The BlackOut Challenge is like any other challenge and trend which keeps on surfacing on TikTok.
It has been viewed and created as a source of entertainment but, this has also brought out severe drawbacks with it. As this challenge has encouraged people to play with their own life and health and if it’s gone horribly wrong, the worse cases have also come into play.
Recently, the BlackOut challenge has taken up the hype following the death of children totaling to dozens.
Who Started The Blackout Challenge On TikTok?
The Blackout Challenge started in 2008 in the early days before TikTok was named Musically, and it has made a u-turn year again in recent years, as per Women Health Mag.
The person who initiated this challenge, deemed dangerous, has not been explored yet.
This is also known as the choking game and the pass-out challenge.
The Black Out challenge is where the people have to record strangling themselves with the objects nearer to them, and there is also a time limit of 10 seconds.
In simple words, this trend encourages the users to choke themselves using belts, ropes, or similar tightening items until they pass out, (out of breath).
One severe incident happened on 7 April, when a mother found her child unconscious with a ligature over his head.
This led the boy to suffer a traumatic brain injury after participating in a ‘blackout challenge’, which subsequently caused brain death.
Parents Sue TikTok Blackout Challenge Lawsuits
The victims and deceased children’s parents have sued a lawsuit against the TikTok app owners on the subject of The Blackout Challenge.
A 14-year-old Leon Brown’s mother, Lauryn Keating, reportedly said her son died due to this challenge, killing Archie.
She also revealed that her son thought that he would be the one to try it first.
This is not the first time the so-called Blackout challenge has taken one child’s life, but countless children. In February 2021, a nine-year-old Arriani Arroyo left the world after she participated in the same TikTok challenge.
This has led people to know the negative influence of this popular video-sharing platform. The Arroyo family also filed a lawsuit against TikTok after their daughter died doing such vicious challenges.
Around two months ago, the families of two young girls in the U.S. put a lawsuit against TikTok, claiming the hosting service’s ‘dangerous’ algorithms led to their children’s deaths.
The TikTok app has claimed to have removed videos of the ‘Blackout Challenge.’ They also reportedly took necessary measures, disallowing the users from searching the trend. Some also claim that the TikTok company isn’t doing enough to stop the “Blackout Challenge.
Why is The Blackout Challenge so dangerous?
The Blackout Challenge is so dangerous because this is taking lives.
In short, the trend has resulted in the recent death of 12-year-old Archie Battersbee (as he suffered catastrophic brain damage) and also took the life of eight-year-old Lalani Erika Walton and nine-year-old Arriani Jaileen Arroyo.
This has also shifted the focus of most parents regarding their children’s social media life and what these crazy life-risking challenges are the kids doing for ‘likes’.
Likewise, a grieving mother disclosed that her 14-year-old son Leon Brown passed away while attempting a deadly TikTok choking challenge. He was discovered motionless following the attempt of the same dangerous TikTok trend as Archie Battersbee.
One of the victims’ parents also revealed that the people (adults) demonstrating these challenges are sick and disgusting.