Is Social Media Fuelling Deaths Among Children?

On the 7th of April 2022, a 3-year-old boy, Archie Battersbee, was found unresponsive in his bedroom by his mother with a ligature around his neck. It is believed that Archie had been participating in a TikTok online challenge trend which has permeated among children and young people around the world. On admission to hospital, it was revealed that Archie had suffered irreparable brain damage and he never regained consciousness. Archie died on the 6th of August after a long running court battle when he was disconnected from his life support system (BBC News, 2022a). The so-called “blackout challenge” is global online trend among young people that is believed responsible for a significant number of tragic deaths. The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that of 2008 at least 82 youths had died as a result of playing what has been called “the choking game.” However, it is likely that this trend started some years earlier with the CDC claiming that three or fewer choking game-related deaths per year were reported in the news media from 1995 to 2004 but rising to 22 deaths in 2005 with 35 in 2006 although this is probably an underestimate. The launch of the video platform and social network TikTok in 2016 and other similar online social media companies has allegedly exacerbated the spread of this dangerous so-called challenge (Big 3 Media, 2020). Why are young people attracted to this dangerous game? The choking game involves intentionally trying to asphyxiate oneself to achieve a brief euphoric state or “high.” However, if the asphyxiation caused by self-strangulation is prolonged, it can cause death or serious brain injury as in the case of Archie Battersby who sustained serious brain injury from his attempt, now just one of many children for whom the challenge has had devastating consequences on them and their families. Most deaths have occurred among children and young people between the ages of 11 and 6 years. The CDC found that most of the COMPREHENSIVE CHILD AND ADOLESCENT NURSING 2023, VOL. 46, NO. 1, 1–4 https://doi.org/10.1080/24694193.2023.2172291