New #48HourChallenge Causes Outrage Among Parents & Police
There's a frightening new trend circulating social media and assuming a child would never do this is the worst thing a parent can do, according to experts.
The challenge is to disappear for 48 hours and be totally off the grid. It's not a challenge to unplug from social media. It's literally meant to go missing on their own as if they were to run away or be abducted. Police want parents to be aware of this and obviously, a missing child is a bad situation but "to find out a person was hiding, is a big issue."
A child psychologist told an NBC affiliate any parent thinking "my kid wouldn't do that" is ignoring the possibility of it actually happening. She explained how dangerous this "challenge" could be, comparing it to the #BirdBoxChallenge (participants are encouraged to attempt normal tasks while blindfolded) and the #TidePodChallenge, which led to kids eating Tide Pods.
"You definitely don't want to ignore it because sometimes what we think our children know is not actually what they know. I think talking openly and honestly about the challenges and the dangers especially with younger children and more impressionable children is the best policy."
Dr. Dunn says banning young people from social media is unrealistic because it's far-fetched to think they'll have zero access to the various platforms. She suggests being active in monitoring your child on all the platforms they have access to.
Read more bits of information including responses from various police departments by clicking here.
[H/T MyStateline.com]
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