Most parents are aware of the risks associated with children using social media. However, most parents never imagined having to worry about their children losing their life due to following a fad they saw go viral on social media.
Arriani Jaileen Arroyo, age 9, was a Milwaukee, Wisconsin, native. So when her parents handed her her first phone, she was 7 years old. So naturally, little Arriani downloaded the well-known TikTok app and frequently uploaded videos to the service.
She posted recordings of herself dancing or singing that were benign. However, her family claims that as she continued to use the app, she became obsessed with taking part in TikTok challenges.
According to a press release issued on behalf of the family by the Social Media Victims Law Center (SMVLC), “Ariani’s parents did not see this Tik Tok challenges as harmful because many of them featured eating and dancing.”
Arriani’s 5-year-old younger brother discovered her unconscious on February 26, 2021. She was suspended from what appeared to be a dog leash that she had attached to the entrance to her room.
The young kid proceeded to tell their father, who was in the cellar. Arriani was taken to a hospital by emergency personnel after the father immediately called for help. After that, she was given life support.
She had been acting in this way in front of her 5-year-old brother for at least 30 minutes. Arriani’s family decided to remove life support after tests proved she had severe, irreparable brain damage and total loss of brain function, according to SMVLC.
Lalani Erika Renee Walton, age 8, also received a cell phone from her parents. The TikTok user from Temple, Texas, also uploaded videos of herself singing and dancing.
