The Stair Challenge on TikTok Looks Like a Great Way to Really Hurt Yourself
Updated July 2 2020, 4:11 p.m. ET
Usually, when a new TikTok challenge starts making the rounds, we think to ourselves, “Yeah, I could totally do that.” That’s because most TikTok challenges require nothing more than a healthy sense of humor and maybe some slight editing skills. That’s not the case with the Stair Challenge, though.
It only took watching a single Stair Challenge video on TikTok to decide that, no, actually, we can’t do that one. We won’t deny that it’s super impressive, though! Here’s everything you need to know about the Stair Challenge (and a reminder that just because something is going viral on TikTok, that doesn’t mean you have to participate in it — especially if you’re going to get hurt trying to do it).
TikTok’s Stair Challenge is harder than it looks.
If you spend a few minutes watching Stair Challenge videos on TikTok, it quickly becomes clear what the challenge actually is. At first, it seems simple: do a shuffle step up a flight of stairs (and make sure to use the PlankChallenge - chisa2122 audio in the video). To be fair, plenty of people seem to have completed the challenge with ease. We’re just not totally sure how.
If you ask us, the Stair Challenge seems like a great way to seriously injure yourself, but that hasn’t stopped plenty of people from participating in it. If you search the #stairchallenge tag on TikTok, there are tons of videos of people successfully completing the challenge. Videos with the #stairchallenge tag have more than 250 million views. If you’re looking for a way to take your TikTok virality to the next level, this might be the challenge for you!
The good news is that even if you can’t successfully make your way up a flight of stairs while dancing, you could still be popular on TikTok. In fact, it seems like a lot of the most-viewed Stair Challenge videos on TikTok are of people failing. Hard. We don’t know who needs to hear this, but hard stairs plus socks plus dancing is a really, really bad idea.
There’s at least one other variation on the Stair Challenge.
Sometimes, two (or more) different challenges use the same name on TikTok, so you get a little bit of overlap when you’re searching through tags. We were able to find another version of the Stair Challenge which looks maybe a bit more doable (but still pretty dangerous). For this Stair Challenge, you’re supposed to attempt walking down a flight of stairs. Sounds easy enough, right?
Well, that’s not the only part of the challenge. You have to get down the stairs while viewing them through the Whirpool camera effect on TikTok. The effect makes it virtually impossible to see where the next step is — exactly what you want when taking your life into your own hands, right?
As much as we enjoy watching both types of Stair Challenge videos, we’re pretty sure we’re just going to keep enjoying them from afar. On the couch. Sitting comfortably, and safely, and not going anywhere near a staircase.