Hell kids have been strangling themselves for years - - though when I was growing up they were using it as a masturbatory aid rather than as a "thrill" by itself.
The bottom line is that kids are by and large freaking stupid, which is why they need adults around to keep them alive until their brains start working, generally some time around age 25
The reason we're seeing more and more cases where kids do idiotic things that could get them killed is because parents are becoming less and less involved with their kids' lives - hey that's WORK after all, and work is hard - and so the kids don't have the guidance they need.