9-Year-Old Girl Dies While Doing the Blackout Social Media Challenge. Now Her Parents Are Warning ‘It’s Not a Game’
Two Texas parents are grieving the death of their 9-year-old daughter, who they say died participating in a social media trend.
Curtis and Wendi Blackwell’s daughter, JackLynn, died on Feb. 3, after she participated in the so-called blackout or "choking" challenge, which dares participants to hold their breath until they pass out from a lack of oxygen.
Curtis said that JackLynn first showed her grandmother a video of someone doing the challenge, and she told her granddaughter, “'Don't you ever do that,' " according to CBS News.
JackLynn’s mother said that the morning of the girl’s death was “normal.” Curtis noted that JackLynn had gone to play in the yard before school when he noticed it was “quieter than it should've been.”
He went around to the carport, where she “always” plays and saw her hair. At first, he thought she was “bending over playing,” but he found her “unconscious” and with a cord wrapped around her neck. “She was leaned into the cord.”
The father said he “tried to do everything” to save his daughter. “I got her off the cord. I tried to give her CPR until the first responders got there.”
“It was the most terrifying, shocking thing I've ever seen. It was horrible to see my daughter in such a vulnerable state because of something so senseless."
The grieving father said he’ll “never forget that day,” adding, “That'll replay in my head for the rest of my life."
Over a month later, JackLynn's parents are warning others about the dangers of the “blackout” challenge and social media use. “It's not a joke, it's not a game, it's life and death, " Curtis said. "Even if it saves one life, that life means a lot," Curtis said.
“You could check on your kid, it could be kid-friendly videos, and then three minutes later it could be totally something dark because of the algorithms they start creating," Curtis told CBS News. He said most of the children participating are between 9 and 14 years old. “Their brains aren't fully developed, and they are very easily influenced."
Curtis told The Dublin Citizen that one of JackLynn’s good friends told him and his wife that she "didn’t even know little kids could die."
“Something like that makes me think that’s why these kids do all these things they see cause in their mind—they think they can’t die from it," he continued. "These videos don’t give warnings of what could happen, so kids think it’s okay.”
Speaking with The Dublin Citizen, Curtis urged parents not to think this couldn't happen to them. He said that he and his wife "never in a million years thought this could ever happen to us and look where we’re at now."
“These platforms that target our young kids need to be held accountable. Our kids need people to advocate for them against this stuff," he continued.
He remembered his daughter as a "beautiful angel," and recalled to CBS News how close-knit their family was. “It was just the three of us, three amigos, we did everything together."
According to her obituary, JackLynn loved to sing, dance, dress up, craft, draw, paint, do puzzles, ride her bike and spend time with her family, including her grandparents and nieces and nephews.
