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Why you should avoid the head split dive accident trend

The 21st century is an era where we are forced to watch weird things happen on social media. Unless you are living under the cave, you must have watched gruesome videos to last you a lifetime. One such video is the head split dive accident, popularly known as the face split diving accident.

A video surfaced online in 2009, showing a gruesome diving accident of a 16-year-old boy from Beirut, Lebanon. The video resurfaced recently and many doubted its authenticity due to how unreal it looked. Well, real or not, the head split dive accident is exactly what it sounds like, a gruesome accident you cannot even wish your enemy. Without wasting any more time, let us take a look at what the term is all about and how it relates to us today.

What is the head split dive accident?

What is the head split dive accident?

The head split dive accident refers to a horrific accident that happened at the Manara Promenade in 2009 when a 16-year-old Beirut resident reportedly attempted to dive into the sea. Unfortunately, the teenager hit the concrete first before diving into the ocean.

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In the video, which was first posted and went viral on Reddit, the boy’s brother was first seen taking a successful dive into the ocean from the Promenade building, which is over 40 feet. According to a post on the social media platform, the siblings “had made several jumps before and everything had gone fine, but this time he slips and disaster unfolds”. After the teen boy hit the concrete, a girl at the scene could be heard screaming in Arabic: “Oh my God! Oh my God! Someone call the Civil Defence.”

In the next portion of the video, the boy can be seen in an American University Hospital ER with his face split into two and doctors trying to save his life. The post claimed that the doctors tried to hold the boy’s face together to protect the airway. Unfortunately, the boy could only stay alive for two days before he passed away.

As the video went viral on social media, particularly Twitter, many viewers questioned its authenticity. They thought the video could be fake, claiming the person at the accident scene and the individual in the hospital with a split face is not the same. Using the hospital footage which claimed that the teenager attempted a “failed 9mm suicide” as evidence, the doubting Thomases believe that a 9mm accident could not result in such jarring damages to one’s face.

But every viewer agreed that the video was horrifying to watch from the beginning to the end. Due to the sensitivity of the video, Skabash cannot post directly in this piece.

But if you are interested, you can watch the video here. Warning: Graphic video

Head split dive accident trend

@ceo.of.face.split.dude♬ original sound – Face split dude>> my life

Part of the packages of the internet, particularly, social media, is that anything can be a trend, even horrifying videos. So, it is not a surprise that the head split dive accident became a trend in 2022, even though the incident reportedly happened over 12 years ago.

In this case, the head split dive accident trend is mostly happening on TikTok. TikTok is a social media platform that welcomes diverse content from content creators. Trending content can go from sweet to dark and terrifying. The same formula can be seen in the trending head split dive accident.

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Here is how the trend works: Content creators typically include a blurry screenshot from the original video, accompanied by a piece of sad or dark music in the background. Also in the background is an audio explanation of what happens in the video.

It is important to note that the blurry screenshot is due to TikTok’s restrictions and guidelines limiting the number of accounts that will likely view the main video. The platform is generally known for banning inappropriate content and this one is inappropriate to a certain extreme.

As a result, many users try to find a way around the restrictions by frequently misspelling words on purpose or stating in the video description that an adult uploaded the footage to avoid having their videos automatically removed. This is why you cannot find the original video of the head-split dive accident on the platform. It is unclear whether the video was uploaded and later deleted or users are afraid to post the video to avoid being banned.

Either way, the head split dive accident has become a successful trend on the platform. Content creators now encourage viewers to click on links in their bios to watch the original video. The most popular search within the trend is “face split guy full video,”  which means many TikTok users and viewers are interested in the video.

Why you should avoid the head split dive accident trend

Following the head split dive accident trend is not something anyone should look forward to. For one thing, content creators are using it to get more followers. They do not care about the sensitivity of the issue and the victim. Second, viewing the video is not fun. It’s too graphic and can traumatise you for a long time.

Not to mention, you can be reported and banned by the social media platform you are using. On TikTok, for example, it takes only one person to click the share button on the right side of the video, tap on the report icon with a flag symbol to report the content and you’re banned.

Finally, we should note that diving is the fourth-leading cause of paralysing spinal cord injuries, according to Shepherd Center, an Atlanta-based private, not-for-profit hospital, which specialises in the medical treatment, research and rehabilitation for people with spinal cord injury and disease, acquired brain injury, multiple sclerosis, chronic pain and other neuromuscular problems. The centre also claims that most victims are between 20 and 29 years old.

So, as you are following the head split dive accident, know that diving is not a cruising matter as many, like the unfortunate teenage boy in the video, have gone to their early graves while others have sustained severe injuries that they will have to live with for the rest of their lives.

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