What transpired at the Mall of Africa over the weekend is symptomatic of teenagers seeking validation.
This is according to clinical psychologist Benedict Mhlongo, who was there on Saturday when a large group of teenagers, inspired by a “Luh Twizzy” challenge, stormed the northern Johannesburg shopping centre.
The first 'Luh Twizzy' challenge is a pleasant and safe dancing craze, but it appears to have developed into a movement that thrives on numbers, resembling a gang in some ways
— Social media reporter Catherine White
“It is something that happens when schools close and apparently certain malls like Melrose and Montecasino have chased them away,” he said.
The phenomenon sees teenagers, clad in black, deliberately cause mayhem by forming a type of flash mob and storming shopping centres. Some tussle with each other in a simulated gang-style fight. Public drinking and smoking dagga is also alleged to occur.
Mhlongo said the teenagers want to look “cool” so that when schools reopen, it is known who should be respected.
When children reach this particular psychosocial stage of development, he said, it is about belonging and the only people that make sense in their lives are their friends.
“The association of groups for them makes sense. That is when they start to build a home outside their home. It is part of an initiation for them to be seen as greater.”
He said it is important for parents to ensure that belonging or a sense of community is created at home.
According to Mhlongo, if children feel secure in who they are at home, they will be confident with their own identities and not need to seek validation outside the home.
“Parenting is not money. Parenting is presence and involvement. I need to be present; it involves me that I need to know the friends my son or daughter hangs around with.”
He said parenting in the early 1990s and 1980s was very different compared to today.
Mhlongo said parents should do things as a family and ensure an open-door policy so they can talk and bond with their children.
He said there was a need for intervention and how to equip and empower parents to create an open communication pattern for children to understand and “know that I don’t need to have sex in the toilet to look cool”.
“I don’t need to do TikTok challenges or fight with people for me to be validated.
The teenagers want to look 'cool' so that when schools reopen, it is known who should be respected
— Clinical psychologist Benedict Mhlongo
“That’s what I picked up with the kids. They want to belong, they dress in a particular way, and listen to a particular song and sounds .”
Mhlongo said it was about the sense of belonging, but if children belong at home, they would know “they don’t need to be initiated into such toxic traits”.
Saturday’s incident wasn’t the first. Last year in June a group of teenagers stormed Montecasino in Fourways and caused chaos.
Sarah Hoffman, a digital parenting expert and co-founder of Klikd, said the weekend’s incident was sparked by a TikTok challenge encouraging teenagers to storm the Mall of Africa and cause chaos.
“This is not the first time we have seen an incident like this — there was a similar incident at Protea Glen last year. They almost always hide their faces in the TikTok posts. The drivers of this behaviour are not really clear. A lot of this is mob psychology-based,” she said.
The TikTok platform, however, said: "The safety and well-being of our community is a top priority at TikTok. While circulating reports claim that the Luh Twizzy challenge originated on TikTok, upon investigation, we can confirm we have not seen any evidence that suggests this may be the case."
"As we make clear in our community guidelines, we do not allow content that encourages, promotes, or glorifies dangerous challenges that might lead to injury or damage to property. As a platform, we always aim to strike a good balance between enabling free speech and preventing harmful violative content."
TikTok added it encouraged everyone to exercise caution in their behaviour whether online or off.
Mall of Africa confirmed to TimesLIVE PREMIUM that there was a “disturbance by a crowd of people” at the shopping centre but disputed claims on social media that a youngster had died during the incident.
On Monday, the mall management reiterated they were aware of social media posts about an alleged fatality related to the disruptive behaviour of a group of minors on Saturday at the mall.
“We have had no fatality at our premises and have confirmed the same with the local authorities. Mall of Africa has a zero-tolerance approach to disruptive behaviour on our premises.
“Our utmost priority is to ensure that our shoppers, tenants and staff remain well protected while frequenting our shopping centre,” the management said in a statement.
It said they were working closely with SAPS officials and their private security firm to investigate the matter further and mitigate any future disruptions.
Multimedia reporter Catherine White, who specialises in social media, said the “Luh Twizzy” challenge was inspired by a particular sound clip that includes a portion of the song Booty Bounce Pop by Mr Collipark (an American hip-hop producer), Atom Pushers, and DJ Wavy featuring Ying Yang Twins.
The line “Luh twizzy, Luh twizzy, Luh twizzy”, which TikTok users have used to create a dance challenge, is rapped by the Ying Yang Twins in the audio clip.
White said users are required to participate in the challenge by dancing to the music while donning brightly coloured apparel and accessories, frequently including sunglasses or caps with the word “Luh” inscribed on them.
“Many users have contributed their own distinctive twists and variants to the challenge, which frequently involves shaking and bouncing in sync with the music,” she said.
She added that in early 2022, the challenge became famous on TikTok, and since then, many users have developed their own renditions of the dance, each with its own special twists and variations.
“With over two-million platform usages, the hashtag #luhtwizzy is a well-known and well-recognised trend among TikTok users.”
White said it’s likely South African TikTok users have altered the challenge to suit their own cultural background or preferences.
She said challenges and trends on social media can occasionally be contentious or polarising, and some users have criticised them for being inappropriate or insulting behaviour.
“The ‘Luh Twizzy’ challenge, on the other hand, is typically regarded as a pleasant and safe dancing craze. The first challenge didn’t appear to be physically dangerous, but it appears to have developed into a movement that thrives on numbers, resembling a gang in some ways.”
Commenting on the latest Luh Twizzy stunts at the weekend, White said it would be challenging, but not impossible, to determine who specifically started the fighting given the sheer number of people behind them and the difficulty in identifying individuals due to their attire.
She added there was no reason to be concerned about the original challenge itself, but the challenge’s adaptation was potentially dangerous.
“What is truly frightening is what people are willing to do for views and likes. The online pressure manifests physically,” she said.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.