SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — Some Central Florida schools have been forced to repair damage resulting from a TikTok trend called the “Devious Lick,” which encourages students to trash school bathrooms.

Seminole County district leaders said the bathrooms at a majority of their middle and high schools have been vandalized.

Pictures from the Seminole County Public School District show damage to several bathrooms.  In one, a toilet can be seen in the middle of the bathroom after someone removed it from a stall. Another photo shows a computer keyboard stuffed in a urinal.

Orange and Brevard school districts have also seen some vandalism.

Kara O’Donnell, the mother of three boys, prefers they spend as much time away from social media as possible. 

“It’s definitely difficult to navigate,” O’Donnell said. “Unfortunately, I feel like we end up being the bad guy.”

O’Donnell said she limits her children’s screen time, but with two teenagers in the house, it’s not easy.   

“They want to be accepted, and for some reason, the technology and the social media…it’s like the more likes you get,” O’Donnell said. 

And racking up a lot of views and “likes” is how TikTok trends are started.

Jim West, president of Total Life Counseling and a licensed mental health counselor, said it’s biological. 

“They’re going to do anything they can to get the attention, to get the likes,” West said. 

Dopamine, which plays a role in how we feel pleasure, releases when they get acceptance, or likes, on social media, he said. 

“We can get addicted to it, obviously, if we get too much, if it’s too over stimulating,” West said. “So yes, it is highly addictive. They try to make it as addictive as heroin, and they succeeded.”  

O’Donnell said she’s always reminding her children that getting a lot of likes on social media doesn’t matter. 

“It’s a scary time to be a parent, absolutely,” O’Donnell said. 

“Teaching your kids who their identity (is), and who they actually are, so they’re confident in that and they don’t need to do those kind of things.” 

Seminole County Public Schools sent a message to middle school parents about the vandalism in bathrooms and reminded them that the actions that created the damage are a violation of student conduct rules, the discipline code and a crime. School leaders are asking parents to talk to their children about it. 

A similar message will go out to high school parents, too.