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Oak Park Public Health Director Teresa Chappell-McGruder is warning parents of a harmful social media fad that is leading to the death of young children, including her 9-year-old cousin in Philadelphia.
The fashion is known as the “black challenge” and encourages people to hold their breath until they lose consciousness. The movement gained popularity through Tik Tok, where videos of people washing themselves for dizziness or a high sensation are posted. The so-called “game” can lead to death, according to Chapple-McGruder.
“You’re cutting off oxygen to your brain,” she said. And often you can’t save yourself after it goes beyond people’s expectations.
The blackout challenge is far from new. It has been around for decades under various monikers. Chappell-McGruder was called the “choking game” when he was a teenager. She only remembers being a teenager at this point. That was also very dangerous, but lately, the victims of the temptation are very young.
“The average age of death this year is 9,” she said.
Young children may not fully understand the dangers of such activities, especially when they are dressed up to look like fun games on social media. TikTok is known for creating dance crazes and lip-syncing challenges, and to a kid, something like the “black challenge” might seem pretty innocuous.
Tik Tok’s algorithms are strongly suggestive. Once a video is viewed, several other videos will pop up immediately, inviting the user to watch the same content.
The families of a 9-year-old girl from Wisconsin and an 8-year-old girl from Texas are suing TikTok, alleging that the social media giant’s algorithm encouraged the two girls to participate in the scandal. Both girls died of strangulation.
Chappell-McGruder, who is about to go on maternity leave, has encountered a constant algorithm at work. She saw a video of someone participating in Tik Tok’s “baby mama dance” trend because she thought the practice was funny. After that, she was flooded with videos of other people doing the dance.
“Once you see something,” she said. “What happens is it gets stronger and shows up on your feed again and again.”
TikTok may not be the only culprit. Chappell-McGruder’s 9-year-old cousin didn’t have TikTok. He learned about the challenge while watching a news segment about the Black Challenge. The next night he tried the test himself and died.
“Within 24 hours of seeing it on the news,” she said.
Chapple-McGruder urges any parent or adult caregiver to talk to their children about the dangers of the blackout temptation, even without social media, trends don’t exist in a vacuum. Just because kids don’t have TikTok doesn’t mean they aren’t exposed elsewhere, so educating kids about the challenge is imperative.
The conversation will not be easy, but it is important. For her 10-year-old daughter, Chappell-McGruder ended the conversation within three days. At the end of the conversation, she told her son about her relative’s death.
“It was a very difficult conversation, as a result of which he informed her that her cousin was no longer alive,” she said.
The two discussed not only the health risks, but also the possibility of refusing if someone asks her to try the test, and what she should do if others choke themselves – which is to report it to an adult or parent. Social media was also a big part of the conversation. If someone asks her to watch a TikTok video of an attempt to delete it, now her daughter knows how to handle the conversation, saying that the content makes her uncomfortable.
Having this conversation builds a clear relationship between the child and the parent or guardian, Chapple-McGruder said. That open communication allows children to not only trust, ask questions, but also share with their parent or guardian any situation they feel safe at school, on the playground, or anywhere else.
“We need to encourage our little ones to speak up and know when it’s appropriate to have an adult,” she says.
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