A SINGLE mother has spoken out against a TikTok trend after a vandal aggressively kicked her front door in the middle of the night – being caught on camera.
Charminster resident Rose Scott has said that “something needs to be done” after she mistook a “ridiculous” TikTok trend for a possible break in.
She told the Daily Echo: “I feel like this is something that needs to be shared to save others being as scared as I was.”
The TikTok trend sees individuals film themselves as they kick people’s front doors in time with a drum beat in the song Die Young by Kesha before running away.
Ms Scott said: “At 1am I was woken to a very loud noise. I’ve got young baby and so sleeping is often difficult but I did have a brief period where I was asleep.
“Suddenly I heard these two loud bangs and woke up thinking, ‘was that in a dream?’ I got up to check as my dog was up and alert.
“I’m a single mum with two very young children, so was really scared thinking someone was trying to break in. I didn’t understand and couldn’t imagine what they were trying to do.”
The individual left a footprint on the front door so Ms Scott checked her porch security camera to see what had occurred. The puzzled mother was left confused by the images she saw and turned to the internet.
She said: “Very quickly I found information about this TikTok craze where people play loud music then kick people’s doors as hard as possible.
“I hate the thought that this is happening to other vulnerable people and I’m certain in some cases doors will be broken. At least if people are aware it’s a social media craze, they won’t fear that someone is trying to get in their home.
“For them it’s fun and I don’t think they realise the impact it can have on people. These videos need to be regulated better and I think TikTok needs to take more responsibility for what goes on their website.”
TikTok told the Daily Echo that they do not allow content that promotes or enables vandalism, and that they’ve made it easier for their community to report any problematic content that they do see.
They also said that they have a dedicated law enforcement response team whose role it is to work with law enforcement authorities on a case-by-case basis. In addition, they also use a combination of technologies and moderation teams to identify, review and, where appropriate, remove content or accounts that violate its community guidelines.
A Dorset Police spokesperson said: “We would urge anyone who experiences anti-social behaviour to report it to Dorset Police online at dorset.pnn.police.uk, via email 101@dorset.pnn.police.uk or by calling 101.”
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