Our Context
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER
We believe that knowledge is the most effective way to combat dangerous challenges!
Our kids are our future ...
We believe that credible information will provide the necessary knowledge to help them make better decisions.
Kids today rely more and more upon social media and their friends for information. But as we've seen over and over, social media truncates information and does not present the balance of full information on many topics (including dangerous challenges). And their friends rely upon social media as well. This leads towards kids not getting a full balance of information about what they may partake in.
As our kids are our future leaders, what do they need? We believe that in order to be a leader they need to have credibility.
- And to have credibility, they need to have knowledge.
- Having knowledge and understanding allows them to make good decisions and, and in turn, help others make good decisions.
- We want all kids to learn to be upstanders in community – someone who can lead and make good decisions – rather than bystanders, who just observe and don’t get involved.
- We want to give them knowledge so they can help themselves, help other kids and even their parents and communities.
What they can do with this knowledge:
- If they see someone playing any social media challenges – particularly the ones that they learn are dangerous -- they will have knowledge to tell them why it’s dangerous and to hopefully help them to stop.
- In addition to knowledge and understanding, we help them learn strategies that will help them make better decisions when confronted with peer pressure.
- Our ultimate hope is that the skills that they learn from the Erik's Cause training will also serve them in other aspects of their lives as well ... to want to question and seek full information on all issues before making quick/impulsive decisions based upon partial information that can have deleterious effects on them, their family and communities.
Evidence-Based and Methodology:
In order to impart this knowledge, our training has been developed on prevailing evidence-based best practices for prevention modules that currently address other risk topics. The program is founded upon the principles of basic brain science as well as understanding the impact of trauma. It ensures that potential to trigger pre-existing trauma is diminished while successfully imparting the crucial education. The potential for trauma is minimized by ensuring the material presented stays within the Window of Tolerance (as developed by Daniel Siegel, M.D.).
By remaining faithful to our foundational principles, the training helps students understand the dangers of online challenges, where they are in their brain development, how they receive and process information, and why it is challenging for them to think through all the consequences without the guidance of a trusted adult.
Learn more about our training program here
Your kids are not immune. Some kids only tried this once or twice.
They didn’t know they were gambling with their lives.
Parent Fear
We - Caring, Loving Parents - May be Impeding Education to our Kids, the Very Ones We Want to Protect!
Like Erik, many victims of these challenges did not fit the profile of an "at risk" youth. They were actively engaged in life and with no signs of personal or emotional challenge. These deaths are so blindsiding that families have trouble grasping that their child had even thought about it, much less tried it. They search for another reason for their child's death while knowing it was not a suicide. (We had this same reaction - despite police insistence Erik died of the choking game - until a brave schoolmate spoke up.)
I'm astonished to see the amount of discomfort on the part of parents to share our video with their kids. I don't believe their fear is the result of believing "if you tell them they might try it". Some parents also confuse the blackout challenge aka choking game with autoerotic asphyxia (AEA), but this challenge does not have a sexual component and is not AEA. Perhaps just hearing that kids are dying from these challenges causes a "deer-in-the-headlights" panic. After all, kids play and pull on each others' necks all the time. They see it in movies and on TV. These behaviors have been commonplace for decades.
I had never heard of the Blackout Challenge aka Choking Game prior to Erik's death. Erik was so smart and responsible. He could debate health care reform and national budget issues. Would he really try something that, to me, seemed so basically dangerous and ridiculously stupid? I forget he was only 12... .
And yet, parents are slow to share awareness with their kids.
One mom shares her own surprising reaction when
she showed the Erik's Cause video to her kids:"As a mom watching it with my kids I was aware that I worried about how they would take it and was afraid it would be too much for them. Of course they were fine and I was very affected especially by the pictures of all the kids. Even though I am very supportive of this project I definitely experienced a moment of hesitation and fear once it got going. I think this is what you are running up against with the parents. There's a sense that somehow the video might shatter their kids' world when the truth is that the video shatters the parents' belief that they can keep their kids safe. I tell you this because its important for you to know what's under all the resistance. The idea of the video is far more terrifying for the parents than for the kids."
