New York City officials are attempting to halt the dangerous social media trend of “subway surfing” due to a rise in related fatalities.
The problem: “Subway surfing,” or climbing atop moving subway cars, has led to the deaths of four teenagers and two serious injuries in the first six months of 2023 alone.
* Over the previous five years, 2018 to 2022, there were only five suspected fatalities related to this dangerous activity.
Enforcement details: NYPD officers have made numerous arrests, alerted parents and guardians of identified surfers, and warn of the lethal consequences of the activity.
* NYPD Chief of Transit, Michael Kemper, noted there have been “dozens of apprehensions and over 70 arrests” related to subway surfing this year.
* Police officers are engaging in a door-to-door campaign, speaking to the kin of known surfers about the danger their loved ones face.
Taking it to social media: NYC Mayor Eric Adams has urged social media platforms to ban content promoting the hazardous trend.
* Social media giant TikTok issued a statement of condolences after a related death but has not confirmed whether it will comply with the city’s request to ban such content.
* Videos cited to TikTok by NPR have been removed, however, there has been no comment from YouTube and Meta, Facebook and Instagram’s parent company.
By the numbers: Since the beginning of 2023, 82 instances of subway surfing have been recorded by the NYPD.
* This activity has been responsible for the deaths of four teenagers in the year’s first six months, a significant increase from five over the previous five years.
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