Mother warns about social media
Tiktok Blackout Challenge: 13-year-old strangles herself to death
A 13-year-old girl from Hesse died in the social media dare “Blackout Challenge”.
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In the “Blackout Challenge” you choke yourself into unconsciousness. The dare, which was spread through Tiktok, apparently cost a 13-year-old girl from Hesse her life.
At the end of April, a 13-year-old girl in Hesse died, apparently after attempting the so-called “Blackout Challenge.” In this dare, which is mainly popularized by Tiktok, you strangle yourself until you lose consciousness. This is exactly what the young girl did on the evening of April 26, filming herself with her cell phone as the HNA first reported.
The family found the girl in her room that night. An emergency doctor who was called could only confirm her death. Several videos were found on the teenager’s cell phone that pointed to the Blackout Challenge.
On Thursday, the Kassel public prosecutor’s office confirmed to Hessischer Rundfunk that a 13-year-old girl from the Kassel district died at the end of April. There were no signs of third-party negligence. The public prosecutor’s office refrained from providing further information, including the cause of death, for reasons of privacy protection.
“Tiktok is very dangerous”
The child’s mother gave the radio station FFH a interviewin which she warned of the dangers of social media. “Tiktok is very dangerous, you should always remember how dangerous it can all be.” She would not have believed her daughter would do something like that, she told FFH.
“She was not only a happy, cheerful child, but also a good student. It makes me think that she tried something like that, I couldn’t imagine it.” Parents should talk to their children about the dangers. “My world has stopped, I’m going through hell right now, I wouldn’t wish that on anyone else.”
Hot Chip Challenge
Dangerous challenges of this kind occur again and again. Most recently, young users of the Tiktok platform took part in the so-called “Hot Chip Challenge”. This involves eating particularly hot chili chips. A 14-year-old died in the USA. As a result, the chips were banned in Germany.
According to a study by the NRW Media Authority, a third of the challenge videos shared on TikTok are “potentially harmful.” One in a hundred videos even shows potentially fatal dares.