Dangerous, Potentially Fatal: The TikTok Blackout Challenge

Many TikTok viral challenges have been fun. Most of them were (or are) dance challenges like the “Renegade Challenge” and the “Blinding Lights” challenge, although others like the “Level Up Challenge” (getting dogs and cats to jump over higher-and-higher stacks of toilet paper) gained traction because of pets’ (and peoples’) unpredictable natures.

Then, some challenges are often harmful. The “Milk Crate Challenge” (people climbing stacked crates) was blamed for serious injuries. The “Kia Challenge” (taking stolen cars on joyrides) led to numerous accidents and at least eight deaths.

The TikTok “Blackout Challenge,” which began going viral on the social media platform in 2021, falls into the latter category.

What Is the Blackout Challenge on TikTok?

Put simply, the Blackout Challenge is a version of choking games (also known as fainting games or Space Monkeys) that pre-date the Internet and have been around for decades. They’re usually “played” by kids or adolescents.

The point of participating is to trigger euphoria and a temporary loss of consciousness by cutting off the flow of oxygen to the brain. Participants are encouraged to take the risk by others, and they agree to do it in search of thrills, curiosity, or the possibility of a brief high. (Unlike with erotic asphyxiation, the activity isn’t usually undertaken to increase sexual satisfaction.)

In reality, of course, choking games (including the Blackout Challenge) are extremely dangerous. One early US government study attributed nearly 100 deaths (due to asphyxiation or strangulation) between the mid-1990s and early 2000s to the activity. Most victims were male and all were 19 years old or younger.

Nevertheless, a choking game in the form of the Blackout Challenge went viral in TikTok posts in 2021. The app claims to have tried to suppress all TikTok content showing or related to the activity, but the topic continues to pop up in TikTok videos, and it seems to appear on younger TikTok users’ feeds most often.

Medical experts say the Challenge can lead to brain damage and death in participants in less than five minutes, and reports have linked it to dozens of deaths among teens and pre-teens. A number of parents have sued TikTok after losing their children to the Blackout Challenge, and in one highly-publicized case, a U.S. Appeals Court has ruled that the suit can go on.

The app reportedly redirects all searches for the Challenge to a page describing the danger of the “game,” but incidents in which related videos are displayed continue to be reported.

That’s the sobering story of how risky and potentially fatal behaviors can be encouraged on social media — and lead to deadly consequences.