Tech Trends for Parents: Instagram Instants, AI Deepfakes, and 6 Dangerous Viral Challenges

The Screen Report: The digital world is moving faster than ever. 3 trends parents and educators need to know today.

New apps launch overnight. AI tools that didn’t exist last year are now in your child’s pocket. And dangerous social media challenges keep reinventing themselves with new names, new platforms, and the same deadly consequences.

The good news? You don’t have to be a tech expert to protect your kids. You just have to stay informed, stay engaged, and keep the conversation going. That’s exactly what The Screen Report is here to do.

Here are 3 urgent tech and social media trends every parent, teacher, school principal, and counselor needs to know about right now— along with practical steps to keep your kids and students safe.

1. Instagram Launches a SnapChat Clone - and your kids already have it.

Instagram dropped a brand new feature on May 13, 2026 — the same day you may be reading this. It’s called “Instants,” and it works almost exactly like SnapChat aka CrapChat.

Here’s how it works: your child opens Instagram, taps a small camera icon in their inbox, takes a photo, and sends it to their Close Friends or mutual followers. The photo can only be viewed once — and then it disappears. No filters. No editing. No camera roll uploads. Just a raw, unedited moment, gone in seconds.

Instagram says it’s designed for “low-pressure, authentic sharing.” And maybe for adults, it is. But for teenagers, disappearing photos have never been low-pressure — they’ve been dangerous.

This is the same format Snapchat built its empire on. And parents who have spent years setting up Snapchat restrictions now have to deal with the same risks all over again — this time inside an app their kids were already using.

What makes Instagram Instants risky for teens?

• Photos disappear after one view, creating a false sense of security that “nothing lasts forever online”

• The no-edit, raw format encourages in-the-moment sharing — including content teens might regret

• It’s hidden inside Instagram’s DM inbox, making it easy to miss if you’re monitoring your child’s account

• It opens a new, separate channel for contact with strangers through mutual followers

• Remember that EVERY feature on Instagram is designed for your time and attention. This is ONE MORE example of Instagram stealing your attention. Don't let it.

Instagram does note that parental controls from Teen Accounts carry over to Instants. But a major independent review found that less than 1 in 5 of Instagram’s teen safety tools actually work as described. Parents cannot assume the guardrails are holding.

What to do?

Parents:

• Be Aware: Open Instagram on your child’s phone and look for the photo stack icon in the bottom right corner of their DM inbox — that’s where Instants lives.

• Communicate: Talk to your teen about why disappearing photos are never truly “gone” — screenshots, screen recordings, and third-party apps can capture anything.

• Turn it off!: There are two ways to turn off this feature.

  1. In direct messages, swipe right on the Instants pictures. This will slide them off the screen so they can't been seen.

  2. In settings, scroll down to "Content preferences" and turn off "Hide instants in inbox". While you're at it, also turn of activity bubbles in feed and reels.

     

Educators:

• Be aware: this could provide teens another outlet to bully other kids or send explicit images.

• Talk to your school counselors and tech team on the new feature.

• Add "Instants" to your digital safety curriculum and remind students that "disappearing" doesn't mean it can't be saved or resurfaced.

• Invite Tanner to do an assembly at your school where he talks about being in control of your life and social media.

2. Warning!! AI Deepfakes Are Showing Up in Schools - And the Damage is Real

This is critically important. Here’s what’s going on: using free or low-cost AI tools available to anyone with a smartphone, students are generating fake explicit images of their classmates — real kids’ faces placed onto bodies that never existed — and spreading them through texts, group chats, and social media.

The images look real. To the victim, the experience of having a fabricated explicit image of themselves circulated among their peers is devastating. And to make matters worse, many parents and school administrators don’t even know these tools exist.

The numbers are staggering. In 2025 alone, the Internet Watch Foundation reported a 26,362% rise in photorealistic AI-generated videos of child sexual abuse. And while that extreme represents the darkest end of the spectrum, the middle ground is already inside your school’s walls.

This is not a future threat. It is a present one. Students are using these tools against other students today.

The consequences for victims are severe — anxiety, depression, social withdrawal, and in some cases, complete removal from school. The consequences for perpetrators are also serious: creating or distributing AI-generated explicit images of minors is now a federal crime under the TAKE IT DOWN Act, signed into law in 2025. Arrests of minors have already been made.

Schools need to be proactive on the front lines of this fight.

What to do?

Parents:

• Be Direct: Have a direct conversation with your teen about AI image tools. Ask them if they’ve seen or heard about fake images being made of anyone at their school.

• Be Firm: Remind your child that creating, sharing, or even saving a fake explicit image of a peer is illegal. This is not a gray area. Even if you didn't create the image but it's sent to you, you may be liable.

• If your child is a victim: Document everything, contact the school immediately, and report to local law enforcement. The TAKE IT DOWN Act gives victims a legal route to have content removed.

• Warning Signs: Look for the signs that something is wrong. Sudden withdrawal, reluctance to going to school, distress.

