Parents Are Traumatised By New "48-Hour Game Challenge" Circulating On Facebook

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The challenge is inspired by the 72-hour Game that swept Europe a few years ago, says The Sun.

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That disturbing viral trend saw youngsters dared “to disappear for 24, 48 or even 72 hours”.

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The craze involves challenging children to try and hide from their family for as long as they can. The participants are awarded a higher score every time someone mentions them on social media.

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Kids that have been reported missing recently are believed to have been taking part in the challenge.

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Children as young as 14 are believed to have taken part in the '48-hour Challenge' with youngsters often doing it in pairs or groups as a dare.

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They are urged to run away and sever all contact for two days before suddenly re-emerging despite having seemingly vanished.

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One County Derry mum told Belfast Live that her family was left with "unspeakable" anxiety from the "sick" competition.

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The warning comes as a Hull grandmother fears her 11-year-old granddaughter could have been taking part in the craze when she disappeared for more than 24 hours this week.

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She told the website: “I was terrified they were dead or would be raped, trafficked or killed. But these kids just think it’s funny. There was not even a moment of remorse when my child was taken into police custody and when the police brought my child home, I could see posts of selfies from the police car.”

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Leah Taylor, an 11-year-old girl, disappeared when she was walking home from school earlier this week.

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The youngster had been put in isolation at Marvell College in east Hull, but before Miss Weatherill could pick her up from school, the youngster had fled the premises.

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The mother added that her child was 'in the lead' because he had vanished for some 55 hours before being discovered.

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The youngsters had ignored the 48-hour time limit and kept going, according to police who visited their school.

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Leah’s grandmother is determined to prevent the game from making its way round Facebook and into the minds of youngsters.

She said:

It’s bloody horrible. Facebook needs to put a stop to it and that starts by not letting underage children sign up.

Kids see too much at their age online and they shouldn’t be allowed on Facebook until they are 16.

It’s frightening. We’ve just gone through it all and I’ve seen it on Facebook – lots of people have been telling me about this challenge.

I will battle and battle to try and get kids under the age of 16 off Facebook and I will argue all day about it.

I am old fashioned but I am thinking of the kids and I just want to protect them.

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Social media giants have seen a surge in reckless challenges in recent years, some of which have had lethal consequences.

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Last month the Blue Whale suicide game made headlines after spreading on social media in Russia and across Europe, including the UK, says International Business Times. It has been “linked with over 100 deaths of children”.

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Social media, and Facebook, in particular is a fertile space for dumb trends and challenges to spread.

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According to The Home Office, an estimated 250,000 people go missing in the UK each year. Missingpeople.org advise that if you think someone you know is missing, the police should be your first point of contact