Another week, another social media challenge gone wrong. The latest viral challenge making its rounds is the ‘tripping jump challenge’ and is capable of causing some serious injuries. Ten-year-old Journey Bonner is speaking up about the challenge after she was made the focus of a video at Berwick Alternative Elementary school in Columbus, Ohio. Watch the video of the incident below, followed by another video of a separate incident further down.
In the tripping jump challenge, three people stand side-by-side. The person in the middle jumps high, while those on the side kick at the jumper’s legs, sweeping their legs out from under them. If done “right,” the middle person has no clue what is going to happen to them and they jump thinking it’s just for a slow-motion clip of them jumping. In other versions of the challenge, the jumper knows what’s happening and it’s their goal to jump and avoid being tripped.
“What they did was mean, it was cruel and it was evil,” Journey told WBNS.
According to the student, she participated in the video thinking it was just a fun thing to do with friends. The ‘prank’ ended with her head slamming against the concrete playground at school. The school nurse called her mother, letting her know Journey had been hurt in a “tripping” incident and suffered swelling on the back of her head.
T’Marla Bonner, Journey’s mother, said, “This is a very, very serious prank that feels like an assault.” Upon seeing the full video of the incident, T’Marla Bonner said, “It just broke my heart.”
In a statement from Columbus City Schools’ Director of Communications, Jacqueline Bryant, writes, “It is unfortunate that any child is injured as a result of one of these social media challenges. We want our young people to understand the seriousness of these social media challenges. Safety begins with each student making smart choices on the actions they take. The administrative team immediately addressed building-wide expectations with all students and staff.”
The administrative team is encouraging parents to have conversations with their children to emphasize the dangers of social media challenges and say no to peer pressure.
Watch another example of the challenge below:
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