Educators:

• TRAIN all staff about AI deepfakes and how to recognize if a student may be a victim or at fault of creating them. There is no gray area and it must be reported.

• Add a clear and specific anti-deepfake policy to your code of conduct.

• Create a safe space for students to report something about another student or protect themselves.

3. 6 Dangerous Social Media Challenges that are Back

Social media challenges never went away. They just keep coming back under new names — and getting more dangerous every time.

As parents and educators, it can feel impossible to keep up. By the time you’ve heard about one challenge, two more have taken its place. So here is your updated list of the five most dangerous trends actively circulating right now, all reported in the last few months:

1. The Benadryl Challenge

   
   

Children have died from this challenge. Teens are taking 15, 20, even 28 Benadryl tablets at once to experience hallucinations, filming it, and posting it. In April 2026, a Toledo mother found her 14-year-old daughter running in the middle of the street at 3 a.m., hallucinating uncontrollably. In January 2026, two Ohio girls — ages 12 and 13 — took nearly 50 tablets between them. Over-the-counter does not mean safe in excessive doses. Lock up your medications.

2. The Blackout Challenge

   
   

Teens restrict oxygen to their brain until they pass out — and film it. Six families filed wrongful death lawsuits in early 2026, claiming their children, ages 11 to 17, died from this challenge after TikTok’s algorithm served it to them directly. In 2025, a 12-year-old boy died alone in his room attempting it. This challenge kills. The word “game” in the name is the most dangerous lie on the internet.

3. The Door Kick Challenge

   
   

Teens are kicking in strangers’ front doors to the beat of a popular song, filming it, and running. In Texas, a homeowner woke up, grabbed his firearm, and came within seconds of a fatal confrontation. “If that door would’ve swung open, bullets would’ve been flying,” he told reporters. Multiple teenagers across the country have been arrested. What looks like a funny prank online can end in tragedy in real life.

4. The Fire-Breathing Challenge

   
   

Yes, it's as bad as it sounds. In April, firefighters issued a warning after videos of teens putting alcohol in their mouths and blowing it at an open flame. The trend spreads because the clips look spectacular. The reality is severe burns, emergency room visits, and fire that spreads faster than any teenager can outrun. Fire trends on social media lead to 300 deaths per year. This is not a stunt. It is a fire hazard and only a matter of time before a teen is badly harmed.

5. Dusting/Chroming Challenge

   
   

Teens are inhaling toxic fumes from aerosol cans — keyboard cleaners, spray paint, aerosol deodorant — to get high. This challenge has been linked to several deaths of children 12 and under in just the last 18 months. The chemicals cause brain damage, addiction, and can trigger sudden cardiac arrest with no warning. By the time symptoms appear, it can already be too late. Check the aerosol products in your home and have the conversation today.

6. Needoh Challenge

   
   

Every kid has a Needoh...or two...or three hundred. Teens

putting Needoh in the microwave without knowing the risks. In Illinois a 9 year old boy was burned badly after the Needoh exploded with the gel like substance adhering to his face. This is extremely dangerous and every parent should talk to their kid about it.

What to do?

Parents:

• Don’t assume your child is too smart or too good to try these. The teens in these stories come from good families — they were just desperate for belonging, attention, and a few likes. Kids with underdeveloped brains do things they shouldn't.

• Ask them about the challenges and check in on them regularly.

Educators:

• Alert parents in a newsletter. Most paretns have no idea these challenges exist or that their kids are at risk.

• Equip counselors and teachers with the tools to regognize kids at risk. Social isolation or kids desperate for approval and attention are potential warning signs.

How to get more parenting support?

The next step is building a foundation in your home that makes it easier for your kids to come to you when something feels wrong online. I created the “4M’s of Parenting in the Digital Age” online course to give parents exactly that foundation — step by step.

Click here to get learn the step-by-step guide to parenting kids with phones and use code PARENTS25 to get 25%.

This course will teach you how to:

1. Model positive digital habits: This is the foundation because we can't tell our kids to do something you won't do yourself! You'll get the tools to create your own positive screen habits and break any addictions you have.

2. Help make screen time Meaningful: Learn why devices are negatively impacting your kids and exactly what to do about it. This will guide your kids to make device and social media use healthier.

3. Manage digital devices: They key to managing devices: setting boundaries. The digital course will help you know the right time to get your kids a phone and how to create boundaries to help them when they do get a device.

4. How to Monitor the device: The most critical step to keeping kids safe is monitoring their phone usage. You'll learn the mental health signs to pay attention to and exactly what you should be monitoring on their phones and social media.

Educators: Are you ready to Inspire your Students?

If you want to bring this conversation into your school in a way students will actually respond to, that’s exactly what I do. I’ve spoken to nearly 100,000 students to help them find their One Second of Strength to take control of their digital lives and live fully in the real world.

👉 Learn more about bringing me to speak at your school or or email me directly at tanner@secondofstrength.com.