TikTok’s “Devious Licks” to “Angelic Yields”

Over the years there have been many TikTok trends that have come and gone. Most are very memorable, some not so much. A couple that comes to mind is all the baking trends during quarantine or all the acting/dancing trends to specific audios. TikTok trends are entertaining and sometimes useful. 

However, there is a recent trend that I think will go down as one of the most insane, unusual trends of all time called “Devious Licks.”

Devious Licks started when one kid stole some masks from school, labeling his items as “Devious Licks.” The video went viral, most likely from the funny name, but the content was basically just stealing. And boom, that is all it takes for a trend to spread like a wildfire. Hall signs, classroom markers, street signs, you name it. More and more teenagers started posting their videos with the things they took from various places, labeling them Devious Licks. 

Soon the trend spread specifically to bathrooms in high schools. Teens, mostly male, would start to take soap dispensers, toilet paper dispensers and other various bathroom items. I’ve seen many videos appear on my For You page, each video showing off a new item that was taken from a bathroom. I’ve even seen people joking about taking sinks off the walls, or whole doors from the stalls as well. At one point, I couldn’t tell what was real or what was someone mocking the trend. Videos popped up of people just walking into bathrooms to show how empty they were, so maybe the videos were true. 

At first, the trend was funny and shocking. To me, it was just Gen Z messing around, but soon it got way out of hand. Viral videos of principals coming over the speaker threatening expulsion and rewards for any news on the kids who were taking the items filled my For You page too. Bathrooms were being closed permanently, and some videos even had principals not allowing the kids to use the restroom during class. I’m not going to name any specific videos but there have been many. 

Supposedly TikTok was in the process of removing the Devious Licks videos as well since they created so much chaos at the schools, but I continued to see them pop up while I scrolled. 

Concerned and curious, I asked my brothers, who are seniors in high school, if the trend was taking place there as well. I got an immediate response of yes, the trend was taking place there. They were both upset and annoyed as they explained to me how many important items for a restroom were gone. They sent videos of how someone took the toilet paper dispenser in one of their bathrooms. They also told me freshmen were throwing toilet paper rolls into the toilet.

My brothers explained that the staff was making students leave their phones outside the bathrooms, which in my opinion would not work. If kids wanted to take something from the bathroom, even if they couldn’t record it, they would find a way. The “Devious Licks” trend seemed like it would continue forever, the items becoming more and more ridiculous. And until the school bathrooms were empty. 

But suddenly, a new trend appeared: “Angelic Yields.”

Angelic Yields is the complete opposite of Devious Licks. The new trend features people actually bringing stuff into the bathroom, including fancy soaps, tables, candles and posters. The theme of the trend is to make the bathroom as nice as possible, being “angelic” in a way. 

I’ve seen both serious posts where people left fancy toilet paper and nice soap but also jokes with dining room tables and posters of famous celebrities hanging in the stalls. There has been some speculation on how this new trend appeared. Was it the work of just another teen trying to make a video or trend go viral? Or was it the work of a janitor or staff trying to end the Devious Licks? 

Either way, the new trend is still in the process, and unfortunately so is Devious Licks. Both the good and the bad, both causing mayhem at public high schools across the country. 

I can not imagine being in high school right now. Just being there a few years ago was crazy enough. Adding in the pandemic, everything else in the world and now this trend on top of it? Madness. But well, that is a public high school for you. 

Both trends were not only bad for high schools, but I was worried that they would lead to TikTok being almost banned again. The app, which is usually just a place for kids to express their weirdness, was now leading young teens to actually steal from school just for clout. In reality, it was a funny joke turned into illegal activities. Teenagers plus rebellion is inevitable, but this trend was almost too far. 

In the end, the videos were entertaining and quite funny, but I can’t imagine how disruptive and frustrating it was for the staff. Let’s keep the trends on the good weird side and refrain from the disruptive weird trends. I prefer to keep my relaxing entertainment that is TikTok, so if there was one message I could spread toward teens it would be to please refrain from getting the app banned just for views. 

• apps
• high school
• teenager
• tiktok
• tiktok trends
• tiktok videos
• trends