|Racquel McKenzie

It is often said that children live what they learn, well this have been proven to be factual where social media challenges are concerned.

Social media is now a huge part of many people’s everyday lives and so-called Social Media Celebrities are influencing their younger viewers.

There are so many different challenges that have done the rounds on the many different social media websites, from fun and entertaining challenges, like the ‘Ice Bucket Challenge,’ to challenges that can cause serious harm and sometimes even death.

One of these dangerous challenges is the troubling ‘Duct Tape Challenge’ that was very popular on YouTube.

This challenge involves you having your body wrapped up in duct tape and seeing how long it takes you to escape. Some teens have even been filmed being taped to a chair or even a wall. While this can seem like an entertaining challenge to some, there have been some near-fatal consequences as a result of taking part. Fourteen-year-old Skylar and two friends took part in the challenge in January 2016.

Recently, challenges involving consuming toxic materials have become increasingly popular. One of the most popular challenges has been the ever-popular ‘Cinnamon Challenge.’ Cinnamon is delicious and adds a warm and spicy flavor to many sweet and savory dishes. However, participants of this challenge are placing a spoonful of this spice in their mouths and trying to swallow it. This challenge has potentially deadly effects.

In 2020 a new challenge called The Skull breaker or the Trip Jump Challenge, is a dangerous social media prank that’s landing some students around the world in the hospital.

The videos, of teens tripping others, are made in an attempt to get more laughs and likes on TikTok, YouTube, and other social media platforms. But, the challenge can only happen at the expense of an unsuspecting person – some of whom are ending up with concussions, stitches, and broken bones.

But doctors and parents are now sounding the alarm on the “Skull Breaker Challenge” for obvious reasons.

Arizona mother Valerie Hodson took to Facebook on Feb. 8 to share harrowing images of her son, who was a victim of the “malicious cruel viral prank.” Hodson said her son was left with a head injury, stitches in his face and severe cuts in his mouth.

“He landed hard flat on his back and head, as he struggled to get up he lost consciousness, he fell forward landing on his face,” the mom explained. “The school monitor ran to his side, all the Days later, a mother in Alabama posted a similar warning to the Facebook community. Teri Wimmer Smith said her son, Parker, suffered two broken bones in his wrist and would have surgery after he too, was pranked while the 2 boys were snickering and laughing as his stiff unconscious body lay on the asphalt.”

Parents teach your kids that this crap is dangerous,” Smith wrote.

Dr. Nathan Richards, a physician who specializes in internal medicine and pediatrics at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, said the challenge is potentially fatal.

“The ‘Skull Breaker Challenge’ is an emerging prank being propagated on social media that results in forceful trauma to the head and neck area,” Richards told Yahoo! Lifestyle.

“It can be associated with a variety of serious and even life-threatening injuries including, but not limited to, bruising, hematoma, skull fracture, neck strain, neck fracture, concussion and long-term complications of concussion, bleeding in or around the brain, loss of consciousness, paralysis and death,” he said.

He added: “Although it can seem like a harmless prank to children and adolescents, they should be educated on the potentially serious consequences of doing the [challenge].”

Psychologist Sabrina Sykes, Ph.D., pointed out in a blog post that viral challenges offer teens “instant popularity among peers in the form of ‘likes’ and ‘followers,’ providing peer acceptance, buoying the teen’s self-concept and, therefore, enhancing the draw to participate in these challenges.”

“Parents should familiarize themselves with social media platforms and engage their teen in conversations about online challenges,” Sykes wrote.

She added: “Remember that while teens continue to grow and navigate social relationships, through these conversations parents can foster the development of thoughtful and rational thinking skills, while also maintaining connection.”

It is a result of this why government officials in Jamaica have taken initiative to inform as well educate its stakeholders of the emerging threat as several teenagers have fallen prey to this phenomenon.

Victims include students from the Meadowbrook High and Kingston Technical High School.

“Rasheed Bullock, the 14-year-old Meadowbrook High student who became a victim of the ‘tripping jump challenge’ that has gone viral globally, said it was his close friend who lured him to his fall.

The prank – which sees three persons line up side by side, with the middle participant goaded into jumping into the air, unaware of being tripped on the way down – has raised alarm locally and triggered the Ministry of Education to issue a warning to school administrators to crack down on the growing practice.

Kerrisa Dockery told The Gleaner that her ninth-grade son was in his classroom when his friend offered him $100 to engage in the jump challenge.”

In the Meadowbrook video, one of the boys could be heard reassuring Bullock that he had already jumped and received the promised money and that he would not need to jump high.

The 34-year-old mother said that her son did not initially report the incident, which occurred last Wednesday, to her. It was not until the video was sent to her the following night that she was made aware.

The following day, Dockery was jolted by X-ray results showing that her son had suffered a fracture to his left arm.

In the end , the lesson here is to exude wisdom and not partake in these deadly stunts for mere likes.