The dangerous trend of death diving is taking over TikTok, leaving many TikTok users worried. Here is everything you need to know about it.
If you’ve been scrolling through your FYP recently, you may have noticed videos of people jumping into deep water from great heights, and purposefully bellyflopping.
While it appears to be another dangerous TikTok challenge, it is actually an extreme sport known as death diving or “dødsing.”
What is death diving on TikTok?
Death diving was popularized on the platform by TikToker Asbjørg Nesje, who’s shared several videos of herself taking part in the sport.
In one viral clip with over 43.6 million views, she was seen jumping off a wooden platform that was situated 81 feet high from a body of water, before landing flat on her stomach.
In the comments, many TikTok users were concerned for the diver, and wanted to know if she was okay.
“Did she live?” one questioned. “Omg… I hope she is ok,” another said.
Nesje posted another video of the same dive, but from a different angle to show viewers that she hadn’t bellyflopped into the water, but had landed strategically. “Never felt more alive,” she captioned the clip.
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The diver typically puts safety warnings on her videos. Her warnings include the disclaimer: “The actions in this video are performed by professionals or supervised by professionals. Do not attempt.“
According to the New York Post, death diving is also known as dødsing, and it originated as a sport in Norway in the 1970s.
How dangerous is the sport?
Although most people participating in the sport are extreme athletes, TikTokers are worried it may lead to another dangerous TikTok trend.
Many consider the impact of forcefully slapping the water’s upper surface to be similar to blunt force trauma.
However, the pros always make sure they land in a “controlled” manner, and have outlined three options for this: the shrimp (hands and feet first), the crusher (elbows and knees first), and the no-hander (head and knees first).
Still, it is best to leave death diving to the professionals, as hard bellyflopping can cause contusions, bruising, blunt abdominal trauma, or worse.