13-year-old dies after trying TikTok’s dangerous Benadryl Challenge
Unsplash: Solen FeyissaA 13-year-old boy has died after participating in the viral TikTok Benadryl Challenge, which prompts participants to take over a dozen of the pills at once.
When it comes to viral trends on TikTok, not all of them are the same. Like other social media platforms, many dangerous trends have begun on the site.
Trends like the Fire Mirror Challenge, Nyquil Chicken, and the blackout challenge have led to participants being injured or worse.
Now, a 13-year-old boy has died after participating in the viral Benadryl challenge, which has users taking over six times the recommended dose of the allergy meds.
TIKTOK: Unsplash: Solen FeyissaChild dies after trying TikTok Benadryl Challenge
Justin Stevens, the father of the 13-year-old, spoke to a local news station after the incident took place.
According to the report, the teen was at home when his friends filmed him attempting the social media challenge when his body started to seize. After six days in the hospital, the teen lost his life.
Now, Justin and the rest of the teen’s family are warning other parents about the dangers of social media.
“Keep an eye at what they’re doing on that phone. Talk to them about the situation,” he said. “I want everyone to know about my son.”
The family is trying to get local lawmakers to put an age restriction on medicine like Benadryl due to the dangers of overdosing on it.
Similar laws are in place for medicine like Sudafed, as it can be used to make more harmful drugs.
Justin Stevens also wants social media platforms to put stronger screen time limits in place for younger users, like the one-hour screen time limit TikTok announced back in March.