Young enthusiasts of a bizarre yet quickly growing trend in Vietnam are now willing to do almost everything in exchange for a certain number of ‘likes’ on their Facebook pages.

Supporters of the trend will first post a challenge and the number of ‘likes’ they want to have on their Facebook accounts, and will ‘keep their word’ once the ‘like target’ is met.

In September, a young man in Ho Chi Minh City, believed to be the trendsetter of the weird fad, said on his Facebook page he would set himself on fire and jump off a bridge in Tan Phu District if the status update got 40,000 ‘likes.’

“I will douse myself in gasoline and set fire to myself with a lighter,” he wrote. “Once I get enough ‘likes,’ I will do it. I give you my word.”

The status update went viral and the young man ended up receiving more than 93,000 ‘likes.’

On the night of September 20, he came to the bridge and did exactly what he had promised, with people dashing to ‘watch’ it.

A video showing the man setting himself on fire and jumping off the bridge to the canal beneath was immediately shared on the Internet, while local police turned up to disperse the curious crowd.

  A man on fire is seen jumping off the bridge.

The trend then had its name as the “Young Vietnamese will deliver what they promise”, and quickly attracted new supporters.

The self-set ‘challenges’ range from “taking off my shirt in front of the camera” and “beating someone at school” to “running seven laps around the schoolyard naked” and “eating my own feces,” with the minimum ‘like target’ of 1,000.

The latest follower who made national headlines is a 13-year-old girl in the south-central province of Khanh Hoa, who set fire to her school in exchange for 1,000 ‘likes’ on her Facebook page.

The girl at first hesitated to keep her word, prompting many of those who had ‘liked’ her status to threaten to beat her if she broke the promise.

On September 10, she eventually came to Pham Ngu Lao Middle School with a 0.5 liter can of gasoline.

The girl suffered slight burns on her legs after burning the school’s medical room.

While the act of “doing everything for Facebook ‘likes’” is linked to stupidity and shallowness of the young, experts believe those who ‘like’ the challenge status posts are also to blame.

Those who vow to “do what I say” will end up doing nothing if their ‘like target’ is not met.

“This is a case of crowd psychology, as the mob rushes to ‘like’ those Facebook posts just for fun, which in fact leads to stupid acts by the young people involved,” Dr. Pham Thi Thuy, a social studies expert, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

According to psychologist Dao Le Hoa An, there are two reasons for the crowd to ‘like’ a Facebook post of a person they do not know.

“In one case, people are really attracted by the ‘challenge’ mentioned in the Facebook post, so they click the ‘like’ button,” An said.

“In the other, people will ‘like’ the post only to see that person eventually keep their stupid promise.”

An concluded that those who join the trend are “pathetic,” but those who give them the Facebook ‘likes’ are “heartless.”

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