It is hot outside and the sun is shining. And Gen Z has discovered a new challenge: Whoever gets the most sunburned wins. Dermatologists explicitly warn against the trend that is also there in 2025.
What is this challenge? The so-called “Sunburn Challenge” is a dangerous social media trend, mainly circulating on TikTok and Instagram under hashtags like #tanlinechallenge or #sunburnttanlines. This trend existed in 2024 and many young people seem to be excited about it again in 2025, reports the magazine Italien.news.
Under the tag “Sunburn Competition 2025” on TikTok, you can currently see thousands of burned people; we deliberately do not link the challenge and the sometimes really terrible videos here.
What is particularly striking is that especially young people are proud of their distinctly burned skin. There is also excitement about exposing themselves to very high UV radiation (“High UV Tanning”). This is reported by the magazine Watson.
What is the problem? Sunburn Competition or Sunburn Challenge glorifies the intentional burning of the skin to create distinct tanning lines and thus receives high attention and many likes. Experts explicitly warn against this, as just 15 minutes of unprotected UV exposure is enough to cause skin damage, and every sunburn increases the risk of skin cancer.
Dermatologists criticize that social media trends promote a false ideal of beauty that depicts sunburn and visible skin damage as attractive, although it is a warning reaction of the skin. This trivializes the risks and leads to harmful behaviors, even among adolescents. This is reported by Mainpost (possibly paywall).
Don’t take sunburn lightly
What do sunburns do to the body? Repeated sunburns lead to chronic light damage. The skin becomes coarse-pored, loses elasticity, and can age prematurely. Even if external symptoms, such as redness, have subsided, sunburn can leave permanent cellular damage beneath the skin. This is reported by Gesundheitstrends.com.
The skin “remembers” UV damage, and even a single severe sunburn can cause DNA damage that increases the risk of mutations and thus skin cancer. Cellular damage accumulates over the years due to repeated sunburns and UV exposure: This is why skin cancer often occurs decades later: A high percentage of adult skin cancer cases are attributable to UV damage during childhood and adolescence.
The magazine Ökotest emphasizes how important sunscreen and general sun protection is in summer. Or as the magazine explains: “The goal should always be to avoid sunburn, because today’s sunburn can be tomorrow’s skin cancer.”
And Skincaner.org warns: 5 or more sunburns double the risk of developing a potentially fatal melanoma.
Generation Z not only has negative attitudes. Aside from the enthusiasm for sunburn, Gen Z is quite concerned about their health and is increasingly abstaining from alcohol. Much to the chagrin of many breweries, which now have to rethink: In Germany, breweries are panicking because Gen Z simply doesn’t drink enough alcohol anymore
