Youths caught on camera kicking in door for social media challenge
Ontario Provincial Police are sounding the alarm over an online challenge that encourages participants to kick in the doors of homes.
It follows one such incident over the weekend in Port Dover, Ont. that was caught on home security camera and left the residents in one home shaken.
Video posted by the OPP appears to show three youths filming themselves kicking in the door of a residence for a social media challenge.
The incident happened early Saturday morning.
“Not only is it becoming a nuisance, however, now you’re coming to a point where now you’re committing criminal offences,” said Sgt. Ed Sanchuk of West Region OPP. “When you trespass on someone’s property at 1:30 in the morning, kicking in a door, actually kicking that door in, there are some significant charges there. So we need our youth to understand the fact that they need to be held to account for their actions.”
Sanchuk added that an identifiable vehicle can be seen in the window reflection of the home that was damaged, adding, “It appears that an F-150 shows up to pick up the youths.”
Police are asking anyone who recognizes the youth in the video to contact them.
A study published last week by the social media platform TikTok asked teens why they take part in online challenges. The top reason was to get comments, views and likes. That was followed by impressing others.
Anabel Quan-Hasse is a professor of Technology and Society at Western University. She said taking part in online challenges is about gaining what’s known as digital capital.
“When you’re the centre of attention, when you’ve done something that everybody else kind of thinks is pretty cool. Of course that depends a lot I think on the value system they’re imposing to this,” she said.
“The cool factor here is often the peer evaluation, and the kind of digital audience that can be pretty large. The digital capital that they’re gaining can be in the thousands of likes.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Potential tornado 'surreal' for residents who witnessed damaging storm in southern Ontario
Witnessing a potential tornado was 'surreal' for residents who caught a glimpse of the damaging storm in southern Ontario on Wednesday night.
Was this the bug that stung you? Wasp sightings revive murder-hornet concerns; no detections confirmed
As temperatures rise out of a mild El Nino winter, Canada's buggy season is already upon us again, and this year, the bugs are looking especially big.
WestJet planning new fare category for travellers willing to forgo carry-on bag
WestJet Airlines plans to launch a new cheaper fare category that would be available to travellers willing to fly without a carry-on bag.
'We'll need all hands on deck': Details emerge after deadly boat crash near Kingston, Ont.
Police say they have wrapped up their on-scene investigation into a deadly boat crash in eastern Ontario as details of the incident begin to emerge.
Adding just 10% ultraprocessed foods to healthy diets may raise risk of cognitive decline, stroke
Eating more ultraprocessed foods is linked to a higher risk of cognitive decline and stroke, even if a person is trying to adhere to a Mediterranean diet, the DASH diet or the MIND diet, a new study found.
Bangkok hospital says most seriously injured from turbulence-hit flight need spinal operations
Many of the more seriously injured people who were on the Singapore Airlines flight that hit severe turbulence need operations on their spines, a Bangkok hospital said Thursday.
'Looking over our shoulders': A killing looms large in a little B.C. town
Something shifted in the pretty little village of Lumby, B.C., after Tatjana Stefanski vanished.
Charlie Colin, founding member of the pop-rock band Train, dies at 58
Charlie Colin, bassist and founding member of the American pop-rock band Train, best known for their early-aughts hits like 'Drops of Jupiter' and 'Meet Virginia,' has died. He was 58.
Tiny plastic shards found in human testicles, study says
Human testicles contain microplastics and nanoplastics at levels three times higher than animal testes and human placentas, a new small study found.