that pre-workout powder is composed of ingredients such as creatine, B Vitamins, and as much as 250 milligrams of caffeine in a single scoop, which is three times the amount present in coffee.

While most TikTok trends tend to come and go pretty quickly, this one seems to be having a bit of resurgence due to a study by the American Academy of Pediatrics on dry-scooping, which was published on October 7. Now that the issue has appeared in national media again, PewDiePie decided to make his opinions on the matter known.

In "Tik Toks Latest Dumb Trend..." PewDiePie, who underwent a stunning transformation thanks to his workout habits, reacted to individuals eating scoops of dry pre-workout powder by commenting, "I invented dry-scooping. Apparently, now it's become a TikTok trend."

The streamer noted that dry-scooping had been trending for a while, then demonstrated what he claimed is the proper way to dry-scoop, which is to take a more moderate amount using a wet index finger. PewDiePie continued to watch videos, advising against dry-scooping and acknowledging that an adverse reaction seems likely, especially in someone without any tolerance for the high caffeine load. He did, however, continue to dry-scoop while watching that evidence.

PewDiePie, who has spoken out against TikTok trends he cant stand before, ultimately stated, "There's actually nothing funny or cool about it. It's just really dumb." After making that straightforward observation, the streamer mused on one of the problems with the media exposure TikTok challenges get. The streamer observed that vague threats of health problems rarely phase the individuals who might be tempted to try the challenges while spreading awareness of the potentially dangerous activity.

This feedback loop is observable in the dry-scoop challenge, in that it made its rounds through TikTok and the media once, only to be brought back by a well-intentioned but likely unnecessary study. As PewDiePie put it in the closing moments of his video, "Cool. I hate TikTok again now. Thanks for watching!"