Tommie-Lee Gracie Billington, an 11-year-old boy, died as a result of breathing in hazardous substances during a social media challenge known as “chroming.” The Times claims that the incident happened in Lancaster, United Kingdom.
Tommie-Lee tried the challenge while she was visiting a friend’s house. To get high, chroming entails breathing in the fumes of common home items like paint thinners and cleaning agents. According to the news outlet, Tommie-Lee is thought to have experienced cardiac arrest, which is one of the major health issues that can result from this exceedingly risky technique.
The grieving family is urging social media platforms to take stricter measures to protect children. Tommie-Lee’s grandmother, Tina Burns, expressed her belief that social media companies should be held accountable and even shut down to prevent similar tragedies.
“He died instantly after a sleepover at a friend’s house. The boys had tried the TikTok craze of ‘chroming,'” said the boy’s grandmother, Tina Burns.
“Tommie-Lee went into cardiac arrest immediately and died right there and then. The hospital did everything to try and bring him back, but nothing worked. He was gone.”
“He had a heart of gold, just like his dad. Our family is utterly devastated,” she added.
Growing numbers of teenagers have died as a result of the alarming trend that has been brought about by the popularity of chroming videos on social media. According to Tommie-Lee’s family, the social media site ought to do more to protect user safety and, in the worst situations, think about closing down to stop more terrible events involving children.
“Both our families are utterly devastated, but we all want the same thing,” Burns said, referring to the family of Tommie-Lee’s friend. “We don’t want any other children to follow TikTok or be on social media.”
Read More
Central Asian youth delegation in India to witness nation’s growth story
