Dangerous 'Superman Challenge' Goes Viral Worldwide
Avoid it at all costs.
By Sukhbir Cheema — 06 Jan 2025, 04:28 PM
A dangerous online trend called the "Superman challenge" is causing a wave of injuries among schoolchildren in Japan
This prompted education authorities to issue urgent warnings, the South China Morning Post reported.
The challenge, which imitates the superhero’s flight, involves participants leaping into the joined arms of two rows of people.
They're then tossed back into the air — a stunt that has proven far riskier than it looks online.
In one alarming case, a Tokyo secondary school student fractured both wrists and chipped his teeth after losing his balance mid-air and falling face-first onto concrete
Another boy in Aomori Prefecture cracked the back of his head during a failed attempt, narrowly avoiding life-threatening injuries.
Parents and doctors are speaking out against the trend, which has gained traction through viral TikTok videos.
Dr Kishibe, who treated one of the injured students, described the challenge as “incredibly dangerous", criticising its deceptive portrayal as harmless fun.
ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, has since restricted search results for the challenge’s hashtags in Japan as the trend spreads globally
Education boards across Okinawa and other regions have urged schools to educate students on the severe risks, which include neck and spinal injuries that could have lifelong consequences.
The “Superman challenge” has also spread beyond Japan, with injuries reported in countries like Spain and Romania.
This isn’t the first time a viral challenge has raised safety concerns. In 2021, the “blackout challenge", which encouraged participants to choke themselves until losing consciousness, faced similar backlash after multiple fatalities.
