‘Devious lick’ TikTok trend reported in local schools

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — A viral TikTok trend in which students steal and vandalize items at school has been reported in Hampton Roads.

The “devious licks” trend took off on social media earlier this month video when a TikToker posted about stealing a box of face masks from their school. A “devious lick” is slang for basically using illegal or frowned upon methods for personal gain, in this case internet clout.

The focus has been on school bathrooms, with school officials across the country reporting students have stolen everything from toilets to soap dispensers. TikTok has been taking the videos down to discourage the trend.

“We expect our community to create responsibly – online and [in real life],” the company wrote on Twitter. “We’re removing content and redirecting hashtags & search results to our Community Guidelines to discourage such behavior. Please be kind to your schools & teachers.”

Here in Hampton Roads, the Academy for Discovery at Lakewood in Norfolk, a “choice program” public school that has 3rd through 8th grade, posted on Facebook that they were affected by the trend.

“It saddens the ADL staff that our middle school students are stealing/damaging teacher and school property for “likes” on social media,” school officials said. They didn’t go into detail about what exactly was stolen/damaged.

The trend has also been reported at other local schools by people on social media, but 10 On Your Side is still working to confirm those reports.

If you have a tip, you can email reportit@wavy.com.