The latest viral fad on TikTok involves a body of water, a high platform and a lot of guts — or stupidity.
It’s called “death diving”, and it has many social media users concerned. While the videos are racking up millions of views a day, belly flopping from extreme heights isn’t exactly a smart thing to do.
“Although water seems pretty soft when we’re in it, when you enter the water at a certain speed, the surface is actually pretty hard. When you dive from a 10-meter platform, you’re probably entering the water at over 40 miles per hour,” said Dr. Sonu Ahluwalia, clinical chief of orthopedic surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, to NBC News.
The trend started when TikTok user Asbjorg Nesje from Norway began to share her death-defying jumps, snagging the attention of thrill seekers all around the world. In her latest video, which has received more than 42 million views, Nesje, wearing a colorful bikini, runs and jumps from a wooden diving board. As she plummets towards the water, she twists her body and hits the surface with a smack.
The “death dive” includes turning 360 degrees at least twice before hitting the water. The caption on Nesje’s videos — and many others like them —comes with a disclaimer that the dives are performed by professionals and warning others not to attempt similar dives.
But of course when it comes to social media trends, there are plenty of users eager to join in the fun — whether they’re qualified or not — with some videos showing jumps from heights of more than 30 feet.
While this trend might seem fun for water lovers, experts warn that belly flopping — which is basically taking a violent hit to the stomach — can cause injuries to internal organs such as the liver, kidney, pancreas and bowels.
“Not only is the abdomen taking the brunt of the landing into the water at a high velocity, there is also sudden deceleration, both of which can cause trauma to the organs,” claimed CNN.
