Expert warns of concerning impact behind cleaning and tidying trends taking over social media
The Association of Professional Declutterers and Organisers (APDO) has sounded the alarm over the surge of cleaning and tidying trends sweeping across social media platforms.
Extreme tidying videos have been gaining attention online, but APDO is now cautioning that some enthusiasts may be taking it too far.
According to the organisation, these intense cleaning activities are beginning to induce significant stress levels. While the phrase, 'Tidy House, Tidy Mind' is often cited to promote the virtues of cleaning, APDO suggests that excessive tidiness could actually be detrimental to one's health.
APDO President Sian Pelleschi has expressed concern about the physical and mental strain caused by the pursuit of these viral trends.
In a conversation with the Guardian, Sian said: "The constant need to keep up with these decluttering and organisational trends is causing genuine mental and physical stress," reports the Express.
She pointed out that people are struggling to differentiate between a passing craze and a genuinely helpful technique.
READ MORE: 'I was embarrassed of 39st frame – but I'm new man after ditching half my body weight'
READ MORE: Common remedy can cut length of child's cold by 2 days and reduce risk of virus spreading
She went on to say that the pressure to conform to these trends is leading to "feelings of hopelessness thanks to all these different organisational trends and methods".
The tidying phenomenon has exploded on TikTok, where a new genre of content tagged as #Cleantok has emerged, amassing more than 110 billion views for related videos.
Additionally, doctors have issued warnings about a perilous TikTok fad known as 'sunburning', where users avoid wearing sun protection to intentionally get sunburnt for an aesthetic effect.
The high-risk trend has been slammed by health experts, including Dr Claire Merrifield, GP and medical director at Selph. She stated: "This is yet another TikTok trend that is incredibly dangerous and misleading."
She added: "It is completely false that exposing acne to sunlight 'burns' spots away. UV rays directly damage the DNA in skin cells, which can lead to mutations that cause skin cancer."
Dr Merrifield also cautioned: "[I]f you expose the skin without protecting it with SPF, then you automatically increase the risk of skin cancer. Not to mention premature skin ageing."
She made a powerful call to action, adding: "One young person dying from a skin cancer that could have been prevented is too many. We have to stop these reckless trends in their tracks."