11-year-old was Lured to Subway Surfing from Social Media; Family Reveals after Boy Lost Life while Surfing Train in New York City
Cayden Thompson had become captivated by subway surfing months prior to his tragic death on Monday while atop a G train in Brooklyn.
The family of the 11-year-old mentioned that he was fascinated, similar to many other children in New York City, by videos showcasing others, drawn into the activity by those sharing their adventures and through social media posts. Experts assert that it is a formidable influence that is difficult for children to withstand.
“Social media had the worst effect on my son’s life,” Cayden’s mother, Jaida Rivera, 27, said through tears. “He wanted to be cool. He thought all these things were cool. He thought he wasn’t cool enough and he wanted to do these things, but he was so cool!”
For several months, Cayden’s family shared that he had expressed a desire to ride a train — a pursuit that has tragically claimed the lives of four teenagers in NYC this year. A sixth grader was atop a train when he hit his head on an overhang at the Fourth Ave./Ninth St. stop in Park Slope. Authorities reported that he fell onto the tracks and was struck by the train.
“He was talking about [subway surfing] for a couple of months now. He would watch YouTube videos on it, TikTok videos, ” explained Cayden’s uncle, Christian Vega, 15, who was raised as the boy’s brother. “We tried taking his devices away from him, so he can stay away from that. He still had the idea.”
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Vega has expressed a sense of guilt regarding his young nephew’s passing, as he engaged in the risky activity himself and shared videos of his adventures on the internet.
“He got into this situation looking up to me — because I’m an ex-subway surfer, I used to do it. He would see videos online, not only mine but seeing other kids’ videos,” Vega previously told the News.
Professionals indicate that it can be challenging for young people to avoid viewing videos of others, frequently disseminated through social media platforms.
“They make it cool, they make it fun, they make it attractive. And you combine that with an adolescent young boy, who by definition has bad judgment, and you have a perfect storm,” said attorney Matthew Bergman, the founder of the Social Media Victims Law Center .
Despite the family’s persistent efforts to deter Cayden, including warnings about the risks of train surfing and confiscating his cell phone, he remained undeterred. “There’s only so much you can do,” Rivera lamented. “Kids shouldn’t have a phone, they shouldn’t get ahold of making a social media account.”
City officials and the MTA are collaborating with social media companies to remove subway surfing videos from their platforms. During a press conference held earlier this month, the MTA revealed that several social media and internet companies had committed to enhancing their efforts by removing videos from their platforms, as reported by City & State.
A representative from TikTok stated that subway surfing content is not permitted on their platform. There was no immediate response from either YouTube or Google regarding the request for comment. The Daily News attempted to contact Meta regarding the matter, but received no response.
”No parent should ever lose their child to dangerous social media trends,” Mayor Adams posted Saturday on X. “Our young people have such beautiful lives to live. Subway surfing took another young life this week, and we can all help stop this life threatening behavior. #RideInsideStayAlive.”
This tragic incident marks the fourth subway surfing fatality of the year, as reported by the NYPD. In 2023, there were five reported fatalities.
Unfortunately, in spite of all the attempts to address the alarming trend, both incidents and arrests have surged significantly — increasing by nearly 70 percent in the last year. In 2024, from January to September 15, there were 173 reported incidents of subway surfing, leading to the arrest of 153 individuals. This marks an increase from the previous year, where 104 incidents were recorded and 91 arrests were made during the same timeframe, as reported by police.
In light of recent events, the city has initiated a public information campaign emphasizing the message, “Subway surfing kills— ride inside, stay alive,” aimed at highlighting the risks associated with subway surfing. Since the launch of the initiative, subway stations and trains have been enhanced with audio announcements, on-train advertisements, and engaging videos and animations crafted by students from the Manhattan High School of Art and Design.
A representative from the agency stated that personnel are actively identifying and reporting social media posts that glorify the dangerous practice of riding on top of subway trains, aiming to eliminate such content. As of now, the MTA reports that a total of 10,650 similar posts have been taken down from different social media platforms.
