Leave it to TikTok to give us one of the weirdest and most dangerous trends yet. That’s quite a statement considering how many life-threatening trends the app has generated. The concept of bone smashing has been trending on the social app for a couple of months now, and yes, it’s about as painful as you’re imagining it to be. But what exactly does bone smashing mean? And are there people out there that are crazy enough to actually be doing it?
For the uninitiated, bone smashing literally involves using objects to hit the bones of the face in order to fracture them. The theory is that doing so means that when they heal they will become more pronounced and thus give a more “Chad-like” bone structure, i.e. stronger cheekbones and jawline. The science behind this is pretty much non-existent, but that hasn’t stopped it from catching on.
The technique has supposedly been mostly used by members of the incel community who believe that it is their looks that are stopping them from finding a partner and not the fact that they are literally willing to smash their own faces up on the off chance it will magically turn them into handsome Squidward.
Disturbing videos on TikTok show individuals supposedly actually participating in bone smashing and sharing the results. Some objects seen being used in the videos include bottles, massage guns and even hammers to try and get a more chiseled look. The results shared by some seemed to suggest that the process had worked for them, showing before and after pics that we’re supposed to believe come from smashing their own facial bones.
The weird phenomenon has made its way over to Twitter as one user shared a screenshot detailing the process and blaming TikTok for yet another dangerous trend, claiming that they’re in favor of banning the platform now.
Many joked that we should allow the incels to continue and that it’s all the more reason not to ban TikTok.
I’m even more in favor of it actually
— ˗ˏˋuıʍʇʎdəəɹɔˎˊ˗ 👑King of the Bitmoji Guys🗨️🐀 (@creeptwin) April 12, 2023
Incels do it? Well…they can continue then, i support it 😌
— 𝐉𝐨𝐲 𓆩 ♡ 𓆪 (@Sadchicknwing) April 13, 2023
Some thought that the whole thing was a joke, while we sincerely hope that this is the case, we can never underestimate how far some people will go.
surely they’re joking? please tell me they’re joking
— Sesame street traditionalist (@iwantobehigh) April 12, 2023
We can’t believe we have to say this here, but obviously, smashing your face with a hammer will not improve your facial structure. In fact, you’ll probably end up with a more asymmetrical face and could even be permanently disfigured by the process. Despite this, many still claim that it has worked for them or that they intend to begin bone smashing soon.
You could argue that’s natural selection, but if we just let that run its course, half of TikTok’s user base would be dead by the end of the month.