Viral challenges: Deaths from ‘underground surfing’ trigger alarm in New York

The last victim of underground surfing (surfing subway) is a young New Yorker who is about eighteen years old and lost an arm and a leg after falling on the track last Wednesday. It was 6:10 p.m. and he was trying to catch a moving car at the West 135th Street-Lenox Avenue subway stop, in the Harlem Community. He is in critical condition, but many others subway surfers They did not manage to save themselves. According to police sources, so far this year this dangerous practice has claimed the lives of six young people between the ages of 11 and 15 (and in 2023 it will cause the death of five teenagers).

he is underground surfing It is a phenomenon mostly in New York, where the subway system is extensive. It involves climbing on top of a moving subway car and walking on it while maintaining balance. Falls on the paths are not only deadly, but they could be fatal, but teenagers who use this move do so by being seduced by the challenge of becoming heroes on social networks.

“When you’re in that adrenaline moment, try to think about the consequences. There are many other ways to have fun. Please, do not be carried away by a challenge on social networks,” was the message given by the father of Adolfo Sorzano, the 13-year-old boy who died on October 23 working for young people. surf on a subway passing through Queens, New York. “You have autonomy. You can say no to your friends.” But, just four days later, another young woman of the same age, Krystel Romero, died after falling from a moving train car on Flushing Avenue, Queens, while she was working on the same thing.

“Destroyed to discover that the underground surfing – and the search for social media fame – has taken on another life,” New York Mayor Eric Adams posted on X (Twitter) on October 28. “We’re doing everything we can to raise awareness about This is a dangerous move, but we need all New Yorkers – and social media companies – to do their part.” Already in September 2023, Adams launched an awareness campaign: “Do surf in the subway he kills. Ride in, stay alive.” “It’s not worth risking your life for a viral video,” he says.

Eric Adams at the Bushwick Ave-Aberdeen St. station, where a teenager died after subway surfing in Brooklyn, New York, in June 2023. Shawn Inglima (Getty Images)

David C. Banks, head of the New York Department of Education, has distributed awareness materials to 60 schools located around the 7, J, M and Z lines of the New York subway, where most of the cases were. For his part, NYPD deployed 900 drones, which Mayor Eric Adams says led to the arrest of 114 youths, including a nine-year-old boy. Added to this is a free online mental health program for teenagers supported by the city council.

According to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), the number of subway surfers It has quadrupled since 2021, going from 206 to 984 young people who use it. Arrests have also increased significantly: according to the ABC, 240 people were arrested this year, compared to 193 in 2023. Although it has been used since the 1980s, it is now became a viral movement on social networks that had allowed more than 10,900 related. posts, turning the challenge into an inspiration for vulnerable teenagers who are thirsty for attention and popularity. Given the severity of the move, the MTA has asked the directors of social media companies to remove all related content.

In October, a group of 14 lawyers from different parts of the United States sued TikTok for the seriousness of their challenges, insisting that the company is “aware that the compulsive use and other harmful effects of its platform are damaging the mental health of millions of American children and teenagers.” On the Reddit platform there are several groups where participants exchange advice. “There is always space from the stage to the back, and there is no danger. The only thing you have to worry about is the police at a station, but they might just give you a verbal warning for everyone who died riding in front of the train,” said someone. “We should encourage more underground surfing. It is not only a talent, but a form of personal expression. New York is a city of diversity, equity and inclusion, so let’s not discriminate subway surfers“.

Currently, the hashtag #subwayssurfers has been removed from TikTok under the warning message that it may be associated with behavior or content that violates its rules: “Promoting a safe and positive experience is the main priority of TikTok. ” However, information on transfer is easy to find and videos of the video game of the same name can still be seen, subway surfersin which users run on tracks and jump on trains to escape from the police.