These days, it seems like kids are getting smartphones of their own younger and younger. But with access to social media and the internet at their fingertips, tweens and teens are often ill-equipped to deal with the dangers lurking in plain sight. Viral challenges pose a particular threat to this group of users.
Bereaved mom Joann Bogard has made it her mission to protect young people online. Her son died while participating in the "Choking Game" challenge. And she's already made progress in ensuring no other parent has to experience the same heartbreak she has.
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During a recent interview with People, Joann explained that she took precautions to keep her son, Mason, safe online after he got a smartphone in middle school
“I put on the watchdog apps, we had the conversations,” the bereaved mother told the publication. “I thought I had everything in place. But he was a teenage boy, and he was curious.”
On May 1, 2019, Mason attempted the "Choking Game," the Evansville Courier & Press reported. The dangerous online trend, also known as the Blackout Challenge, encourages participants to cut off oxygen to the brain to induce temporary loss of consciousness and euphoria. Tragically, Mason was found unconscious in his room with no heartbeat and a belt around his neck; his family removed him from life support days later.
In December 2022, The Independent reported that the "Blackout Challenge" was responsible for at least 20 child deaths in the previous 18 months. Among them was a 9-year-old girl named Arriani Arroyo from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. An 8-year-old from Texas, Lalani Walton, was another victim of the challenge.
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Joann has worked to help protect kids online since Mason's death. In 2023, she introduced a bill (via Indiana Senator Jim Tomes) in honor of her son that promotes internet safety education in schools, WEEV-TV reported. In March 2024, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb signed "Mason's Education Act" into state law.
Additionally, Joann spoke to lawmakers in Washington, DC, before the Senate passed the Kids Online Safety Act on July 30, 2024. The bill has moved on to the House as of late July.
Today, Joann and other parents are supporting an initiative backed by billionaire Frank McCourt called Project Liberty to "reinvent the Internet with more privacy protections," People reported.
"It would be a new internet, where people decide the safety features they want," she told the publication. "You could say, 'My kid can't see this' — and nobody could see your kid online."
If this type of control would have been available five years ago, Joann said, "I have no doubt my son would still be here."
