The choking game

According to a article in the nytimes, in the last few years there is an estimate of 82 children who have died because of playing the choking game. The Choking game is a unusual and gradually more common practice, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This game has many names including “Blackout, Flatliner, Fainting Game, California Choke, Dream Game, Airplaning, Suffocation Roulette, Space Cowboy and the Pass-Out Game” (Tara Parker, 2008). and this video is one girl’s experience on this disturbing game. Image is from flickr.com/photos/bishi/2106685096

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocf9aaIXsBg

The Choking game, which involves deliberately trying to choke yourself to get a quick high is said to have been around for years but is starting to spread. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention the “choking game is a dangerous activity that older children and early adolescents sometimes play to get a brief high…they either choke each other or use a noose to choke themselves…after just a short time, children can pass out, which may lead to serious injury or even death from hanging or strangulation”. A theory for this is that “the Internet has made it easier for kids to learn about the game... a search of YouTube turns up several videos warning about the practice, but also several troubling demonstrations by giggling adolescents showing how to play”(Tara Parker, 2008).

Since 2005 there have been at least 60 of the deaths as a result of this game. However sometimes it may be hard to rule out if it is a death or suicides, so sometimes people may be said to have died from one but it was really the other. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the “number of deaths is probably understated, and other experts agree, noting that choking game deaths, which involve accidental strangulation with a rope or belt, often look like suicides”(Tara Parker, 2008).

There is a website that is named GASP, which stands for Games Adolescents Shouldn’t Play, says that “65 children died in 2007 and 1,800 people in the United States had died playing the game in the past 10 years and most were children and teenagers” (Tara Parker, 2008). Many people haven’t even heard of this game until now including myself that why it is important to know what’s going on with your loved ones before it’s too late, “The C.D.C. reports that most adults haven’t even heard of the choking game and have no idea their kids are playing it” (Tara Parker, 2008).

The game can be played in many ways but the goal is to cut off the oxygen to the brain in order to get high before passing out. Adolescents may used their “hands to squeeze the necks of friends, or they may use computer cord, scarves or ropes” (Tara Parker, 2008). In another way is when, “kids bend down and try to induce hyperventilation by taking deep breaths followed by a “bear hug” from a friend” (Tara Parker, 2008). Signs that a child may be engaging in the choking game include “bloodshot eyes, marks on the neck, severe headaches, disorientation after spending time alone, ropes, scarves and belts tied to bedroom furniture or doorknobs or found knotted on the floor, or the mysterious presence of things like dog leashes, choke collars and bungee cords” (Tara Parker, 2008). People need to discuss the effects of the game with their loved ones and parents should be there to listen to their children.