TikTok is a social network that is full of challenges. Cooking, dancing, skill… and then there are the challenges that are dangerous to health, such as the Benadryl Challenge that has taken the life of a 13-year-old boy in the United States.
An Ohio teenager has died after overdosing on over-the-counter drugs while attempting one of TikTok’s latest viral challenges.
What is the Benadryl challenge
The Benadryl Challenge, a dangerous activity in which participants take 12 to 14 antihistamines-six times the recommended dose-to induce hallucinations.
The potentially deadly stunt began to explode in 2020 when teenagers uploaded their attempts to TikTok in order to gain influence on social networks.
What happened to Jacob Stevens
Jacob Stevens’ father, Justin, told ABC 6 that his son was at home last weekend with friends when he overdosed.
Images taken by his friends showed the boy ingesting the pills, after which his body apparently began to seize up.
Jacob was rushed to the hospital and placed on a ventilator. Despite doctors’ efforts, the boy died six days later, in what his father described as “the worst day of his life”.
TikTok’s response to killer virals
The Chinese viral video platform announced in March major changes for users under the age of 18, with the introduction in the coming weeks of a one-hour daily limit on screen time.
The new restrictions come two days after the White House ordered government agencies to remove the Chinese-owned TikTok app from their devices within 30 days in an effort to prevent the Chinese government from spying on U.S. citizens.
The new 60-minute time limit will automatically apply to all users under the age of 18, who will be required to enter an access code to continue scrolling after one hour.
For users under the age of 13, the limit will also be set at 60 minutes, but a parent or guardian will need to set or enter an existing access code to enable an additional 30 minutes of viewing time.
Finally, if you type Benadryl Challenge in the TikTok search engine the social network does not show you results and warns you that these challenges can be dangerous to your health. I wish Jacob Stevens had never seen the rest posted on any social network.
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