Mum’s warning after ‘happy’ son, 14, ‘chokes himself to death in TikTok blackout challenge’
A HEARTBROKEN mum has warned other parents about the dangers of social media after her "happy" son 14, "choked himself to death during a TikTok blackout challenge."
Teenager James Boyd-Gergely is believed to have taken part in TikTok’s Blackout Challenge, where users dare each other to choke themselves until they are unconscious.
"The day he died, he did his chores and did his homework. He never would have done his homework if he was planning something like that.
"He seems to have been on TikTok that day and there was the choking challenge where a lot of teenage boys challenge each other to film themselves finding different ways to choke themselves to get some sort of euphoric feeling.
"He was out riding his motorbike that day. The fire was lit and he was playing music.
"It’s almost like it was a stunt gone wrong. There is no way in my mind that he would do that intentionally.
"He had a great group of friends at school, he was happy."
She added that a search of James's phone revealed he had been searching TikTok choking challenge videos on the day of his death.
"Confirming the TikTok side of things is going to be hard. It took over three months to get into his phone, and after three months, TikTok resets itself, so we can’t see exactly what he was looking at," she continued.
"But we can see the last searches and that was on there.";
Now Ms Boyd wants to warn other parents to openly speak with their children about the dangers of social media and cyber-bullying.
"I’m a big supporter of Dolly’s Dream. I live rurally, I live that lifestyle and that was so shocking to me to read that story [about Dolly Everett’s suicide] when it came out," she said.
"It really affected me, but I never once thought to talk to my child about it; and the same thing happened at almost the same age to my child.
"There needs to be more discussion as there is a big gap there that isn’t filled."
She concluded by saying she wishes her son is remembered as a "gentle giant", who adored his younger sisters and his beloved Rabbitohs.
Earlier this year, a ten-year-old girl, from Palermo, Sicily accidentally choked herself to death after taking part in a TikTok challenge.
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Meanwhile, in April, 12-year-old Joshua Haileyesus who had been left in life support after participating in the trend, passed away.
It comes as last month a 13-year-old teenager was left with horror burns on her arm and neck after attempting a TikTok challenge and setting herself on fire.
You're Not Alone
EVERY 90 minutes in the UK a life is lost to suicide.
It doesn't discriminate, touching the lives of people in every corner of society - from the homeless and unemployed to builders and doctors, reality stars and footballers.
It's the biggest killer of people under the age of 35, more deadly than cancer and car crashes.
And men are three times more likely to take their own life than women.
Yet it's rarely spoken of, a taboo that threatens to continue its deadly rampage unless we all stop and take notice, now.
That is why The Sun launched the You're Not Alone campaign.
The aim is that by sharing practical advice, raising awareness and breaking down the barriers people face when talking about their mental health, we can all do our bit to help save lives.
Let's all vow to ask for help when we need it, and listen out for others... You're Not Alone.
If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support:
- CALM, , 0800 585 858
- Heads Together,
- Mind, , 0300 123 3393
- Papyrus,, 0800 068 41 41
- Samaritans, , 116 123
- Movember,
- Anxiety UK , 03444 775 774 Monday-Friday 9.30am-10pm, Saturday/Sunday 10am-8pm