Featured Image Credit: CBS Texas
Topics: News, Social Media, Parenting
Greg Harris
The parents of a child who died while participating in a social media challenge have shared a warning to other parents.
Nine-year-old JackLynn Blackwell died on February 3 after she took part in the blackout, or ‘choking’ challenge, in which participants hold their breath until they pass out from a lack of oxygen.
Her parents, Curtis and Wendi Blackwell, recall that the morning of their daughter’s death started ‘normal’. JackLynn was playing in the yard before school when Curtis noticed that it was ‘quieter than it should’ve been’.
When Curtis went outside to check where she ‘always’ plays, he saw her hair. He initially thought she was ‘bending over playing’, but soon discovered she was ‘unconscious’.
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Her father said he tried to save his daughter by performing CPR until first responders arrived.
“It was the most terrifying, shocking thing I’ve ever seen,” he told CBS Texas. “It was horrible to see my daughter in such a vulnerable state because of something so senseless.”
He continued: “That’ll replay in my head for the rest of my life.”
JackLynn’s parents are now warning others about the ‘blackout’ social media challenge, which has been linked to the deaths of other young people.
“It’s not a joke, it’s not a game, it’s life and death,” Curtis warned. “Even if it saves one life, that life means a lot."
He warned that most of the children taking part in the social media challenge are aged between nine and 14. “You could check on your kid, it could be kid-friendly videos, and then three minutes later it could be totally something dark because of the algorithms they start creating," he told CBS News.
The blackout challenge involves users attempting to restrict oxygen by holding their breath or using household items such as ropes, belts, strings etc. until they pass out and the results would then be posted onto social media.
In 2022, The Independent reported that the trend had gained popularity on social media and the participants, mostly children, were supposed to get an adrenaline rush when they became conscious once again.
They warned back in 2022 that the blackout challenge had been linked with the deaths of at least 20 children over the previous 18 months and that it was a continuation of something called 'the choking game' which had resulted in dozens of children dying.
This issue is not limited to the US, and cases have been linked to the blackout challenge in other countries, including a 12-year-old boy in the UK.