Children who hit or kick each other, film that and share the videos on TikTok. Some students in the Land van Cuijk have fallen victim to this violent ‘fighting challenge’. Why do children participate in this and how can ‘we’ prevent this?
We put those questions to Justine Pardoen. She is the founder of the Youth and Media Bureau and has written several books about young people and (social) media. According to her, forwarding videos is ‘super harmful’.
But first we go to the Land van Cuijk. There, some children have become victims of so-called fighting challenges. “The videos are shocking. It concerns gross violence in which young victims are kicked and beaten by a group, often including young children, and are forced to carry out humiliating assignments,” warn the municipality and the police.
“When I was that age, we also did competitions.”
This phenomenon is not new. “We know this kind challenges for a very long time. It often starts ‘somewhere’ and spreads rapidly. It is not something that only occurs in the Land van Cuijk”, says Pardoen.
According to her, it is mainly children between the ages of 10 and 16 who are involved in this. “We actually always see this coming up at the beginning of the summer. Children go to school less often or have holidays. They are bored and spend all day on social media.”
According to Pardoen, we can compare these online challenges with ‘normal’ play. “Children seek entertainment in groups on the street. They are going challenges with each other. It is completely in the development of children to behave in this way. When I was that age, we also had competitions: who can lie on the street the longest while a car is approaching. It is quite normal for children to do this.”
“Children push boundaries and sometimes cross them.”
Experimenting while playing is part of that, according to Pardoen. “Children push boundaries and sometimes cross them. That’s okay. It’s just a puberty phase. When children cross boundaries, it is important that parents or teachers draw those boundaries. And if they cross legal boundaries, it is good that the police are involved,” Pardoen explains.
Adults must therefore explain to children what is and is not possible. Something that is now also happening in the Land van Cuijk. Schools sent letters to parents asking them about it at home fighting challenges to have. That is the solution as far as Pardoen is concerned.
“During such a conversation, try to put yourself in the shoes of those children: something happens, film it and spread it. This gives them status in a group. You don’t even necessarily have to be the one to hit for that. Just spreading it takes care of that,” says Pardoen.
“What would it do to that person?”
That is why she thinks it is important to teach children what the consequences are.
“They often don’t oversee that at a young age. Explain why something is not possible. That forwarding videos is very annoying for the victim. That is super harmful,” says Pardoen. “What would it do to that person? Suppose it happened to you: would you want that too? By discussing that, you can prevent an incredible number of problems.”
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