TIKTOK HELL
Two teens charged with assault after ‘skull breaker’ challenge leaves a student, 13, with a serious head injuries
TWO teenagers are facing charges for their part in a viral “skull breaker” challenge that left a boy with a concussion.
The pair were charged were arrested after a 13-year-old suffered potentially life-changing injuries that have affected his performance in school.
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The potentially deadly stunt is doing the rounds on video sharing app TikTok.
It involves three participants standing in a line, and jumping high in the air.
The two on the end then take out the middle person's legs as they land, making them fall on the ground.
In this case, the boy was rushed from his school in Cherry Hill to hospital after banging his skull.
And more than a month after the couple's son was injured, the side-effects of his head injury — which include headaches and lethargy — have hit his concentration in school.
One little thing that you do that you may think is funny can change your life forever
Stacy Shenker
The boys face charges of third-degree aggravated assault and third-degree endangering a victim.
The injured boy’s parents, Stacy and Mark Shenker, 13-year-old son, have spoken out about his ordeal and warned others against the dangerous challenges circulating on social media.
Mark told : "These are not funny jokes. They can put a kid in the hospital and could potentially kill someone.”
Stacey added: ";One little thing that you do that you may think is funny can change your life forever."
The Sun Online recently revealed how teens with a deadly addiction to social media are injuring themselves or putting their lives on the line to impress pals.
Doting mom Valerie Hodson, from Arizona, took to Facebook earlier this month to share harrowing images of her son, who was a victim of the skull breaker challenge — labelling it a "malicious cruel viral prank".
HEAD INJURIES
Ms Hodson said her son was left with a head injury, stitches in his face and severe cuts in his mouth.
"I really contemplated posting this, but I feel there needs to be awareness," she affirmed.
"He landed hard flat on his back and head, as he struggled to get up he lost consciousness, he fell forward landing on his face.
"The school monitor ran to his side, all the while the two boys were snickering and laughing as his stiff unconscious body lay on the asphalt."
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The app has also been branded a "magnet for paedophiles".
Unfortunately, parents have admitted to being clueless about TikTok, despite dangerous trends - including eating tablets inside pregnancy tests- going viral.
Sun Online recently launched its TikTok Time Bomb series to make sure parents are aware of the risks their kids are being exposed to, and what they can do to better protect them.
We also want TikTok to better moderate its content so that it's not being left to kids to protect themselves online.
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It's the app that's taking schools by storm, with more than a billion downloads worldwide..
TikTok time bomb
TikTok has spread like digital wildfire, snapping up over 1.5 billion users since its global launch three years ago — including millions in the UK.
On the surface, the world's fastest growing social media platform shows short clips of lip-syncing to songs or showing off dance moves but there’s a far more sinister side.
It’s become a magnet for paedophiles as well as a hotbed for violent and extremist content, with TikTok predators exploiting the platform's young user base and lax security to prey on the vulnerable.
We've seen kids as young as eight being groomed on TikTok, while other creeps take advantage of young girls posting sexualised content of themselves on the platform.
And that's especially worrying on a site which is attracting millions more children every year, with 53 per cent of kids now owning a smartphone by the age of seven.
That's why we launched our TikTok Time Bomb series — to make sure parents are aware of the risks their kids are being exposed to, and what they can do to better protect them.
Everyone agrees social media can be a force for good, but it has to be used the right way and with proper controls in place.
We want TikTok to better moderate its content so that it's not being left to kids to protect themselves online.
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Oxford mum warns against social media craze after teen daughter suffers 'serious spinal injury' from 'skullbreaker' TikTok challenge
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