A dangerous social media challenge claimed the life of a nine-year-old daughter, a family has warned against taking such a risk. Jaclyn Blackwell was found dead in her backyard a month ago with a rope wrapped around her neck, her parents, Curtis and Wendy Blackwell, said.“It was just the three of us, three friends, and we did everything together,” Curtis Blackwell said.“Karaoke. She loved karaoke; she could sing all day long,” said Curtis and Wendy Blackwell.According to CBS News, Jack Lynn’s parents said she loved to sing and dreamed of becoming a star.“She’s on YouTube a lot and, of course, a lot of kids are on YouTube,” Curtis Blackwell said.They said she also enjoyed taking on challenges she found on social media, which seemed harmless to them until the incident a month ago.“A normal morning, tickle her and wake her up to get ready for school,” said Wendy Blackwell.“She was out playing like usual, out in the yard. I noticed it was a little quiet here – quieter than it should be,” Curtis Blackwell said. “Then I saw her walking around the corner toward the garage and saw her hair. I said, ‘Jacklin!’ I thought she was bending over to play because she always plays in that area, but she wasn’t playing.”“I found her unconscious and she was leaning against the rope,” Curtis Blackwell said. “I did everything I could to save her. I unplugged her. I tried to give her CPR until the first responders got there. It was the scariest, most shocking thing I’ve ever seen. It was so horrific to see my daughter in such a vulnerable state because of something that made no sense.”“I don’t think I ever will,” Curtis Blackwell said. “I will never forget that day. This will replay itself in my head for the rest of my life. “The Blackwells said they spent days trying to understand why it happened.“My mom told me that Jack Lynn had shown her a video before of a guy doing this with a rope, and my mom told her, ‘You should never do that,'” Curtis Blackwell said.Videos have circulated on social media for years in which people deliberately choke themselves to gain a brief sense of euphoria, often referred to as the “blackout challenge.”
What is the blackout challenge?
The Blackout Challenge, which encourages individuals to suffocate until they lose consciousness, falls into the latter category. Her parents said they believed JackLynn replicated what she saw and became one of 80 documented deaths from the challenge, according to the CDC.“This is not a joke, this is not a game, this is a matter of life and death,” Curtis Blackwell said. “Most of the children are between 9 and 14 years old. Many children her age have immature brains and are easily affected. “Some social media sites are now posting warnings or blocking searches for the blackout challenge, but videos continue to promote the behavior.“She is our beautiful angel now,” said Wendy Blackwell.Just a month after losing their daughter, the Blackwells say they are turning their grief into action.“Even if it saves one life, that life means a lot,” Curtis Blackwell said.They called for greater accountability and said they did not want other parents to face similar losses.“You can check on your kids and it might be a kid-friendly video, and then three minutes later it might be completely dark because of the algorithm they started creating,” said Curtis Blackwell. “In my opinion, these companies have lost too many children to not accept responsibility.”
