Blackout challenge: what is the dangerous challenge in vogue on TikTok and how to protect the little ones

Blackout challenge: what is the dangerous challenge in vogue on TikTok and how to protect the little ones

In recent months on TikTok the Blackout challenge has been in vogue among teenagers, a very dangerous challenge that often turns out to be fatal

Don't store avocado like this: it's dangerous

Dying for a challenge on TikTok. It sounds nonsense, but sadly that's what happened to several kids over the past few months. Among the various challenges in vogue in recent times on the social network, very popular among the younger generations, there is an extremely dangerous one which takes the name of Blackout.





For teenagers it's just a game to prove their courage and prove themselves, but it's not at all. The challenge consists, in fact, in tying a rope, a scarf or a belt around the neck (alone or with the help of someone) to test one's resistance. Of course the challenge is filmed and posted on TikTok with the hashtag #BlackoutChallenge.

Read also: Tik Tok, beware: any child could fall into his own dangers. The advice of the psychologist

A challenge that can cost you your life 

Often the challenge turns out to be fatal, as evidenced by the distressing events that ended up in the newspapers over the last year. Early last year a 10-year-old girl, originally from Palermo, died after being found by her parents with a belt tied around her neck. According to what was discovered by the investigators, the little girl - found in her room examining her - had decided to join the challenge.

Following the tragedy that occurred in Palermo, the Privacy Guarantor intervened, ordering TikTok to immediately block the use of the data of users for whom the age of the registry has not been ascertained with certainty. The story then led the social network to block access to users under the age of 13, introducing artificial intelligence systems for age verification and launching an information campaign to raise awareness among parents and children. 

But this was not enough to prevent such dramas from happening again. There have been several cases of deaths - which occurred in different parts of the world - caused by this challenge. More recently, the same fate befell a 12-year-old boy from Colorado who died last April of suffocation after tying his shoelaces around his neck. And sadly, the Blackout challenge is by no means the only dangerous trending challenge on TikTok. Very popular among kids, for example, is the Planking challenge, which consists of jumping on the hood of racing cars. 



Beware of the pitfalls and dangerous challenges on TikTok! Police advice for parents 

Like all social media, even TikTok can turn into a dangerous tool (not only for challenges, but also for solicitation by pedophiles), especially if left in the hands of the little ones. For this reason, the State Police has launched a series of advice aimed at all parents: 

  • Talk to the kids about the new challenges running online so that they don't fall under the spell if they learn about them from peers or on social networks
  • Make sure they are clear about the risks involved in participating in online challenges. Children often believe themselves to be immortal and invincible because they are "in the prime of life": in reality, due to an immaturity of their ability to predict the consequences of what they do, they could evaluate, as harmless, lethal behavior.
  • Some challenges expose you to medical risks (taking soaps, medicines, commonly used substances such as cinnamon, salt, bicarbonate, etc.), others lead to actions that can cause serious injuries to oneself or to others (extreme selfies, self-induced suffocation, tripping, jump on racing cars, stretch out on the tracks, etc)
  • Monitor the browsing and use of social apps, also by establishing a maximum time to spend connected. Show yourself curious about what keeps kids glued to smartphones: you will be able to better understand what attracts them and how to guide them in use in order to always be safe.
  • If you find videos about dangerous challenges online, if invitations to participate in challenges appear on social networks, if your children receive videos about the challenges from peers, report them immediately to www.commissariatodips.com
  •  Keep up to date on new risks online with the ALERTS that are published on the portal www.commissariatodips.com and on the Facebook pages Una Vita da Social e Commissariato di PS Online

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Sources: Privacy Guarantor / State Police 

Read also:

  • 4-year-old risking her life to imitate what she saw in a video on TikTok
  • The 10-year-old girl who tied a belt around her neck for the absurd "Black out challenge" on TikTok has died
  • Pedophiles are looking for minors on TikTok: the police warning from Spain
  • Attention Parents: There is a new viral challenge that can have fatal consequences for our kids (#Skullbreaker)
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