A 9-YEAR-OLD girl has died after strangling herself while attempting social media’s “blackout challenge” as parents frantically tried to save her.
JackLynn Blackwell tragically choked herself to death in her family home in Texas while taking part in the latest dangerous trend on social media.
Earlier that day the young girl had shown her grandmother a video of someone else participating in the challenge where individuals intentionally choke themselves to get a brief high.
Depriving the brain of oxygen, it can lead to seizures, serious injury or death.
Her father, Curtis Blackwell, told CBS News: “She goes out to play like she always does, out in the yard.
“I noticed it’s kind of quiet – quieter than it should’ve been.”
When Curtis went to investigate he found his beloved daughter’s lifeless body with a cord wrapped around her neck.
“I tried to do everything I could to save her,” Curtis said.
“I got her off the cord. I tried to give her CPR until the first responders got there.
“It was the most terrifying, most shocking thing I’ve ever seen.
“It was horrible to see my daughter in such a vulnerable state because of something so senseless.”
In the aftermath of the harrowing ordeal, Jacklynn’s parents took aim at the trend specifically, urging parents to be careful of what their children consume online.
“It’s not a joke, it’s not a game, it’s life and death,” Curtis said.
“Most of the kids are like 9 years to 14 years old. A lot of kids her age, their brains aren’t fully developed, and they are very easily influenced.
“There’s too many of these kids lost for these companies not to be held accountable in my eyes.”
Some social media sites now put up warnings, while others continue to promote the highly dangerous act.
This terrible incident comes just days before a landmark trial gets underway in California.
It seeks to hold the world’s largest social media companies accountable for the unspeakable harm done to children who use their platforms.
Companies like Meta and YouTube intend to fight claims their platforms are deliberately addictive and harm children.
TikTok and Snapchat were also originally included in the lawsuit but decided to settle for undisclosed sums beforehand.
