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The choking game and YouTube: a dangerous combination
Martha Linkletter1, Kevin Gordon, Joe Dooley
1Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. marthalinkletter@yahoo.ca
Clinical Pediatrics
|July 15, 2009
Summary
Adolescent choking games on YouTube are dangerous, with many videos showing hypoxic seizures. Increased awareness is crucial to prevent harm from this risky online trend.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Online Behavior
- Adolescent Safety
Background:
- Recreational partial asphyxiation, often termed the "choking game," is a dangerous activity among adolescents.
- YouTube serves as a platform where such activities are documented and shared, raising concerns about normalization and spread.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze YouTube videos depicting adolescent partial asphyxiation.
- To raise awareness regarding the dangers of the "choking game."
- To evaluate YouTube's utility as a tool for researching emerging youth risks.
Main Methods:
- YouTube was searched using various terms associated with recreational partial asphyxiation.
- Data collected included participant demographics and the occurrence of hypoxic seizures.
Main Results:
- Sixty-five videos of the asphyxiation game were identified, with 90% of participants being male.
- Hypoxic seizures were observed in 55% of videos, escalating to 88% when the "sleeper hold" technique was used.
- These videos accumulated over 173,550 views on YouTube.
Conclusions:
- YouTube facilitates widespread exposure to dangerous adolescent activities like the "choking game."
- The normalization of such behaviors through video content poses a significant risk.
- Enhanced awareness and intervention are necessary to protect youth from self-harm and harm to others.
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