TRUST THAT YOUR KIDS WILL UNDERSTAND -
SHARE OUR VIDEO WITH THEM!
Advocacy Links
Critical Hearings, Whistleblower Testimony and Research
Why is it so hard to hold social media platforms liable?
The brief answer to this: In 1996, Congress wanted online platforms to grow as venues for commerce and communication while at the same time proactively curb harmful behavior online. If platforms were viewed as a publisher, they could be held liable for its online content. So, in 1996 Congress enacted the Communications Decency Act to protect online companies from liability arising from what is posted on their platforms. In short, Section 230 of this act provides these companies complete immunity from whatever is posted. Click HERE understand what the intent of Section 230 initially was and why it has morphed into a blanket immunity shield for these companies.
While this may have made sense in the 1990s, no one could have predicted the explosion of social media and it's grip hold. In the 1990s, the general public was entirely unaware that these platforms primarily operate by algorithms generating and pushing content to end users without regard for the appropriateness of that content and/or the potential dangers that came with that content.
Still … courts interpret Section 230 as a complete immunity shield for all online platforms. And it empowers platforms not to care because they are forever not liable for any potential consequences.
Click HERE to understand why Section 230 needs to be amended.
Where does that leave us now?
Since 2021, state and federal legislatures appear to have finally awakened to this issue and have started both to investigate (via hearings) and proposing laws, though the hurdle of Section 230 appears almost insurmountable.
Click on the links below to learn more of what has been (and continues to be) uncovered with respect to social media’s harm in general but particularly as it relates to the harms it causes to our kids, as well as both federal and state attempts to hold social media platforms accountable.
2021:
- Protecting Kids Online led by Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Data Security
- The Facebook Files a Wall Street Journal Investigation of internal research showing how Facebook has amplified hate speech and misinformation and how Instagram has harmed teen mental health. (Subscription required to read the actual WSJ investigation. A summary can be found HERE)
- 60 Minutes Segment: “Whistleblower” Facebook is misleading the public on progress against hate speech, violence misinformation.
- Protecting Kids Online: Testimony from a Facebook Whistleblower Frances Haugen’s testimony in front of the third Senate subcommittee hearing candidly discussing this being Facebook’s “Big Tobacco moment.”
- Protecting Kids Online: Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube Executives from Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube discuss safety features for young people on their apps. But when grilled by Senators (about safety features as well as unsolicted disturbing content showing up in social media feeds), the social media representatives side-stepped questions and some outright denied that their platforms maintained and promoted harmful content to our youth.
- 52 State Attorneys General form a Bi-Partisan Coalition to take aim at social media giants to hold them accountable.
- 10 State Attorneys General launch investigation into Meta-owned Instagram’s impact on kids regarding the potential harms caused by this platform.
(02-2023: STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION - STAY TUNED FOR ADDITIONAL MATERIAL FROM 2022 and 2023!)
Online Harms Reference/Research
RESEARCH AND REFERENCE MATERIAL RE SOCIAL MEDIA & ONLINE HARMS
COURTESY OF SOCIALMEDIAHARMS.ORG
Socialmediaharms.org has vetted over 180 peer-reviewed research/reference articles in the following areas. Additionally it has an extensive library of news articles regarding online harms. Socialmediaharms.org has been gracious to partner with Erik's Cause and allow us to share links to its extensive research.Click on any of the below links to be redirected to their extensive library of reference material:
Research/References:
Online Harms
RESEARCH AND REFERENCE MATERIAL RE SOCIAL MEDIA & ONLINE HARMS
COURTESY OF SOCIALMEDIAHARMS.ORG
Socialmediaharms.org has vetted over 180 peer-reviewed research/reference articles in the following areas. Additionally it has an extensive catalog of news articles regarding online harms. Socialmediaharms.org has been gracious to partner with Erik's Cause and allow us to share links to its extensive research.Click on any of the below links to be redirected to their extensive library of reference material:
Research/References:
Legislative Advocacy Efforts
COALITIONS ARE VITAL TO ENACT LAWS
THAT WILL KEEP OUR KIDS SAFE!
