In early December, a 13-year-old girl leapt into the outstretched arms of her schoolmates in Istog/Istok, western Kosovo, in a rendition of the so-called ‘Superman Challenge’ that has gone viral on TikTok. Her mates were supposed to catch her and fling her back up into the air.
Something went wrong, however, and the child ended up with “head injuries and abdominal pain”, said the headmistress of his school, Mimoza Osmanaj-Kabashi, adding that “awareness measures” had since been implemented.
TikTok challenges have ended up hurting Kosovo children before; one involving self-harm videos resulted in more than a dozen primary school pupils cutting or scratching their skin.
With TikTok dominating the digital space for young people in Kosovo, concerns are growing over its harmful effects and how it can be monitored.
The results of a BIRN survey, however, show that parental control apps are not widely used.
Balkan Insight -> Read more here about what is happening in Kosovo with regards to children and social media.
