Sun safety message lost in TikTok tanning trend, experts say

Skin cancer experts are begging influencers to promote the sun safety message as teens engage in an alarming new TikTok tanning trend exposing them to major risk.

Australia’s social media influencers have been implored to promote sun safety amid the disturbing TikTok trend encouraging people to get tan lines, while teens admit they’re willing to take the risk.

While one person dies from skin cancer every six hours in Australia, some of the sunburnt country’s youngsters are deliberately baking in high UV hours to get the fashionable tan lines.

At Bondi Beach yesterday, teen Jess Craboledda said she thought her peers were prone to ignorance about tanning risks.

“I come home burnt quite a bit, but it’s okay,” Jess said.

“My mum likes to encourage a bit more sunscreen … we’re all just young and like to be a bit ignorant.”

Jess Craboledda. Picture: Richard Dobson

But 17-year-old Ruby Smith said she was more conscious of the UV rating and routinely reapplied sunscreen.

“I think it’s a trend right now, but people are going to regret it a lot when they’re older,” Ruby said.

Ruby Smith. Picture: Richard Dobson

The social media trend has raised alarm among experts who have called on influencers to discourage the fad which was first reported in The Daily Telegraph last week.

Melanoma Institute Australia co-medical director Georgina Long said influencers were crucial in communicating sun safety messages to a new generation.

“We need to call out influencers and get them to use their influence for good,” Professor Long said.

“If you have power, if you have influence, you have a responsibility to do the right thing and get young people to change.”

Jess Craboledda. Picture: Richard Dobson

Prof Long described the tan line trend as “bizarre”, citing the extreme skin damage incurred in tanning.

“A tan is medically your skin cells saying help, I’m dying here,” she said. “The UV makes your DNA mutate, so in a few years you will get a skin cancer.”

Year 12 Kambala student Sophie Alexander and her physical education teacher Simon Board are behind a push to incorporate sun safety in the national curriculum.

Sophie’s father died from skin cancer when she was eight and her initiative is backed by the Chris O’Brien Lifehouse in Camperdown where he was treated.

Young people are burning tan lines into their chests.

Young people are burning tan lines into their chests.

“We designed a sun safety workshop, and we tried to make it as fun as we could to reach young people who usually get their information through social media,” Sophie said.

“We had an influencer involved, and we talked about people posting their tan lines and debunking why that’s not good.

“There are plenty of people that talk about sun safety like dermatologists or older people but it doesn’t resonate with teens, they think it’s just a problem for later. They think tan lines are just a nice body feature to have during summer, and teens are learning that on social media – the safety message needs to come from people that have the most power and influence over young people.”

Ruby Smith. Picture: Richard Dobson

NSW health minister Ryan Park echoed Prof Long’s warnings.

“The advice from our health experts is that there is no safe level of sun tanning and we caution against the use of tanning accelerators,” Mr Park said.

He said close to 5500 people in NSW were diagnosed with melanoma last year – 95 per cent of which were due to UV exposure.”

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Originally published as Sun safety message lost in TikTok tanning trend, experts say