Tying himself up, the man put himself into serious danger and could only be rescued by firefighters.
A man in Guangzhou in south China’s Guangdong province took part in a viral trend tying himfelf up with zip ties. Only firefighters could free him after a passing delivery driver heard his cries.
The Challenge
There is a new viral challenge on Douyin, chinese TikTok. Participants bind their wrists and ankles with zip ties and try to free themselves after. Some call delivery drivers to their house to free them should they not succeed.
The challenge stems from a viral video of a man showing how to break free from being bound by zip ties – many trying his methods in this new challenge. Some of the creators seem to see the failure as the whole point, as the embarrassment and devilery driver's reaction is what is generating more clicks.
Taking It Too Far
This case was reported by the local fire department to raise public awareness of the dangers of such challenges, according to South China Morning Post.
A man from Guangzhou in southern China’s Guangdong province tied himself up in a heavy blanket, a fishing net and multiple zip ties from his neck to his feet, making himself unable to move. The article reports the man, after failing to free himself, calling for help when a delivery driver passing by luckily heard his cries and called police.
When the firefighters arrived, they had to force their entry and finally found the man bound up in his bed, eventually freeing him. One firefighter emphasized the danger the man put himself in: He almost killed himself with the two zip ties round his neck.
The firefighter also later confirmed that the man had done this stunt as part of this viral trend and warned people of participating especially without proper procedures or contingencies in place.
When this man's failed try went viral, many asked themselves how he could have even managed to get himself tied up like this.
Challenges like these hold serious dangers. They influence people and more importantly children to participate in reckless behavior. The challenges escalate as people want to top the last person's attempts and generate higher click counts. Thinking about the dangers of a challenge before attempting and always having a backup plan are crucial for a proper challenge execution, if participating at all – you don't have to take part in every viral online challenge.
