Have you heard of the Blue Whale "game"? Chances are you have. This game, or let's just say "thing", is one big talking point right now because it is leading many in the world to harm themselves. it's virtual. And yet it is making people do activities in the real world, activities that involve self harm and even suicide. More than 100 people, mostly teens, have allegedly committed suicide because they were "playing" the Blue Whale game. Even in India, there is a talk that recently when a teen in Mumbai committed suicide he did it after "playing" Blue Whale.
The problem with the whole hypothesis is that the Blue Whale is not a game. And no, it has not led people to commit suicide. People have led children to commit suicide. Realising this is important to understand the Blue Whale and keep yourself or your kids safe from it.
Before talking about what is the Blue Whale, let's clear a few misconceptions:
1- Blue Whale is not an app. You can't install Blue Whale game. Although now there are many app in the Google Play store, they have nothing to with the notorious "Blue Whale" you have heard of.
2- Blue Whale is not a game you or your kids can play on a computer. You can't install it from the web and then play it. You can't play it on Xbox or Playstation.
3- There is no particular website, app or service where you can access Blue Whale. You can't type a website address in Chrome browser and end up inside Blue Whale game or become a part of it.
So, if the Blue Whale is not a game or an app or a website, then what it is and why it is dangerous? Good question. The Blue Whale is a sort of phenomenon. But a sick phenomenon. It may have had a beginning in Russia -- the guy who reportedly came up with is called Philipp Budeikin and he is now jail -- but now the phenomenon has gone viral. It now has a life of its own where the sick and psycho from across the world are searching for vulnerable teens with who they can toy with.
The best way to understand the Blue Whale is to look at the Ice Bucket Challenge, which too went viral on the web. In the Ice Bucket Challenge, which spread through social media people tagged their friends and asked them to complete the challenge. It was all for a good cause. It was simple. And a lot of people took up the challenge.
Social media more addictive than alcohol, Instagram is the worst
The Blue Whale, meanwhile, is a similar sort of challenge but malicious. At its core is something that Budeikin reportedly said. He claimed that the idea behind the Blue Whale is to get rid of "biological waste" from the society. Or in other words it is to make vulnerable people, and kids with low self esteem, to commit suicide.
Right now there is no clarity on just how many people are "playing" Blue Whale. But it is clear that there are people on the world wide web who are looking vulnerable kids on social media, in forums, in the comments sections of sites like YouTube and on strange websites hosted in shadowy places. Once these people find the kids or in other words their intended victims communications are established over chat groups etc.
The whole Blue Whale thing is about manipulating vulnerable people. It's like something straight out of an Anthony Hopkins movie. When teens start talking to these strangers, the kids are given challenges. Completing these challenges is akin to playing the games. The self harm, including suicide, is part of the challenges that needs to be completed. It's nihilistic, the whole thing. But then nihilism has always found takers or have attracted vulnerable people.
Blue Whale: What to do about it
Given the fact that Blue Whale is not an app, or a game, or a computer virus, you can't tell your kids or friends to not install it or not play it. You can't filter it using an anti-virus. All you can do is tell your friends and kids to avoid it.
No comments:
Post a Comment