DUSD Condemns Student Vandalism Amid Social Media Trend

DUBLIN, CA — Schools in Dublin and across the country have been hit by vandalism and theft — particularly in bathrooms — in the wake of a social media trend that garnered widespread attention on TikTok.

TikTok, a video-sharing social media platform popular among teenagers, has since banned the #deviouslicks hashtag, which was used to share videos of students stealing items such as soap dispensers, sinks, hand sanitizer, toilets, toilet paper holders or keys from bathrooms, classrooms, teachers and even fellow students. The hashtag remains active on other social media platforms and shows people purporting to steal items off-campus such as road signs and tires.

Some schools have gone so far as to remove doors from bathrooms or restrict use due to the thefts, or "licks."

Dublin Unified School District Superintendent Chris Funk said in a letter to the schools community last week that all secondary schools have been affected by the trend.

Students caught participating will be subject to disciplinary actions, including felony theft charges if applicable, and the loss of extracurricular or athletic privileges such as games and dances, he said.

Families will be held responsible for the cost of replacing stolen or vandalized items.

"Please talk with your student about the serious consequences of participating in this trend, or participating in any other activity that involves stealing or damaging school property," Funk said. "We also encourage monitoring of students’ social media activity, as these types of social media challenges tend to involve risky behaviors of which students do not typically realize the serious consequences or threat to the safety of our schools and community until it’s too late."

The viral #deviouslicks videos have drawn comparisons to the Tide pod challenge, which picked up steam in 2018. Participants bit into the liquid detergent pods.

Such challenges are attractive because they spur a dopamine rush as follows and likes trickle in, and foster a sense of belonging in teens, whose prefrontal cortexes have yet to develop, psychologist Claire Crooks told The Washington Post.

Get tips on how to address the trend with your kids from The Washington Post.