As politicians continue to debate the merits of social media platform TikTok all over the country, some users of the app continue to add to its bad publicity through the dangerous “challenges” that often permeate feeds.
The Blackout Challenge. The Penny Challenge. The Skull-Breaker Challenge. And of course a host of dangerous dares that involve binge drinking.
Now a new so-called “challenge” has resulted in at least four deaths, according to Alabama officials.
The “Boat Jumping Challenge” involves leaping from a speeding boat into the water, and it’s an incredibly dangerous feat to undertake. All four deaths came from jumpers breaking their necks as soon as they hit the water.
One “avid boater” described the effects on the human body as “almost like hitting concrete” in a report from WPDE, and local authorities concurred with that assessment.
“I think people, if they’re being filmed on camera, I think they’re more likely to do something stupid because they want to show off in front of their friends for social media,” Capt. Jim Dennis of the Childersburg Rescue Squad told WPDE. “You jump off the side of the boat, don’t dive, you’re jumping off feet first and you just kinda lean into the water.”
Dennis said one tragic jump was particularly traumatizing.
“The first incident was in February when a man died while jumping into the Coosa River. His wife and their children watched from inside the boat. Unfortunately, she recorded his death,” he said, cautioning, “Do not do it. It’s not worth your life.”