Eating Tide detergent pods is a new trend among teens and young adults. Yep. The video evidence of this idiotic behavior is everywhere – on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
The American Association of Poison Control Centers reported more than 12,299 exposures to highly concentrated laundry detergent pods – packaged in brightly colored plastic – in 2017. In 2016, there were more than 13,000 calls, and an all-time high in 2015 of more than 14,000 calls. In the first 15 days of 2018, there were 39 cases of intentional exposure, with 91 percent of those from ingestion by mouth.
Early problems with the pods involved children under the age of 5. Chewing or swallowing the pods, which look like candy or a toy, was clearly accidental. But now the inappropriate and dangerous practice of biting and swallowing the pods is an online dare called the Tide Pod Challenge, and teens have flocked to it.
Clearly, adolescents have way too much time on their hands. Which begs the question – where did the notion of “adolescence” begin? The answer might offer some insights into the poor life choices teens often make. At one time, “adolescence” didn’t exist – you were either a child or an adult. According to a November 1969 edition of the Journal of Marriage and Family, “The concept of adolescence did not exist before the last two decades of the nineteenth century” but was a result of the invention of machines and progress that halted the practice of children “laboring along side their parents,” particularly in the area of farming.
Robin SmithSo in the late 1800s, children and young adults were occupied with work. But farming and manufacturing techniques progressed, resulting in … time, often idle time.