Door Kick/Heart Beat Challenge: Why Do Students Participate?
Become a member or log in to learn more on this topic
Superintendents, Directors and Principals: Request a partnership on this page to unlock our resources for your whole community.
Login as a VIP to learn about the Door Kick/Heart Beat Challenge
The Door Kick or Heart Beat Challenge encourages participants to kick unsuspecting people’s doors on college campuses and in neighborhoods. Learn more about why a simple prank with popular song lyrics is a dangerous social media challenge. (Learn more about dangerous social media challenges.)
- Find out why students want to participate in this challenge
- See 2 examples for yourself of videos from the #kickdoorchallenge
- Hear what police and authorities say from 4 communities across the United States
- Hear from a student about why others want to participate in a challenge like this
Door Kick/Heart Beat Challenge in the news
- Are you a reporter looking for a social media expert to talk about the No Budge Challenge? Contact SmartSocial.com to interview Josh Ochs about this, and other, social media challenges
Unlock this video to learn what you can do!
Log in or join the VIP membership today to view all resources about the Door Kick/Heart Beat Challenge!
Become a member or log in to learn more on this topic
Superintendents, Directors and Principals: Request a partnership on this page to unlock our resources for your whole community.
For a limited time, this guide is available for everyone.
Districts: Click here to set up a call with us to discuss how to make this available for your community all year long.
Parents: Consider becoming a member to get access to all of our guides all year long.
Table of Contents
The Door Kick Challenge is a dangerous social media challenging that started in November 2021 on college campuses around the world and has quickly spread to private homes and neighborhoods. Click here to learn more about dangerous social media challenges.
What is the Door Kick Challenge?
- Participants play “Die Young” by Kesha and at one particular part of the song, they kick a closed-door two times as hard as they can
- Some users say it’s similar to the games, “knock and run” or “ding dong ditch,” that they played as children
- The challenge seems to have become popular in college dorm hallways around the world during the fall 2021 semester with the hashtags #kickdoorchallenge, #heartbeatchallenge, #knockingchallenge, #kickingdoor, or #dingdongditch
- The goal of participating is to get social media views and get a good laugh from scaring someone behind the closed door
Parent training video
Door Kick Challenge in the news
- Are you a reporter looking for a social media expert to talk about the Kick Door challenge? Contact the SmartSocial.com to interview Josh Ochs about this, and other, social media challenges

The victim said: ‘[I was] at home recovering from open-heart surgery and this young lady kicked our door in, along with another neighbor.’ She added multiple video cameras caught the woman leaving the homes in a white car with other people inside.

For some homeowners, the prank could be mistaken for a home invasion… The challenge could turn deadly if the owner defended their home with violence, police said.

Unsuspecting people are sitting inside their homes when a stranger approaches the front door and starts kicking. One Central Florida family caught it all on camera. ‘Absolute terror. It was terrifying. I mean, I can’t even express how scary it was,’ the family said about the incident.
Why should parents care?
- Students are purposely trying to scare other people, including their friends and strangers
- We don’t know how people behind those closed doors will react in their state of fear after the hard kicks and they may react with violence or calling the police
- Kicking the doors can create damage to personal or private property
- Many houses now have advanced video images that can help police or residents investigate and track down the kickers, even if they flee the scene
What can parents do?
- Ask your student if they have seen the challenge on social media or have heard friends or classmates talking about it at school
- Remind students that “going viral” on social media does not equal authentic or meaningful friendships
- Explain to students that the hard kicks can damage other people’s property and by posting videos on social media showing their participation, they are providing evidence for school or legal punishment
- With your students, brainstorm ways to effectively turn down peer pressure to participate if their friends are taking part in this challenge
More social media challenge resources for parents, students, & educators
- Learn more about social media challenges: What Are Social Media Challenges?
- Learn about TikTok with the SmartSocial TikTok App Guide: What Parents, Educators, & Students Need to Know
Conclusion
The Door Kick or Heart Beat Challenge is spreading from college campuses to neighborhoods around the country. People behind the doors get scared and could react with violence to anyone nearby or call authorities all for the prank on social media.
Share Your Thoughts With Our Team
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *