Parents issue warning as girl, 9, dies doing ‘blackout’ social media challenge
Two parents from Texas have issued a warning after their nine-year-old girl died from participating in the 'blackout' social media trend.
JackLynn Blackwell took part in the trend which involves deliberately restricting oxygen to induce a brief state of euphoria or 'high' before losing consciousness.
Participants will use belts, ropes, or scarves to hold their breath until they pass out.
Curtis Blackwell, the girl's father, told CBS it was a 'normal morning' the day she died with a cord wrapped around her neck in the back garden on 3 February.
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"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," he said.
"Then I saw her kind of around the corner that goes to the carport, saw her hair.
"I said, 'JackLynn!' I thought she was bending over playing cause she was always in that area playing, but she wasn't playing."
"I found her unconscious, she was leaned into the cord," Curtis said.
"I tried to do everything I could to save her. 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."
Curtis said that day will 'replay in my head for the rest of my life'.
The blackout challenge appears to blocked from searches on social media, but videos are still appearing in feeds, Curtis claims.
In 2025, 12-year-old British boy Sebastian died from the viral challenge. In 2022, the Independent reported that at least 20 children died from the blackout challenge over the previous 18 months.
Issuing a warning to other parents, Curtis said: "It's not a joke, it's not a game, it's life and death.
"Most of the kids are like nine years old to 14 years old. A lot of kids her age, their brains aren't fully developed, and they are very easily influenced.
"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.
"There's too many of these kids lost for these companies not to be held accountable in my eyes."
JackLynn's mother Wendi added: "She's our beautiful angel now."
Curtis said to The Dublin Citizen, that one of JackLynn’s friends told him 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 said.
"These videos don’t give warnings of what could happen, so kids think it’s okay."
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact Cruse Bereavement Care via their national helpline on 0808 808 1677.
Topics: US News
Anish Vij