Social media platforms have come under fire in recent years for hosting content that is potentially harmful to impressionable young minds. The latest example is the so-called “blackout challenge”, which encourages participants to pass out from lack of oxygen.
The trend has been linked to the death of 12-year-old Archie Battersbee, who was found unconcious by his mum at home after attempting the challenge. Archie was taken to hospital, where he spent nearly four months in a coma.
Doctors have now decided to end his life support, though his parents are fighting to give him more time. This tragic story is a reminder of the devastating effects social media can have and the need for greater regulation of online content.
How did Archie Battersbee get Coma?
It is every parent’s worst nightmare to find their child unconscious. For Hollie Dance, this nightmare became a reality when she found her son Archie unresponsive at their home on April 7, 2024.
Archie had been participating in a ‘TikTok’ Trend challenge known as the blackout challenge, and his mother believes that this is what led to his brain damage.
The challenge, which has already claimed the lives of two young girls, involves choking oneself or someone else until they pass out.
It is unbelievably irresponsible for parents to allow their children to take part in such a dangerous trend, and the fact that it is being shared on a platform like TikTok only makes it worse. We need to do better at protecting our children from these types of dangers, both online and offline.
How did Archie get brain damage?
Following the Trend is nowadays becomes the addiction for many it acts like ‘FOMO’ for many social media users, but some challenges are entertaining but some do affect the follower’s negatively causing death also.
This time it’s a blackout challenge which involves tying a ligature (a piece of knotted or tied fabric) around the head, which results in a lack of oxygen to the brain. If the brain is deprived of oxygen for more than three minutes, it can start to suffer from damage. In severe cases, the lack of oxygen can lead to death.
Although it’s not known for certain if Archie was attempting the blackout challenge, his mother believes this to be the case, after she found him with a ligature round his head. As a result, she is urging other parents to be aware of such dangerous trend.
Why Doctor’s want to remove Archie’s life support?
Doctors fear that Archie’s brain stem is dead and that he will die if he is not given life-sustaining assistance. They also say that turning off his life support is in his best interest.
From the last month, Archie’s parents Hollie Dance and Paul Battersbee have been battling a court battle with the Barts NHS trust in order to guarantee that their son lives. At 2 p.m. on August 1st, the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, where Archie is undergoing treatment, decided to end his therapy.
Next a request from the United Nations to extend Archie’s treatment, his parents were summoned to appear in court the following morning. In spite of this, they resisted. However, he was denied an extension by the Court of Appeal.
