A family is mourning the loss of their teenage daughter, who passed away unexpectedly.
In March, 13-year-old Tiegan Jarman was discovered unresponsive in her room at her residence in Leicestershire, UK.
Emergency services were immediately summoned, but despite their efforts to resuscitate her, the young girl was sadly pronounced dead on-site.
Tiegan’s family believes her death resulted from engaging in the hazardous social media trend known as ‘chroming’.
Dr. Anthony Pizon, an expert in toxicology, describes ‘chroming’ as “a variation of an old theme of huffing all sorts of hydrocarbons”.
He further elaborated, “People have been huffing metallic paints for a long, long time. This is really not new; maybe it’s just been rediscovered.”
Since her tragic passing, Tiegan’s family has publicly shared their grief and paid homage to her memory.
Her stepfather, Rob Hopkin, reflected on her life, saying, “We are not too sure if she had [tried chroming] before, as there is no way of tracing it. When it happened she had used at least one can of deodorant.
“She loved her pets – two dogs and a cat, and she loved spending time with her best friend Teigan. They would often spend weekends at each other’s houses.
“She used to enjoy winding her siblings up, especially Alisha, and she had a laugh that was so infectious and would light up a room. Once you met her, you could never forget her and she wanted to follow in her mum Sonia’s footsteps and work at the hospital or be an actress.
“Tiegan also loved watching the sunset in the evening. It has been devastating for the whole family, and our lives will never be the same again.”
Her father, Paul Jarman, remembered her fondly: “She was the most loving, daring girl ever. She was warm, she was funny, she was quirky. She had a great laugh – and she made me laugh.
“My life was twisted upside down when she died, and I have to keep strong and carry on. She used to always call me Pookie. It’s just the funny little stuff.”
The family is now on a mission to raise awareness about the risks posed by social media and its trends that can endanger young lives.
Rob expressed, “It’s hard to feel angry in a strange way because it’s not one individual that has caused this.
“We believe that the social media sites should be better at controlling what’s shown on their sites. They seem to be able to control certain things like pornography, but do not seem that bothered about the trends that can kill instantly.”
Tiegan was survived by her three siblings: Brogan, 24, Callum, 17, and a sister, Alisha, 18, along with four step-siblings. Alisha has initiated an online petition to advocate for the importance of educating young people about hazardous social media trends in schools.
The petition, titled ‘Enforce warnings on solvent products and educate on risks’ on Change.org, also aims to see products featuring risky substances display more prominent warnings against misuse.
You can sign the petition here.