A new dangerous viral challenge on TikTok called the ‘Blackout Challenge’ took the life of a 14-year-old in Scotland.
Lauryn Keating, mother of 14-year-old Leon took to social media to warn fellow parents about the challenge, after she found her son unconscious in his room at Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire.
The challenge involves TikTok users, usually kids and teens, filming themselves holding their breath until they pass out from a lack of oxygen. The kids then post their recorded videos on social media.
Lauryn posted a Facebook post warning that any child participating in the trend ran the risk of accidently killing themselves after learning that Leon had passed away as a result of taking the challenge.
“I need every teenager and every parent to see this and understand the dangers of these Tiktok challenges. A challenge is not worth your life, a few likes on social media is not worth your life. My son (I’m sure all his friends will agree) was the class clown, he happy, he was kind, he loved to make everybody laugh but most importantly he didn’t mean to die. No parent should have to see what I seen, no parent should be going through what I am all because of some stupid trend. Even if this saves one child’s life it’s worth sharing,” said Lauryn.
The ‘Blackout Challenge’ has already been linked to a number of fatalities, and some parents have filed lawsuits against the video-sharing app TikTok on the grounds that the platform’s algorithm favors recordings of other users performing the “blackout challenge.”
