The death of a teenager who overdosed on allergy medication while playing an online game has exposed the dangers of social media challenges.
Thirteen-year-old Jacob Stevens, of Columbus, Ohio, took more than a dozen Benadryl pills while his friends were filming to see what would happen.
His body then began to convulse within minutes. Within a few hours, his organs began to shut down and his brain became unresponsive. Stevens died after six days on a ventilator.
Stevens is the third known victim of the “Benadryl Challenge,” a deadly viral TikTok game that is said to cause hallucinations. Also in 2020, a 15-year-old girl from Oklahoma died of a pill overdose.
Social media challenges started as fun initiatives to raise awareness of chronic diseases, such as the Ice Bucket Challenge, but have now turned into sinister and dangerous trends.
The 13-year-old from Ohio was remembered as a loving and caring boy who could brighten anyone’s day
13-year-old Jacob Stevens took 12 to 14 Benadryl pills, resulting in an overdose.
One of the most dangerous, the Blackout Challenge, involves teenagers deliberately restricting their breathing by suffocating themselves with a belt, rope or something similar. It caused more than 80 deaths when it first emerged and another 15 over the past year.
And the Skull Breaker challenge, in which two contestants deliberately attempt to make a third person fall and hit their head on the ground, has resulted in several deaths and criminal charges against contestants.
Others that have resulted in deaths or injuries include drinking hand sanitizer to “get drunk,” taking sleeping pills and trying to see who can stay up the longest.
Blackout Challenge
Arriani Arroyo (9) died while participating in the Blackout Challenge, which recently resurfaced on TikTok
Also known as the “choke game” or “pass-out challenge”, this social media trend involves the participant deliberately restricting their breathing with a belt, rope or something similar.
The challenge dates back to TikTok and dates back to 2008, when 82 deaths were confirmed, according to the CDC.
However, it has recently seen a resurgence.
A Bloomberg Businessweek report in late 2022 linked at least 15 deaths in children age 12 and under in the past 18 months to the challenge. Five other children, aged between 13 and 14, also died.
The victims were only eight years old.
Two other deaths were confirmed in 2023: 12-year-old Tristan Casson of Ohio and 12-year-old Milagros Soto of Argentina.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a list of signs that may indicate someone is attempting the blackout challenge, including bloodshot eyes, spots on the back of the neck, severe headaches and disorientation after spending time alone.
Kia challenge
Ahjanae Harper, a 14-year-old Kia Challenge victim, recently gave birth to a baby girl before losing her life
The four teenagers died after allegedly stealing a car using the “Kia Boyz” TikTok hack, which allows kids to easily hot wire a car that crashed in Buffalo.
A TikTok trend that emerged in 2021 led to an increase in stolen Kia and Hyundai car models in the United States.
Called the “Kia Challenge,” users are shown how to steal certain Kia and Hyundai models by removing a plastic cover under the steering column and using a USB cable.
This has resulted in injuries and deaths to children, especially children who are not yet old enough to drive, causing them to lose control of the vehicles.
WIVB in Buffalo, New York, reported that four local teenagers, ages 14 to 19, died in October after crashing a vehicle they had stolen as part of the challenge. Two other occupants, including the 16-year-old driver, survived.
Among the victims was 14-year-old Ahjanae Harper, who gave birth to a baby girl shortly before the accident.
Skull Crusher Challenge
This stunt challenge, which first emerged in 2020, has led to an increase in serious injuries and deaths in the US and UK.
While the videos seem harmless at first, they take a dangerous turn.
In the challenge, three people stand next to each other. Everyone says they’re going to jump in the air, but the two end up not jumping. Instead, they kick the middle person’s legs out from under them, causing that person to fall.
The name “skull breaker” refers to the victims’ heads, which hit the ground as they fell.
The challenge began in Spain when two students filmed themselves performing the prank on an unsuspecting third contestant.
Children fall to the ground after kicking during the “Skull Cracking Challenge”.
Two New Jersey students were prosecuted in 2020 for seriously injuring a classmate in the challenge, including third-degree aggravated assault and third-degree threatening an injured victim, the Washington Post reported.
The challenge is linked to two deaths in Brazil in 2021.
In an editorial warning, TikTok said, “We don’t allow content that promotes or mimics dangerous challenges that could lead to injury.
In fact, this is a violation of our community guidelines and we will continue to remove this type of content from our platform.
In the hand sanitizer challenge, users drink the sanitizer to get drunk
“Nobody wants their friends or family to get hurt when they shoot a video or try a stunt.
“It’s not funny – and since we’re removing this type of content, your TikTok is definitely not going to be famous.”
Challenge hand sanitiser
The search query “Drinking Hand Sanitizer Challenge” has over 64 million views on TikTok. It has also been linked to four deaths and six attacks in 2020, the CDC reported.
The CDC reported four deaths and six attacks in 2020.
The agency reported that 15 adults in Arizona and New Mexico were hospitalized for methanol poisoning between May and June 2020 after consuming alcohol-based disinfectants.
During this time, 62 calls were made to poison control centers for cases of methanol poisoning from alcohol-based disinfectants.
The victims were between 21 and 65 years old.
Doctors warn about the TikTok trend of drinking raw potato juice
Doctors are warning against ‘dangerous’ claims by TikTok influencers that raw potato juice can cure a sore throat.
Benadryl Challenge
The “Benadryl Challenge” involves taking large amounts of the over-the-counter allergy medication to see how long you can stay awake and to induce hallucinations.
The challenge has led to overdose deaths, including 13-year-old Jacob Stevens this month.
A case study of a 14-year-old victim found that the victim had no evidence of medical or psychiatric conditions that would have led to suicidal thoughts.
“The manner of death was accidental,” the report said.
Following reports of hospitalizations and deaths in 2020, the Food and Drug Administration warned against taking higher-than-recommended doses of over-the-counter allergy medications like Benadryl.
“Taking higher than recommended doses of the common over-the-counter (OTC) allergy drug diphenhydramine (Benadryl) can lead to serious heart problems, seizures, coma, or even death,” the agency said.
Benadryl, a Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical company, issued a statement calling the trend “dangerous” and calling for it to be “stopped immediately.”
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