NEW TO SUPPORT KOSA:
A list of other activist organizations and groups can be found HERE:
The revelations from 2021's Congressional Hearings and whistleblower testimony has been eye-opening with respect to the devastation that unfettered Big Tech has wrecked upon our kids in almost every aspect of their lives. While prevention education remains our primary focus, we recognize the need for legislation to reign in Big Tech's stranglehold on our kids and influencing every aspect of their lives.
To that end, we have aligned primarily with Fairplay for Kids and Parents-Together, two non-profits dedicated to improving the lives of children. Erik's Cause members also volunteer to participate in Fairplay's Online Harms sub-group dedicated to advocating for a safer online experience for kids.
Some of our participation includes:
- 2022, May: Parents-Together (together with Avaaz.org) hosted a group of parents to San Francisco and Silicon Valley to meet with representatives of various tech companies in addition to meeting with various state and federal legislators in order to tell our stories and help move California to enact the California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act (A.B. 2273) on August 30, 2022. This act was signed by Governor Newsom in September 2022 (to take effect 2024) and will compel online platforms to proactively assess the privacy and protection of children in the design of any digital product or service that they offer.
(Note: In December 2022 a coalition of Big Tech companies has sued the State of California questioning the constitutionality of this new law. Updates as they occur.)- 2022, November: Fairplay and Parents-Together hosted a group of parents to go to Washington DC where we met with various senators, congresspeople, FTC commissioners and WH aides in order to promote the inclusion of the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) into the end-of-year Omnibus bill. While KOSA did not make it into the bill, we made quite an impact throughout the halls of Congress. Plans are in the works to re-introduce a version of KOSA this new legislative session and we plan to make our voices heard again.
MORE TO COME ... :)
2019 Highlights
Click here to read about the incredible progress and increase in credibility we've continued throughout 2019!
We also encourage you to review our updated new brochure by clicking here!
We welcome comments, suggestions for the future and your tax-deductible financial donations.
Thank you for your continued support!
Please share your experience with our Prevention Program
We would love to your experience with our prevention program: Educators, Teachers/Counselors, Law Enforcement, Medical Personnel, Parents and Students. Thank you for your support.
Testimonials
Amazing Program
Posted by Neveen Radwan · October 02, 2023 7:19 PM · 1 reactionErik’s Cause
Posted by Alexis Botton · March 13, 2019 5:15 PM · 1 reactionAll schools need to share Erik's Cause with their students and parents
Posted by Julie Brown · January 31, 2018 9:34 AM · 1 reaction
YouTube Epidemic_Pt.2
Coming Soon!
Please contact us at [email protected]
to report an incident, injury or death.More maps and data are in development ... stay tuned!
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Donate to Erik's Cause
Erik's Cause is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization. All donations are tax deductible.
We greatly appreciate your donation. It will be used to further our mission of bringing life-saving education to students, parents and communities. We will send you a receipt along with our Tax ID number for your tax purposes.
If you prefer to send a check rather than donate via credit card, please make checks payable to ERIK'S CAUSE and mail to:Erik's Causec/o Judy Rogg1112 Montana Avenue #167Santa Monica, CA 90403
This is Judy Rogg, Director of Erik’s Cause. You ask an excellent question. To piggy-back onto Mark Cernekee’s comment, there is a process called a psychological autopsy during which the police do a deep dive into the intent of the victim.
Although the physical evidence of a choking game death may look similar to a suicide, it is the intent that is key, and a full investigation into the history of the victim is what helps to show intent. But these take a lot of time and many police departments do not have the resources to devote to this; they rush to a decision based on the physical evidence which does not show intent. Still, sadly, many coroners ignore the investigator reports that uncover evidence of playing this “game,” citing the physical evidence only. Both of these issues lead to misclassification of many choking game deaths as suicide.
Please see the document on our Downloads page called “Suicide or Choking Game – Getting it Right!” I can also email you more info about the psychological autopsy if you want.
