A new viral challenge on the social network TikTok has caused the alarm of parents and experts due to the death of a 12-year-old boy in Colorado, who spent 19 days in hospital after suffocating himself until he lost consciousness.
Joshua Haileyesus was admitted in critical condition to Children's Hospital Colorado in Aurora on March 22 after his twin brother found him passed out on the bathroom floor of their home.
The minor suffered brain death after practicing the so-called
Blackout Challenge
(in Spanish, challenge of losing consciousness), which challenges users of the aforementioned social network to drown to faint.
His father, Haileyesus Zerihun, told KCNC-TV station that a few days earlier the boy had bragged to his brother that he could hold his breath for up to a minute.
"Unbeknownst to his parents, Joshua had been playing this dangerous game without being aware of the risks involved," says the GoFund page with which the family hopes to raise funds for medical expenses and the funeral.
[Chinese millennials learn Spanish and indulge in Latino culture on TikTok]
"He was an incredibly smart, funny, loving and talented boy," the family described the boy, who, they said, dreamed of joining the Army.
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"I don't know why people would do that," the father told the local station about the viral challenge, "this is not a joke, it is not something you can play with."
The social network TikTok expressed its "deep condolences" for the death of the child and through a statement said that the content that promotes dangerous behavior is eliminated "immediately to prevent it from becoming a trend."
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However, the challenges have exploded on social media, ranging from charity bets to dangerous or even lethal challenges.
Jacqueline Nesi, a Brown University professor of psychiatry who studies the impact of social media on adolescent mental health, told USA Today that parents should talk to their children about viral trends, ask what they think. about them.
"Ask your child questions, ask him to show you the accounts he follows, listen to where he comes from," he said, "convey to your teen that he can come to you with questions or to talk if he sees something upsetting online.
With information from
The Associated Press
and
USA TODAY
.